Gear that works, risk

[Bill S.]

I have been kiting for seven or eight years. There is a first time for everything. I share this as a tale of equipment working exactly like it should and to encourage mindfulness of risk.

I leave work around 2:00 p.m., looking forward to a good session. The day is hot and the winds are SSE 15-25 mph: 11m heaven at Cannon. I get to the lake and hang with my windsurfing bros. before rigging up. Winds are gusty but typical for the unseasonable heat. I launch and loosen up, powered up but not overly. A gust rolls through and I pull the strap a bit to take the edge off. Way powered up now, a couple of small jumps, and then the switch is flipped and the lake goes off. No more 11m heaven. To survive I fly the kite at the edge of the window, edging hard, tapping the wing tip on the water. This is functional but barely so I carefully move the kite overhead to apex to see if it's any better. It's not, it's insane, as with the kite directly above me and stationary I am lifted first one foot, then five feet, then ten feet off the water, hovering, unable to descend. Elevator up. I decide to head in and figure I will take my time riding the half mile back to the launch. The kite, usually rock solid, is vibrating so hard I can hear it. As I near the launch I plan as usual to slide just inside the wind shadow, get off the board in waist deep water, and drop and flag the kite on the outside. However, the wind just stops. Shuts off. Dies. I've been on the water a long time and know this moment well--the dead calm just before a true monster arrives. Later, my windsurfing bros. will describe the dark water bearing down on me, the whitecaps whipped into liquid smoke. As the kite begins to fall from the sky I look over my shoulder and realize it's not a great time to be attached to a too-large kite.

The gust hits, from 0 to 40+ mph, the kite powers up quickly, bucks and inverts twice, putting two twists in the lines, while I am yanked hard and fast on my side about 50 yards downwind. Though the lines are crossed I somehow manage to direct the kite toward open water rather than the shore, anything to avoid the trees. The board is still on my feet and creates some drag to slow my progress, but now I'm skipping on top of the water and get spun onto my back with my arms over my head. Unable to flip over I make a quick decision and pull the quick-release on the chicken loop, jettisoning the bar. This works perfectly with the exception that the kite does not fall and remains flying fully powered up, with twisted lines, just off the water, completely unresponsive to rider input. I am being dragged now by the leash attached to my waist harness, the board still on my feet, getting hammered by waves in the face as the kite is not pulling me vertically but horizontally. I try not to suck down water and pull repeatedly on the leash, pumping the kite, to see if I can get it to fall, turn over, anything to stop it. But it won't. Things are happening fast and I consider ditching the board, but from years of sailing, windsurfing and kiting offshore I have learned to never ditch the board. F--k the rig, a board will save your life. Now I am being pulled just under the surface. While coming up for air I see that the opposite shore is about a half mile off, the full width of the lake, and that the big gust has not relented. After a gulp of Cannon Lake, I consider ditching the kite. I do the math: I am in open water, a half mile upwind from the nearest shore. Should the kite fly for a bit before dropping there is nobody or nothing it can harm or interfere with. I figure I will swim back, drive around the lake and wait for the kite to float in. And so, blinded by the chop, I put my hand on the red ejector switch and pull the trigger. The kite releases, flies about 30 yards, twists, buries a wing tip in the water, game over.

I float for a while with the board, catch my breath, then swim into the whitecaps a quarter mile back to the launch. On land, I get in the truck and drive around to the downwind shore, where Brian has kindly pulled my kite and lines from the water. Nothing is damaged. I am grateful as always to Brian for the help. This is not the first time he has helped.

I am also grateful to Slingshot for the well-designed quick-release chicken loop and leash. While I had hoped the kite would drop immediately after I released from the loop, it didn't. This isn't Slingshot's fault; not everything, especially in kiting, is predictable, and a kite flying with doubly-twisted lines in strong winds will often do whatever it wants. The fact is the quick-release system on the chicken loop worked. It did what it's supposed to do, when it is supposed to do it. Same with the leash. While I have never had to use either system, I am glad that before every session I always check to make they are functioning.

Later, I learn that between the time I left work and arrived at the lake, about 15 minutes, the NWS issued a wind advisory for south central, noting sustained 20-30 mph winds with gusts to 40 were on their way. At my weight a 7m, not 11m, would have been the call. Or a 4.7m windsurfing sail.

Check your gear before every session and keep your cool when the unpredictable happens. It will. That's why we love this sport.

Bill

[Eric P]

Hello Bill, sounds like quite the kitemare. Do you have the the new center line safety system on that kite? I'm surprised you did not have a better experience with the first release. That is scary, getting dragged by the leash, with you, five to ten feet from the bar, unable to do anything but get dunked. Good idea to just ditch the kite at that point. Sounds like you were lucky and handled the situation really well.

