Stay connected in the wind. This forum is for anyone who rides the wind, winter or summer, on whatever board suits their fancy. Share the stoke, find out where people are going, ask any question, share your discoveries, and discuss any esoteric idea you may have related to the pursuit of wind. Please keep it positive.
loose lines in the water are like being attacked by a giant squid or something - they will wrap around you so fast you won't believe it. You have to know how to totally depower your kite while managing your lines.
I wish more people would wear life jackets - I know they are dorky, but having some float can be really helpful
John Z
Midwest Mountaineering/Slingshot Regional Team Rider
Terry Dunklee had a similar experience last year on Milly. He swears by the knife now. I need to find somewhere to mount mine (the one he gave me for Christmas) on my life vest somewhere. Could be a true life saver.
One of the aspects of a true kitemare is that almost every one had a serious mistake that was made, which then escalates (either slowly or quickly) into a truly scary experience. I had a kite loop on me at Superior last year, and my mistake was to not look at the bridle lines before launching. I was lucky and the kite came unhooked after the first loop, or I might have been on the road in not time.
I agree with the life vest statement, as well as a helmet. You just never know when you will need them. Stay safe, and keep your eyes open to help you fellow kiter out in times of need.
I have a hook knife with a big easy-to-grab handle zip-tied on the spreader bar on each of my harnesses.
Some kiters mount their knife on their helmet. Both places are easy to reach. I chose the spreader bar because when I'm not using the knife it's just one more thing for lines to get snagged on. I'd rather have the kite yank me around by the harness than by my head.
I haven't use it yet, and I hope I never will need to.
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Last edited by Barry P on Tue May 03, 2011 11:45 am, edited 3 times in total.
This is indeed a scary situation and happens faster than you think. If you do start to get tangled it is critical to depower your kite and keep it from powering up in some way. If it does power up, know how to depower it quickly by grabing the correct line (or lines) as your primary safety may not do the trick when your tangled. Caution to make sure you dont start the kite to loop, If the kite starts looping you may loose the ability to depower and need to let the kite go, so if your tangled in lines now your in trouble. FOr the newer kiters out there, make sure you understand your kite and bridal system on the kite before you end up in this situation so if you get tangled you know the safest way to your kite without concern of the kite pulling you. Regardless of the kite, if your walking a line up on the self rescue and leaving line behind you make sure the line is thrown down wind of you as you focus to remain upwind of the lines while heading to the kite. I found myself tangled in lines on Saturday as I downed my overpowered kite quickly and lost track of the lines which quickly became tangled around my feet as I walked the lines up to my kite. The newer Cabrinha IDS bridle has made this much safer and changed the method of self rescue vs the pre 2009 cabrinha kites - This isnt a plug for Cabrinha's, just a message to be prepaired and know your kite. I also have a knife but havnt mounted it yet, so also interested in hearing from others with knifes and best practices for this situation.
Rob Hyland
Cabrinha Shop Rider / Lakawa Team Rider
If this forum had the ability to click a "Like" feature like Facebook I would for this topic. Instead you get to read my redundant comment that I like this topic.
Unfortunately, I have cut my kite lines in a semi-urgent situation. I was drifitng to shore on WBL after my leading edge lost pressure through a not-so-slow leak. I made the mistake of not winding up my lines before I got to the Milfoil beds. My lines got wrapped up in the weeds and even though I was barely able to touch, I was starting to feel as if I was getting pulled under. I thought about dropping my bar and trying to retrieve it from the other ends of the lines attached to the kite. I decided it would be cheaper to replace the lines than the bar AND the lines, so I cut the lines. I have a Dakine spreader bar with the Dakine knife in the pad. I thought cutting the lines would be easy. It was NOT. I could only cut them one at a time and it took some sawing to get through them. Admittedly, the lines were not under tension which may have made a difference. If that had been a true emergency, I might have been in trouble. I have looked at the Scuba Center knife that other people carry and I would suggest that instead of the Dakine. I plan a trip to Scuba Center in the near future.
Hey guys, don't post often but thought it would be worth noting for those that choose to sport machetes on their person.....
On the note of knives, most safe and effective ones are the 'Z' knives, they come in all brands and sizes, they are typically stainless and should not rust but with exposure to salt water (for those SPIers and nomad kiters), sand etc, they will get thrashed over time so just like any other pieces of your safety equipment, they should be checked periodically.
Another thing to note, is the plastic housed Z's on the harnesses (not sure of the beefier ones I've seen some of you wear), are a one time use only and should be replaced if they ever are used.
As an emergency worker I carried one always and we had to, by regulation, replace them regardless of use, every month.
