Be Aware

[Tighe]

Recently there was a kiteboarding death that could have easily been prevented.

All kites sold within the last few years have a quick release built into their leash. It is absolutely critical that the leash be connected with the quick release on the harness side NOT THE KITE SIDE.

The recent death was caused by an out of control kite and the rider having the leash attached incorrectly. If you are getting pulled you have very little chance of pulling in that leash and activating a QR. 99.9999% of the time popping from your chicken loop (or something similar) will kill the power of the kite. In the fluke situation when it doesn't you really want a way to completely break free from the kite, because at that point you are "flying" the kite by one line...your leash.

I see people all the time with their leash on backwards. Be Aware!!! This is worse than no leash at all.

I do think the manufacturers can do a better job and make these systems more fool proof. Naish had a system that had a permanently attached buckle to the harness and a clip for the kite side.

Maybe a simple solution would be to cut off a short section of bike tube and then once your leash is attached correctly to the harness, slide the tube up and over that clip.

I teach students to hook the kite side of the leash to the spreader bar hook when done riding. This will remind you to put it on your kite next time and keep it from getting mixed up with the other side.

ride on...safely

[chanrider]

Tighe, I think you are giving people good advice... but I would also say that any leash that can drag an adult male half way across the Laguna Madre without giving way is just not safe. A kite leash should only have the strength to hold a DEPOWERED kite, any stronger pull should eventually break loose the quick release or shackle.

The leashes SS provided with Turbo 1's and 2's are probably more suitable for pulling your car out of ditch than attaching yourself to a kite. My advice is buy a leash for a small foil or training kite with a low strength quick release and use this instead. Or add a low strength QR to your harness and attach the SS leash there. If you get knocked out or just can't hit the QR for whatever reason hopefully the leash will just separate before dragging you very long.

So yes, kook-proofing the QR is a great idea, but I also want a leash that breaks away on it's own under a powered up dragging scenario. As much as I love SS kites I do not like the stock T1 and T2 leashes at all. Rant over.

[tyson]

A kite leash should only have the strength to hold a DEPOWERED kite, any stronger pull should eventually break loose the quick release or shackle.

I disagree. In most cases, if the leash is pulling a powered kite, then the kite normally finds its way into the water (apart from the rare death-spirals). If kites broke away from the leash, it would be a much larger saftey concern to bystanders and other kiters. (Or a nearyby highway?)

The reason for the QR is so the rider can make that judgment call. Having a leash that breaks removes that decision, which could very easily lead to much more complicated situations.

[Tighe]

Good point Mark, but I'm not sure how that would work. The initial goal of the bows was to make them safer, in the case that you got knocked out. For the most part they are. If you were to get knocked out, you'ld let go of the bar and the kite would depower, or in the worst scenaro, sit downwind slowly pulling you downwind. If you were concious AND pulled your QR on your chicken loop then became unconcious, AND you had the fluke situation where the kite didn't depower for some reason, then you're in trouble. That's a unique situation though.

I agree with Tyson. If you make a leash that breaks under some amount of tension, you'ld have a lot of loose kites, kiters stranded out in the open water, and people not using them.

I don't have the answer. The new kites are so much safer though I'm sure they could be made even more so. I just don't think a pressure sensitive leash is the answer. This was an unfortunate situation that was the result of human err. He put his leash on incorrectly. I really like the SS leashes, though wish they were more kook proof.

[Kevinousdigian]

Thanks for the discussion on this important topic. In the back pocket of the fusion harnesses there is a sharp 'knife'. Is this meant to cut the lines if your SOL? If so what is the chance you could actually pull it out when your SOL. It seems like one would need to attach this somewhere on the front if you were going to get at it when your being pulled. I think Jerry mentioned he has done something like that.
Is that knife intended for that desperate situation? Do you agree it that it is unpractical for that situation?

Also do the SS quick releases work 100% of the time or can they get stuck and not release quickly?
Kevin

[chanrider]

Kevin, Tyson and Tighe have about a zillion more times experience than I, so I would listen to them on this topic... but as an average Joe kiter here is my advice. The knife is important and I would double check that you have it every session and it's not rusted out and can still cut. Consider a second knife attached in front just in case you lose the first knife in a kitemare (I don't have one yet but am looking for one after the SPI accident).

The main reason I do not like the T1/T2 stock leashes is they appear too thick to cut and I do not want to be attached to the kite by anything I can't cut. Again, just adding an inexpensive light weight QR to your harness prolly solves the issue cuz you should hopefully be able to activate it, cut it or it comes apart on its own before you get dragged too far.

The really good news is today's kites are way safer than ever and SS appears to be very much headed in the right direction with below the bar safety on the Rev and now the T3... can't wait to try the T3!

