Kiteboards may be banned near airport
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Federal aviation officials are threatening to ban kiteboarding on Maui's north shore beginning Oct. 15 in what could be a devastating blow to a growing sport that caters to an increasing number of tourists and local enthusiasts.
A Federal Aviation Administration decision to rescind a waiver allowing kiteboarding within five miles of Kahului Airport has caused anguish from Waiehu to Ku'au, and even prompted Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa to get involved.
Arakawa met with state officials yesterday to explore ways to prevent the ban. "We want to keep kiteboarding alive," said Don Couch, the mayor's executive assistant.
Kiteboarding, or kitesurfing, is a relatively new sport blending surfing, wakeboarding and parasailing. It employs a wing of light fabric to harness the wind for aerial maneuvers and jumps that soar several stories.
Maui's windy north shore has a reputation as one of kiteboarding's top playgrounds. The sport was developed here, and many top professionals continue to train and test equipment in local waters. It has been estimated that as many as 100 Maui residents owe their jobs to the sport's popularity.
From Oct. 6 to12, the 2003 Red Bull King of the Air will return to the north shore for the fifth straight year. The competition at Ho'okipa Beach Park showcases some of the world's best kiteboarders and is regarded as the premier kiteboarding event of the professional season.
But the event's future on Maui, and that of all kiteboarding along the north shore, is now in doubt. The FAA says the kites, which can soar 100 feet in the air, have been interfering with operations at the oceanside Kahului Airport.
Federal regulations prohibit kites within five miles of airports, but the FAA gave Maui's kiteboarders a break in March 2002, issuing a waiver allowing kiteboarding outside a half-mile of Kahului Airport's Runway 2.
In the past year and a half, there have been more than a dozen breaches of the no-fly zone at the end of the runway, situations that distracted air traffic controllers, FAA officials said.
A ban on north shore kiteboarding would virtually kill an industry worth $2 million to $3 million, said Martin Kirk, president of the Maui Chapter of the Hawai'i Kiteboarding Association and president of Kiteboarding School of Maui.
While enthusiasts and some kiteboarding schools would head to the south shore, inconsistent winds and power lines close to shore can make kiteboarding there a dangerous proposition, Kirk said.
"If the FAA has such grave concerns for aviation safety, why have they been looking the other way for 2 1/2 years?" he said.
Both Kirk and Couch said they hoped some compromise could be reached.
One possible solution, Couch said, would be for the county to take over responsibility for keeping kiteboarders out of the no-fly zone. But given the liability concerns, that proposal is still being researched, he said.
"We want to fix the problem and we want to do it soon. Oct. 15 is coming up quickly," Couch said.
Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880, or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
