My Ramsey Swim

[Barry P]

My adventure yesterday (5/22) at Ramsey Beach…

It was a beautiful day. I started Kiting from Ramsey Beach intending to tack up to the 'Gap' where the wind is stronger and waves are more fun as they come on to the shallows between the points where you exit Ramsey Bay and enter the main body of the lake. I was about 100 yards from my goal when my Control Bar loop slipped off the harness hook unexpectedly creating the good ‘ol unhooked power surge that popped the bar right out of my hands. Who has NOT had this happen at some point? Usually NDB. Normally the safety depower line would have activated at that point and I would simply reattach the loop to my harness and relaunch the kite and continue.

Instead the safety depower line snapped and the kite tumbled away from me and my board. I immediately started swimming with the board hoping to catch up with the kite which was now drifting downwind as it rested on the water, but the kite was drifting faster than I could swim. I had a full wet suit on and my harness has an air bladder so I had good flotation and was plenty warm, add my short surfboard to the mix which made it a long but easy swim. So I dropped into a pace I could hold and continued pursuing the kite.

I saw Jim kiting near the reef and hoped he'd pin the drifting kite down on the rocky reef so it wouldn't continue to the next shore. As it worked out the kite came up on the reef before Jim got there. I saw Jim come up onto the reef while I was still 3 or 400 yards out. The next time I looked he was kiting away and my kite was still there waiting for me.

I finally got to the reef where the kite was resting and set about getting the lines sorted out and kite set up to fly again so I could sail back to Ramsey Beach and get my spare Control Bar. While I was setting up I saw some friendly looking folks come up close to the reef in a boat. They had that look like they'd like to help, so I asked if they'd like to give me a lift to the beach. These kind people said that they would and I loaded my stuff in their boat. As they turned the boat around to head to the beach I noticed the large Water Patrol boat on the other side of the reef and then the folks in the boat told me they were from the Fire Department. Yikes!! "Did you come to rescue me? I am so sorry to have caused you so much trouble." Then I also noticed the assembly of Police cars and the Fire truck at the Ramsey Boat Launch. They laughed and said they enjoyed getting out for a fun ride and were just glad I was fine. I apologized some more. On the beach I talked with two or three officers about what had happened, apologized some more, and again received smiles and no ill will. I picked up my stuff and walked back to the picnic area where a half dozen kiters were waiting for more details.

Jim, visiting my kite on the reef, could spot no sign of me on the lake. Deciding that I was in trouble he had kited back to call 911 ASAP. Although it turned out I was OK I’m so glad to kite with caring, vigilant kiters like Jim. I told him that if I had found gear and no kiter, I would have done the same thing - pronto - just like he did. Thanks!

Since then I have ordered new lines to replace the safety depower cords on all my bars (in case any may also be weak).

In Kiting the first two rules I’ve always heard are
1) Always bring everything (since conditions are never as forecasted), and
2) Always dress for the swim.

Before going out I considered just wearing a shorty since the day was so nice, but I considered the water and followed rule #2 anyway. I would have been cold by the time I reached the kite in a shorty. It all turned out well. The rescue guys were great. Thanks!

Thank you, everyone, for your prompt response and friendly help.


Extra thoughts from yesterday….
1) I only have 1/2 of the safety depower left. Somehow I lost the bottom half with the rescue and all. The top half does not look like it has excessive wear. I have a second bar of about the same vintage and make, and on that the line looks very reasonable too... but I intend to replace the safety line on it too - just in case. I just looked up the specs for 1/8 inch spectra (which I believe this is) and it is listed with minimum tensile strength of 1400 lbs which sounds like more than enough even at 1/3 strength. A smooth increase in stress is a bit different than a violent snap however. This happened with the kite fairly low in the window so it really powered up and WHAM - gone.

My question: Is this kind of failure during a SNAP possibly a characteristic of Spectra/Dyneema itself since there almost no inherit stretch. I say this because long long ago I had equipped one of my winter kites (Flexifoil Blade) with 1/8 inch Spectra at the bar and had a similar failure on a violent power change. At the time I sort of wondered if the shop that sold the Spectra to me had actually sold me something that looked like Spectra but really was not. I think still have it but have not dared to use it for anything since I saw it fail once with almost NO WEAR (I remember that very clearly).

2) Jim did not see me though he was intensely searching the water while standing on the reef. I was swimming while resting one arm on my bright red surfboard board. The only other thing that could have been visible (since I was stretched out flat in the water trying to make speed) was my helmet which is Olive Drab (a great color for camouflage). Most helmets I’ve see are not any kind of color that would stand out in water. Kevin O has suggested adding some bright tape to my helmet. I think that’s a good idea.

[Tim Dunklee]

Thanks for posting your story Barry! It's always good to share things like this for the good of the community. I'm glad everything worked out fine. I'm going to go check my depower lines...

[Kevinousdigian]

Glad you were fine Barry. I thought rule #1 is don't kite alone...
so that if your in trouble at least someone may help or call for help.

What a stretch of good winds. 7 of last 9 days have been 11m or better.

[Randy]

Thanks, Barry. I agree with Terry, we need more thought out responses like yours that explain how to handle events when they don't turn out as expected. I really like the calm and clarity you seemed to carry through a difficult situation. Also, thanks to Jim's swift response. Too often we assume everything is fine when we don't have all the info. I recall almost drowning at Ramsey as I chased my rig down, sailors thinking I was ok. I lucked out and hit shallow water just in time. Again, thanks LAKAWA for all the lessons learned.

[johnz]

Wow, great story, lots of good tips.

The helmet color is one I've never thought of before.

I've been in that same position as Jim - desperately trying to locate someone in the water. I found them, but it took too long.

I'm thinking about spray painting that bad boy orange.

Yes, I do mean Jim.... and my helmet too.

[krazykatie]

Thanks for sharing! I've been shopping for a new helmet. I was considering ditching the yellow wondering how often it would really come in handy. This made my decision.

[Judd or Dianne]

Well Barry, glad everything went well in the end. It was a very strange experience having Jim come in and telling me to call 911, seemed unreal. What I couldn't believe is the 911 dispatcher transfered me 3 times. Finally on the last transfer I asked "has anyone sent someone" They had on the first call, but unreal 3 different dispatchers???

Good kiting with you Barry
Dianne

[wyatt]

I don't think anyone answered your question, but the word on the street is that spectra deteriorates over time in sunlight. The sailors I know who use it replace it annually for this reason (I have seen spectra lines snap at inopportune times). For me the tradeoff doesn't work - 3/8" polyester line should have all the strength you need (>4000 lbs breaking strength) and it'll last for years. If you're only using a couple of inches of it, do you really care if it stretches?