Kite choice is tough. What do I take out? Will the wind go up, or down while I'm out? I'm surprised by the crazy gust that hit, that doesn't happen too often around here. Sounds Nasty. And, like you said at the end, FUN.

[Bill S.]

Hi Eric, the kite is 2009 SS T3. It does have the center-line safety system. Yeah, I was definitely surprised when I ejected from bar and nothing changed. Years ago Tighe told me "don't let the kite win." I tried, but this kite was clearly possessed.

Bill

[Lee_Uptown]

Phew... I'm sweating bullets! Glad you're ok... So well written!!!

[JRN]

GLAD YOU'RE OKAY! Sounds like you made the right choice, regardless. I doubt any safety system is 100% failsafe. Once that "death spiral" begins, everything twists and tangles. Don't know if anyone could untwist the bar fast enough to un-twist the lines, but another option might be to cut through all but one line to flag it out. Lines are cheap compared to your life, taking someone out down wind, or buying a new kite. After my kitemare drag last winter, I've got that yellow handle in reach at all times. Most of the other E-side boys followed suit, and at less than $20 it is cheap insurance. Maybe the best option would be to pull the plug as soon as you feel yourself getting lofted.
"With experience comes wisdom..What doesn't kill you makes you stronger..."

[Tighe]

yeah glad you're ok.

Not sure why you didn't flag the kite when you knew the mega gust was coming or when it hit. The SS system allows you to flag your kite and easily recover and keep riding, so there should never be a hesitation to pop that chicken loop. In the past once you pulled that chicken loop you were done, no longer. If I'm coming in in high onshore winds in deeper water, I'll flag the kite at least 2 kite line lengths from shore, giving ample time to wind the lines before the hitting land.

Hopefully next time you won't hesitate. At the first sign of danger, use your safeties. Things go bad real quick.

If the kite only rolled upon itself 2-3 times it still should flag out. Once I saw a leash hook get caught on a chicken loop preventing flagging but other than that only an extended death spiral might prevent a flagging.

Glad you're safe.

[Browbry]

I was talking to Todd H at Reddy Sunday about all that SH** located at the center of a Slingshot bar and line system. Its not a whole lot more or different than many other bar and line systems but nonetheless I am still prompted to ask. Todd has simplified his rig in many ways telling me there is plenty of unnecessary stuff on it. He showed me his and unfortunately I've already forgotten some things he has done to help further my point. Perhaps he reads this and can chime in. What can a person do when the leash gets caught on the chicken loop preventing flag? Obviously you can pull the red arrow and there goes the kite. Can doing this when its all wrapped up and tangled in the chicken loop prevent a complete and total release? Option 3 is to start to pull the knife out and start to hack away I guess. Bill thanks for sharing this post! Its value is immeasurable. Does your story tell us you were lofted up into the sky, then dropped down, then the kite decided to spiral on you all in the same sesh? Either way, wow. What a story. I could feel my own eyes get bigger as I read thru it. Glad your ok.

[Reds]

I have been caught in such a situation where the wind went from 25 to 45 right now...my 9m T3 was squirrling around and the little red knob was the ticket out. These gusts are a reality and everyone should be prepared for it. If you think you need to pull the release than do it...and always have a knife for backup..live to kite another day!

[Brian M]

gotta love mother nature, she always keeps things exciting.

[steveb]

I hope the link works, should show a nice clean bar system.
http://www.flyozoneusa.com/products/catalyst#

If you pull down on the page there's a bar photo in the gallery section.

[MK]

Wonderfully written and great topic. Glad you're ok.

[Dave Z]

Glad to hear you're ok Bill. Could have been more dangerous if it was July and you swallowed a pile of Cannon algae!!!!

[Tighe]

insanely simple

[BBAddict]

I hope the link works, should show a nice clean bar system.
http://www.flyozoneusa.com/products/catalyst#

Steve, I was just talking to someone that has the Ozone C4. They ran into a similar situation while flying. Fortunately it depowered as intended -- others kites didn't and they had some excitement not unlike this story. You can't put too much emphasis/value on safety.
I like the above the bar depower on the Ozone as well....below the bar doesn't make much sense to me ergonomically. It's a lot easier to pull with your arm stretched out than to pull from your bar, especially when you reall need to depower NOW!

[rookie]

Cabrinhas new super insanely simple bar.

cabrinha quick release bar.jpg (11.7 KiB) Viewed 8345 times

[steveb]

Rookie....yuk yuk

I know Michele had a nasty, same situation wind getting up with some sort of front coming in. She was riding her C4 and put a post on facebook praising safeties.

Everyone likes different things for their systems, for me I want nothing mechanical or heavy , nothing subject to sand interference and I prefer it if it works every time. When I need to flag the kite I want it to flag regardless of conditions or what I have done to goof up the system.
I'm an idiot so I like kites to be designed to take care of me while I focus on being a better quality of idiot.