I had a close call on last Saturday during my 5th kiteboarding session. I lost my board in deep water but couldn't retreive it. I was body dragging but I never seemed to get to it. My biggest mistake: I was riding off shore wind - I thought I was riding in waist deep water until I got in trouble. It was bay area and not much wave but I kept being swept away from the shore - very very scary.

I knew I was in trouble if I couldn't get to my board. So, I let go the bar and activated 5th line. My P3 13M fell from the sky and sat on water with no pull. I swam back to my board. Once I've got it, I started pulling the bar to re-inflate the kite. Luckly (and I am very thankfull for this), no line was tangled and the kite stood on water upside down.

Tried reverse launch with my board on. No go on first couple of tries. I just didn't have eough strangth. After a couple of attempts, I was able to flip the kite back and now it was ready to launch on water. THANK GOD the kite didn't drink water. I pulled the middle lines and finally the kite took off. I made back to the shore alive...... I don't think I was ever scared that much in my adult life.

I am getting a board leash. I understand there is a danger side of getting a leash but I could have easily back on water with a board leash that time.

Kiteboarders, be careful out there. - Brian

Hey Brian you need to find someone that kite surfs to go out with you.

Susan

glad you're ok.... mentally and physically ! sounds like you learned your lesson to avoid offshore winds.

thats another testament for FS kites not many people reallize they can float for quite a while.... good thinking on your part to utilize the safety in a safety situation !

keep practicing your body dragging..... the leash will only hinder your ability, experience, technique, and confidence. Too many kitemare stories out there of leash-related accidents.

i don't want to endorse leashes.....but if you have to use a leash, get a real-leash and mount it to a break-away link between you and the board. this will limit (not eliminate) the bungee effect of the board slingshot-ing toward you when leash line becomes taught.

as far as the kite goes... i've made several p3 kits for myself and locals to assist in relauch the bigger p3 kites. email or U2U if interested.

Phew yeah, i've been considering more and more getting a board leash these days...
or maybe one of those crazy little board sail things you can get, they look kinda fun, dunno how reliable theyd be though.
I think the wind up leash things should be fine though - i don't think i've ever heard of anyone getting properly pung by one of them....
I've had some nasty close calls with my board as well recently. There's lots of waves around here as well and they are horrible when youre trying to bodydrag upwind you make a bit of progress and then a wave knocks you over :ticking:

I posted my story hoping others beginners learn a lesson from my "stupidity" without going through what I went through.

I am dedicating my next water session to pure body dragging and relaunching technique, which I should have done in my first water session - another "stupidity."

Powerzone, I am interested in your P3 Kit for easy re-launch. Even with my board on, it wasn't easy. I had to try a couple of times. I would like to know what your kit is and how it works. Sent you PM. - Brian

Thanx Brian. i got the PM and replied back

to other Flysurfer dudes out there : there is a mod that can be installed on the larger p3 kites to assist in reverse launch. Please PM /U2U for specifics.

Aside from not having the time to get to the ocean regularly, this is yet another reminder of why I don't kite surf.

I'm glad you are OK and I'm hoping other fliers do learn from your lesson.

There is a kitesurfing school the next beach down from where I vacation. Last year I watched a rider go out in some pretty strong off shore winds. The tide goes out about 1 mile on the beach so when its coming in, it is extremely shallow for a long way but when it starts coming in, it comes in fast. This guy got going pretty good from the launch but you could tell he was struggling with the power.

About two minutes later he was pretty far out and the kite was in the water. Numerous attempts to relaunch failed and we was drifting further out. Finally he engaged the safety and managed to swim to his kite and then swim back to shore with the kite and board in tow. I'd say he was in the water for about 20 minutes swimming. II watched him with binoculars and there are residents with boats who could have come to his aid if it came to that. When he got close to sure I walked out to him to see if he needed a hand. His lines were a mess, he was humbled and exhausted. Fortunately, he did have a life preserver on.

