AP's Big adventure

scottchapman · Post by **scottchapman** » Sun Jan 12, 2003 6:51 pm

I heard Joe went for quite a ride at Calhoun Today. big gust into a fence and boat house! The kite landed at Wells Fargo almost to lake and henn.
Are you OK?

joe · Post by **joe** » Sun Jan 12, 2003 7:30 pm

it wasn't me.

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Sun Jan 12, 2003 7:49 pm

I think we should let Alex describe the incident if he choses. Our Superman has somebody looking out for him, that's for sure.

BSMITH · Post by **BSMITH** » Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:46 pm

I almost did that the other day. I was carving a turn and I went up and backwards. If I dident have a helmet on I probably would have smashed my melon. Calhoun is GUSTY! It can be very scary fully powered on skates.

AP · Post by AP » Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:23 pm

Thanks to everyone who helped out and came to the rescue...Anna, Joe, Matt Z, John Z, Tighe, Larry....and a few others, Thankyou.
This is my version of the event...please pipe in if I left out any details....and other stories, like tracking down the kite.

Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, over near the bridge and boat house with Joe while Anna and another man were taking pictures. Most of the jumps were moderate height...5-15 feet. But the excitement started when I took a puff up to around 30-40 feet. I came down going rather fast, not so much down fast, but moving horizonally around 35-45mph. landed on my skates then slid on my butt into the concrete below the boat house fence/railing. That is when it got interesting. The kite came back to life and lifted me up over the fence. I ticked the top of the small tree then crashed into the boat house about 8 feet up and then crumpled down to the concrete pavers on my back. When I came to rest there, I pulled the shackle and let the kite go...

I think the kite ended up tangled in power wires across the street from Lunds.

The good news is that I feel pretty good today, a few bumps and bruises but no breaks.

Coach · Post by **Coach** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 4:24 pm

Sounds like it could have gotten a lot more ugly than that... Glad to hear you are OK, Alex.

(BTW, I thought Joe would appreciate the title change I made in the main database to this thread... it's no longer "Joe's" big adventure.

)

-Coach

Eric S · Post by **Eric S** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 5:02 pm

WOW! I'm glad you are OK AP. I'm glad "my hero" didn't get hurt worse.

Was there ONE thing that you could have avoided or forseen? I know that puffs can grab your kite but it sounds like you rode it out OK. I also know that when I've fallen with a powered kite on the ice sometimes it can pull you across the ice for a long ways.

I'm glad you are OK!!

eric s

scottchapman · Post by **scottchapman** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 7:03 pm

Sorry about the confusion. tighe and I saw the ambulance driving down the bike path over to the boat house and did not see Joe's kite and thought it was him. tighe then called me back and told me the story but did not change the names from when we talked, prior. Glad you had a helmet, I bet hockey gear is next. Boost big, but leave a cushion on your but and with obstacles.

joe · Post by **joe** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 7:17 pm

if we where smart, we wouldn't be kiting on calhoun in the first place.

Mike W · Post by **Mike W** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 7:26 pm

Amen! Especially in stronger wind. I was bruised up pretty badly last year on Calhoun when I was hurled about in the gusty stuff. When it gets strong I stay at WBL where the wind is much more consistent and predictable.

Coach · Post by **Coach** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 8:18 pm

Honestly, I figured Calhoun was safe for ice kiting... for some reason. Perhaps it's not so good for ice OR water.

The other issue is that it helps Larry out. People see the kites, talk to kiters, and go to Scuba Center. And, on average, for most people kiting Calhoun on the ice with a smaller kite than we'd normally use for water is pretty safe.

joe · Post by **joe** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 8:37 pm

ice kiting is not really safe anywhere.

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 9:55 pm

Not all winds are so gusty on Calhoun. West winds are for sure the most gusty because of that bluff on the west side. The buildings on the North side don't help much either.

I don't think that for other directions that Calhoun ( in the winter) is that different than any other body of ice that size. Obviously the longer the fetch the smoother the air. Sometimes though the smaller the lake the more snow it will have (less wind swept)

I don't think we can completely blame the wind or the lake on this one. Whatever the reason, the most important thing is that he had a quick release on his chicken loop. He said he saw the quick release, which is an orange loop, before he found his snap shackle pull. Flying anywhere with a fixed harness line or chicken loop without a quick release is just foolish. There were at least 3 deaths last year that could have been prevented with quick releases. That is why most manufacturers have them on the 2003 gear.
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Tom L · Post by **Tom L** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:41 am

The one common denominator between 2 of the deaths that I know the details of and this accident is collisions with hard objects or structures. Kiters should be aware of their proximity to immobile objects. And when on ice you have to give yourself even more (much more) distance in event of some sort of calamity. If you are a 1/8th or 1/4 mile upwind of immobile objects you may give your self the extra time that may save your life someday.

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 9:13 am

As many of you know, I can be quite long winded. I've posted my own particular take on the day in the Knowledge section. It truly was a great day culminating in a spectacular incident that's left us all grateful and more aware of all the conditions that go into riding at the extreme. Alex, you're more than amazing...these incidents teach more about life than any school could ever begin to. Let's keep the dialogue coming.

kyakmike · Post by **kyakmike** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 11:34 am

Sounds like I missed an interesting day.... Maybe that's why nobody replied to my prior question about my shackle setup... But the subject came up again, and I want to be safe, so I'll ask again for someone to give me some criticism on how I set up my shackle... two veiws at: http://www.frontiernet.net/~kyakmike/shackle1
and at: http://www.frontiernet.net/~kyakmike/shackle2

It's a wichard 2673, I have the leash release coming off the "bottom" and the shackle release coming off the "top" of the release mechanism... My Frenzy also has a pin and loop release on the chicken loop as a backup..
I guess I'm wondering if maybe I should have the leash release coming off a split ring inside the shackle instead of larks headed into the shackle release..
Thanks!!

Barry P · Post by **Barry P** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 11:56 am

Perhaps this is obvious, but no matter what kind of safety release setup you use make sure you test it under a full load. Some snap shackles require more and more force to release as the load increases. The time you really need it to release is going to be around one G and higher.

To try your system out, thrw a line over an overhead beam and hook in. Get you full weight (or more) on it, and then try the release. If it doesn't release nicely - trash it.

LAKAWA

AP's Big adventure

Joe's Big adventure

Ice, Concrete and Steel

Glad your OK!

One Sailor's Perspective on Jan. 12