As with all stories this one begins with a girl, a kite, and a lake....

Wait........

No stories start that way, but this one does!

The short, saw a potential for wind on iKitesurf in the cascade lakes. Decided to go for it, a girl i have been "seeing" wanted to tag along for the sun. When we got to the lake and set up our beach camp, i already knew the wind was to low. Anemometer confirmed even after a swim to a dock in the lake. Kite was inflated, girl was interested. Went for it anyways. Lots of time spent trying to get the kite to water launch. Wasn't happening. Then things got interesting. Caught a gust, lifted out of the water a couple of feet (i was flying in thigh deep water) and set down. When i "landed" i tripped and spun around backward. Kite pulled me towards the inflatable lounge dock in the background.

Ended up in a safety release due to my concern with getting wrapped up in the lounge thingy's anchor lines. Kite dropped and got wrapped up in the anchor line. Had to pull the secondary to avoid getting wrapped up in the line mess myself. When the kite lost the rest of it's pull the lines freed, and i had to go for a LONG swim to recover.

Here's the only proof.




Moral of the story. Trust your instincts and stay with the girl on the beach, select better kiting locations, swimming after a kite is great exercise AND most importantly don't try to be the kite hero to impress. Lesson learned.

Yes those are my feet sticking out of the water.

Girl gets credit for photo.

Because someone will ask for specifics on conditions:

Ran my anemometer the whole time, avg windspeed 6kts, max 18kts
flying (dragging mostly) my 12m Envy

Haha Moral of the story, impressing girls and kiteboarding don't mix.
Glad you made it out alive, girls can be dangerous. So can kiteboarding.

pictures of the girl???
asking for a friend

Quote: Originally posted by bigkid

Glad you made it out alive, girls can be dangerous. So can kiteboarding.

Well played, and awesome shot, even if it cost you a long swim. Most importantly glad you made it out safe and sound

Sorry ab, no pics of the girl. I spent all day splashing around in the water so not much time for shooting her in her bikini. Mistake number 562 eh?

Wow...beautiful lake!

Just visited Bend about two years ago....the whole family loved it....Don't worry though...we're not telling that to our California friends :P

Are the winds pretty lully and inconsistent or are there some good lakes up there that get good consistent winds?

No white-caps...not enough wind....LOL. I get excited with 18M Helium at 12-15mph (just when you see the water start lapping).
Glad to hear you made it back safely though...and remember:
Success rides on the back of multiple failures.

ROCK ON!
Steve

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

pictures of the girl??? asking for a friend

.... was about to ask same question .... lol ....


I pull my safety on water way many more times then on land ..... and I got hurt on water more often too ... so pull that safety anytime you think is something about to happen .... Recovering kite is a nightmare .... specially if you don't know how to swim .... lol .....

lunchbox, the goto lakes in the Central Oregon area are very sporadic at best. I always take some beer a couple of sandwiches and something else to do. Wickiup is the most popular and can go off in late afternoon. Winds are janky for sure.

Herb, I knew it wasn't going down when I got there. Inflated just in case but that got her interest piqued and put me trying to be a kit hero. I just needed to listen to my instincts.

Kober trust me I am a liberal applier of my safeties. Both safeties were pulled 5-10 seconds before anything would have really gone down. Kites are replaceable.