so sorry for his familyDAKITEZ - 15-6-2009 at 11:40 AM
I don't know much about the safty's on the water kites, but do they not have multiply safty's like the de-power foils?
the article said most people don't want to pull their safety because they will loose their kite.mougl - 15-6-2009 at 11:47 AM
Hearing about things like this is always sad.lad - 15-6-2009 at 12:20 PM
The article said he didn't want to cut lose the kite.
I'm not into kite surfing (yet).
But I can understand why you don't want to release or lose a nice kite.
I even have little ID stickers on my more co$tly fighter kites.
Is it naive to ask if most kite surfers have ID and "Reward for Return" labels on their gear?
Maybe some would consider some kind of GPS on your gear for recovery or even rescue?awindofchange - 15-6-2009 at 12:33 PM
This is terrible news for the kiting community and for the kiters family and friends. I wish them comfort in their tragic loss.
If rigged properly, all surf kites have multiple safety systems and it is very unfortunate that some kiters will put the value of their kite over the
value of their own safety. The safety systems are there for a reason and should be deployed at the instant trouble becomes apparent. Even then it
can be difficult to activate your safety systems either out of fear or unability to reach/pull them. Sometimes there just isn't time. This is also
the main reason that you should always be aware of your surroundings and kite far enough off shore that if something goes wrong, you give yourself
enough time to safely handle the situation.
Whenever I teach or give instructions, the very first thing I teach is how to activate the safety and I force the student to activate it several times
during the lesson just so they get use to pulling the safety at a seconds notice. I always tell people that a kite is a lot less expensive than a
trip to the emergency room...and in most instances, the kite will suffer only minor damage (if any) and can be repaired. Obviously the cost of ones
life far outweighs the value of one's life.
This is purely a tragedy and saddens me.burritobandit - 15-6-2009 at 12:38 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by DAKITEZ
I don't know much about the safty's on the water kites, but do they not have multiply safty's like the de-power foils?
the article said most people don't want to pull their safety because they will loose their kite.
If he was on an inflatable he could have pulled the chicken loop quick-release, which releases the kite to the kite-leash (assuming he was using a
kite-leash). This usually releases the kite to one line, or both front lines attached to the leading edge (most newer kites do this) which dumps the
vast majority of power out of the kite. Then if the kite is still going haywire, he could have pulled the quick-release on the leash, which releases
the kite entirely.burritobandit - 15-6-2009 at 12:47 PM
Awindofchange of change brings up another good point and possibility: downwind obstacles.
He might not have wanted to release his kite because of what was downwind of him. From another first hand account, his kite landed over a hotel
pathway where there may or may not have been bystanders (the witness did not specify whether there were bystanders).
"Unfortunately he hurriedly tried to dump his kite without assistance. He misjudged the distance and landed his kite over the pathway onto the Hotel
grass facing the sea. Obviously realizing he was to close to the hotel he tried to bring his kite back up again. It caught the gust and lifted him off
the beach and slammed him into the only rock along the pathway, causing fatal internal injuries to his chest and head. He was wearing a helmet at the
time. His kite was later found on top of the hotel roof caught up in TV Arial."macboy - 15-6-2009 at 01:00 PM
It's terribly sad to value your safety (and other's) as less important than a kite. Strange thing is, if the kite didn't have a captive safety (ie-
not dumping the kite) then I'd suspect it was an older model....in which case it really couldn't have been that big of an investment to lose? The
Guerilla I bought off here shipped with an antique 4 line bar with no safeties whatsoever. I changed that out before passing it along to the new
owner.
Safety or not - I'd never hang on in effort to save a penny....and we have comprehensive "free" healthcare here!
I pray that I don't find myself having to make decisions like these - ever!kitejumper - 15-6-2009 at 01:25 PM
how sad--my heart goes out to his family......if it ever comes down to me or my kite, it'll be bye bye kite--the winds were 50 knots--thats like 60
mph!!!!snobdr - 15-6-2009 at 01:59 PM
Very sad to hear
We should always know what the weather is and whats its going to be before you go out.
Practice using your safetys ALOT.
They do on ocasion fail to release, or dump power. Know you backup to get ride of the kite.
You can ALWAYS buy another kite.Houston AirHead - 15-6-2009 at 03:21 PM
My heart goes out to his family, He was just doing what he loved. I know i never knew the guy but atleast we all can learn from his mistake i guess.Kamikuza - 15-6-2009 at 09:42 PM
Sad news best wishes to families and friends.
5th line safeties - excellent! My old C-kite that I'm learning on :P has 5th line ... haven't had to use it in anger yet, but practices are easy and
it totally depowers the kite. Then, there's the safety on the leash to totally release the kite from my person. I've got a hook knife on the harness
to cut away lines too ...
best wishes to families and friends.