Seems he had lessoned the week before and this was his first time out solo. Luckily it wasn't his last. Off shore winds seem very bad. On shore winds put the beach goers at risk. The moral... respect the wind and know your limits and if you think you are in over your head (literally and figuratively) you are.

any kiter, lessons or not, puts himself in harms way when the conditions of the tide, wind, currents, rocks, trees, etc..... are not carefully considered.

DO YOUR RESEARCH.... further accidents only give kiting a bad name. thats why so many people reccommend lessons.

kiteboarding can be quite safe if your head is screwed on first before you go out.

we all make poor decisions when our passion for kiting blinds our better judgement. i'll include myself in the guilty list, i'm sure we all can. but being smart about introducing newbies into the sport in a safe way can really help us all out in the future.

i appologise for the Rant ..... no go have fun again!!!!

There's been a number of locals that have gotten hit in the back of the head with a board on the end of those slow recoil leashes. When they're all the way out they still act like a solid rope until you and the board are in the water. It usually goes something like this. You go for a jump, wipe out and lose the board, kite powers up again, board's a sea anchor until you hit the end of the leash, then it launches, you hit the water facing the kite and the board's coming at you from behind.

Body dragging practice, those floaty board retrieval things, and onshore winds are the key here.

Ok, Pablo just convinced me not to use a board leash

Hey Brian,, glad to see that your ok.. I have never kite surfed,, never surfed for that matter,,, dont think I would want too. That had to be a horrible feeling. Be careful. But as you say I would think your story may help someone else in the future. Talk to you later.

What some locals do is put the leash on the back of their harness and don't hook it up to the board, then if you're having trouble, say in low winds, you can clip onto your board, forget about it and worry bout body dragging back in. Or if you want to keep your board close while trying to do a deep water pack down.

that's really a good idea. - Brian

I am glad to hear you are ok. I have crashed 5 bazillion times with my reel leash and my board has never come close to me. I am sure there is a danger though but certainly not as much as a bungee type leash.

Last weekend a local rider lost his board and could not retrieve it in the Sacramento river. By the end of his 2 1/2 mile body drag back to the beach he was suffering from hypothermia and had to be taken to a hospital. This was an intermediate/expert rider who had been kiting for several years. I dont know what type of suit he was wearing but it just goes to show it is not all black and white and there are a lot of factors to consider.

Brian, did you get rid of your North kites now that I see you have a P3

Thank you guys for your concern. I will definately practice more boddy dragging but I think I am going to utilize some kiteboarding gadgets as well.

wjb, I still have my North kites. They are good kites but I am just too lazy to pump them up every time. Coming from Landboarding, I like the feel of how foil flies. Of course, there is downside of using closed cell on water. Once lines are tangled or too much water gets in, then you are screwed. Also, you can't use the kite as floatation device if something happens.

I am still exploring my Psycho III and will decide if I am going to stick with tubes or convert to closed cell. Time will tell.... - Brian

Fred was telling me about a crazy story a few weeks back. He was out on a speed 10 on a beach south of pismo - around surf beach area. The water seemed relatively flat with nice smooth waves, he was out for a while and suddenly a giant swell came out of nowhere - it completely wrapped over the top of his kite, ate up his kite, he had to dump it and his board. The waves kept on coming and he kept getting dragged out by the current, so he eventually just stripped off everything he didn't need that was weighing him down, dumped his board, harness, everything. He eventually managed to get back to shore after about 1 hour trying to ride on the waves power. He then passed out for two hours on the beach!

That's what i call a scary story :o:o:o

Also made me want to sweep the ocean floor for a nice free flysurfer speed 10m :D

That's a scrary story. That also makes me wonder if he would have been better off with a tube kite.... Maybe, he would have been able to relaunch? Maybe, he would have had something to hold on while swiming back to the beach? hmmmmmm - Brian

I figure I may look like a dork with my blue lifejacket on... but as a general rule I always wear it when kiteboarding. No matter how good of a swimmer a person is, when the board goes one way, the kite another, and the waves and current seem to go yet another, it can take a lot out of you.

