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doesnt really compare to the injuries the kiter in florida has got. hope he recovers quickly.
This is my issue with the sport. If my brain freezes and/or I do the wrong thing, I could have my brains bashed out or fall 100 feet from the air onto land. Windsurfing offers plenty of thrills without killing or crippling me if I screw up for a few seconds.
mate, you have to stop shoplifters before they get to the changeroom!
if you kitesurf use the old boy scouts motto "be prepared"
Good description Waveslave, kind of paints a picture of what happens.
Is it a case of beginners or self taught people not knowing to release that come unstuck most often?
I've been picked up and thrown 15 mtrs sideways to watch my gear tumble across the water for another 50 mtrs until it speared in while sailing in a cyclone. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't try it with a kite.
It's the kind of thing you only do once. It was that windy at times I was plaining while just holding the mast, you could jump with a 1 mtr runup after waterstarting. The only way to get the sail out of the water was from the mast tip, once as the wind got under it I held the tip and got pole vaulted clear over my gear. When I got home the news showed whole roofs blowing off buildings, 14 mtr waves off Stradbroke Is. @55 to 60 knts with 80 knt gusts. I can see why people do it for the chalenge but you've got to expect a razz when you stuff up.
If the safety on the kite is attacted to the correct point on the kite (a front line) and not onto the chicken loop as a suicide (dangerous as the name suggests, only for real experienced kiters) you can not get dragged by the kite, it only gets tension on the line the safety is attached too, the kite just flags eg, similar to being at the beach flipping your towel down wind to get the sand off, and the kite will fall out the sky in any wind, if its stronger it just falls faster, from the footage of this fella, as waveslave said before he had a death grip on the bar not getting dragged by the safety, i doubt he was unconcious, it's more likely he was trying to get control and was just massively overpowered, a 9m Bow kite (think thats what they ment by flat kite) in that kind of wind is just stupid to start with, a kite like this could get a 90 kg rider up and going in 18 knots and this shows you what it will do to someone lighter in 3 times that wind. He prob had no idea how fast he was heading for the concrete, for a kiter with 5 years experience he should have know how to ditch even while getting keel hauled, he would have been in similar situations on the water before, it looked like this time it all happened way too fast for him to think about it, i think over confidence was the problem in this case..
interesting.. some high access gear (think those window washers you see hanging over the side of skyscrapers) .. have had the same problems as kiters (with regard to release systems).. Let go - good, grip more - bad
One company has introduced a system on a descending device (think abseiling) squeeze handle slide down rope but as in the kite surfing if something goes wrong and persons panics and squeezes handle tight it also stops - "dead mans brake". Maybe kite designers have to look at a system like that. One that depowers when let go and depowers when gripped in a "death grip"..
evlPanda, love the translation! 
It seems that the news reports seem to suggest that everything was a LOT worse than what it seems to be!?
Dearest LizzyBabes,
Judging by the photos and your posts so far, you are almost-to-definitely do-able in my book. Please, consider giving up the strings and floppy inflatables for a long and stiff (but flexible and responsive) pole sometime in the near future. I promise you'll never be board.
PS- You're a teacher? I'm a teacher too. Learning keeps you young! Although you're 21 and I'm 36, dont worry, I don't mind - age is no barrier.
Select to expand quoteP.C_simpson said...
But the fella before said he may have been getting dragged by the leash and i said if he was NOT running a suicide the kite would just crash, nothing to do with the quick release on the chicken loop dude..
who said he was being dragged by the leash? i missed that. it looks to me like he was hooked in the entire time.
leash only comes into place once you unhook or activate the QR
So how is the guy in the video doing? The kiter we all saw get slammed http://www.peconicpuffin.com/the_peconic_puffin/2008/08/kite mare-in-tropical-storm-fay.html
says it never happened. http://www.peconicpuffin.com/the_peconic_puffin/2008/08/kite mare-aftermath-huh-what-never-happened-dude.html
In the hospital he told doctors that they'd grabbed the wrong guy, that he'd in fact had a good session in the storm, and afterwards went out for dinner before going home. Pointing out to him that he was in the hospital with a back broken in several places did not convince him otherwise.
Obviously he took quite the blow to his head. He's home now, and is said to be walking. It would be great to watch him watch the video. On the other hand, if he never believes it happened (or never remembers it) that will probably make him more likely to get back on his board and kite...and sail another storm?
Saw him interviewed on one of those morning shows today. He said he would go out again in same conditions, he had a high pitch voice from some throat damage. After the lady compare said something like "hes officially a complete idiot" well said I thought.