I was out one time and had one of the screws holding a foot binding come loose. Started to jump, and things went crazy... Kite went one way, board flying.. and ended up landing where my foot caught the edge of the boards fin. Fresh cuts and saltwater do not mix well... grabbed the board, relaunched the kite, and body dragged with the board back to shore. Ouch!

Guess it's like anything... make it a habit to check your gear BEFORE you ride, and do what you can to make yourself, and those you'll be flying near safe as well.

But skipping along the top of the water attached to a kite... is such a rush.

Give us the scoop on the P3 relaunching mod Powerzone

Price and pics would be great!

Quote:

Originally posted by powerzone Thanx Brian. i got the PM and replied back to other Flysurfer dudes out there : there is a mod that can be installed on the larger p3 kites to assist in reverse launch. Please PM /U2U for specifics.

IM NOT A VERY GOOD SWIMMER SO DOES THAT MEAN I SHOULN'T KITESURF,
COS I WAS KINDA LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING INTO IT.

Wear a life jacket or impact vest with good flotation, a highly visible helmet colour is a good idea as well, I'm a horrible swimmer, I can float around holding my kite until someone fishes me out though. Knowing this I'll stick to onshore winds or somewhere that has a rescue boat and lots of people around.

ah...... thats ok then, i thought you guys would say dont do it if your a crap swimmer "it's too dangerous"

If you want to use a board leash use one. I kitesurf in the ocean 95% of the time in small to medium sized waves. If I didn't have a leash I'd be in trouble due to losing my board in the waves. In nearly 10 years of kitesurfing I've never had the board spring back towards me after dragging. I do use a very long leash (9-12 feet) for big wave surfing. Which might explain why I've not had a problem. If the worst case is you are in serious trouble by losing the board it is more than worth the risk of wearing a leash. Also, wear a helmet.
Here is a picture of me crashing back in 2001. You can see the leash.
Scott

That's a big ol' board Speleo! Were you riding that strapless?

No-It's a custom Hana Crew wave board. It's a blast in the waves and it has straps. It's very similar to the F-one 7 footer. It's one of my favorite boards.

As a counterpoint to Speleo, who's been lucky with the leash and wears a helmet, check this out:

http://www.instructables.com/id/E1GJJF4DAYES9J4X86/

Eric Wilhelm got nailed bad by his board with a leash, even though he wears a helmet. Graphic photos galore. He's a very experienced rider.

krumly

People get hurt in this sport regardless of what safety system is used or not used. Riding with a leash might be safer than not wearing one in some cases.
I know one person who went comatose for about a week from a crash. He was wearing a helmet, no board leash, depower type kite etc.
For me where and how I ride a leash compliments my riding. I don't ride way overpowered in fact I ride slightly underpowered and use the waves as ramps. If I lose my board in the waves I'm done and have to chase it to shore and then find it. Plus Florida is shark attack capital of the world and when I biff way outside the waves I really don't want to spend much time dragging to a lost board.
Scott

Quote:

Originally posted by krumly As a counterpoint to Speleo, who's been lucky with the leash and wears a helmet, check this out: http://www.instructables.com/id/E1GJJF4DAYES9J4X86/ Eric Wilhelm got nailed bad by his board with a leash, even though he wears a helmet. Graphic photos galore. He's a very experienced rider. krumly

I see this example everytime the leash debate comes up. Check out the leash, it is a bungee cord. Very different from a reel type leash.

Question, what happens to a reel type leash when it's all the way out?

Answer, It locks up, stops letting line out and now acts like a solid peice of rope.


If it's all the way out and you get yanked by the kite again, look out for the board, it won't be far behind. I've seen a couple locals get hit that way. Now the reasons for a leash like sharks or weird currents I can understand.

At Squamish, the river current is quite strong and travels straight upwind, if you chose to ride the mouth of the river and lose your board, there's no way you're body dragging back to it until it's out in the inlet.

Glad you are ok!!!