[Tighe]

Don't trust those knives in the harnesses. I had a line caught in the jetski last year and dove down to cut it with one of those knives. I had to saw with it for two or three attempts before I was able to cut a flying line. The best approach is to get a quality knife and attach it in convenient location.

[Paul F]

Do kite harnesses have a QR that detaches the hook from the harness? When I windsurf I make a note of where the harness release is before I go out in case I get trapped under the sail.

Also, when you give lessons do you actually practice using the QR? When I took scuba lessons, we practiced all sorts of disaster recovery techniques. The goal was to avoid panic when the real thing happens.

Looks like I may be coming back to Minnesota for awhile. I am no longer with Intel.

[DavidKnight]

I think Nancy turned me on (sorry Steve) to this knife. It's a carabiner knife/tool made by Kershaw. Here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Kershaw-National- ... B0009VC9NQ

[champlin]

Very interesting posting on the subject. Really in my personal opinion truth is if you even had a knife in a dire kite drag situation there is no way you could get to the knife and cut at your lines. being a realist, usually when you have kitemare it's over in a a matter of 10 seconds or less, if you didn't do anything in the 10 seconds whatever was going to happen to you is going to happen, most people in a pressure situation freeze and hang on to things like your bar. The leash thing as Tighe and Tyson point out was human error, IF he would have had it on correctly more than likely when he reached and pulled it it would have worked, i have not heard of anyone pulling on a leash and not have ut release unless you were shackled in and the load was too much and it failed. I do agree and when I was with Tighe teaching I had suggested that while in the water people practice ejecting out of the Chicken loop, most people don't even know what there kite will do if they do eject and when the time comes to do so they get surprised and don't know what to do afterwards. Tighe if you have not incorporated this into your training I would hope that maybe you would think about it, it's a good practice. I will be training Caroline this summer and before the body dragging even starts this is something she will learn to do, how to eject out of the Chicken loop and what the kite will do and how to recover. so the moral to my ramble is to learn your safety system, use it every once in a while, if your lines get messed up no big deal, but it's important, nobody wants to see anyone get dragged and seriously injured.

Happy kiting all and be safe out there, we have been kiting in this state now for quite a while and have a few close calls in emergency situations but nobody as far as I know has been hurt yet, knock on wood.

[Bryce]

I have a liquid force harness. They have a qr on both sides of handlepass leash.

You have a little redundancy, if you can't get your leash qr off... then you can pull the QR on the harness.


http://www.realkiteboarding.com/index.c ... em&id=1307

[Nancy]

Man, my heart rate really goes up when I read posts like this!! One thing I fully intend to do this year is spend some more time practicing releases. We all have days where the wind gets light & we are anxious to get in, get to our coolers, get home...whatever. What a great time to enlist a friend to help and go through it all. That's my plan, anyway.

[champlin]

Excellent Idea Nancy, any time you would like to do that just let me know and I'll give you a hand anytime, I could use some practice myself on the new kites I have been flying. I'm not to worried about myself but it's Caroline that I would like to have join us so that she could get a real feel for what happens when the release is activaed in the water and how to recover the kite and bar.

[Tighe]

yes all very good points. I do try as best as possible to go through the safeties and the process.

When I learned scuba diving the instructor would come up to you (60ft down) and knock off your goggles just to see how you reacted. If you freaked he'd fail you. The biggest challenge I see is connecting FEAR with the GO FOR THE RELEASE action. Whenever I have had students getting themselves in trouble they tell me the thought they could get it under control. It's a switch in focus from trying to regain control of the kite to OMG I gotta break free. And as Scott points out, seconds count. I've often thought about bringing out an airhorn, and telling students if they hear it to go for their release. Then at some random time during the lesson scare them with it to try and connect the two.

With the new kites, letting go of the bar many times will kill the power. But as Scott pointed out when you're going into a crash, the last thing you'll do is let go of the one thing you think will give you control. Most students have a vise grip on the bar and to make matters worse, instinctually pull in on the bar to pull it closer to their core where they have more strength. This is a stereotype that is hard to break. It is a good life lesson though. When things get hairy...let go.

It really helps having the earphones in the helmets. I can usually see problems before they happen and get in their ear about what to do. Does it create a security blanket? Nah, I think as people have pointed it out, just knowing that that reaction ends the excitement is a good thing.

I've stated this before. The three things that I preach about safety.
Location:
Choose a riding spot with a good buffer zone downwind. 2-3 kite line lengths is minimal. If the conditions are unique for you (higher winds, trying new tricks, uncertain weather, etc) double or triple that.

Before you power up any kite, think through:
How am I going to turn off the power?
If that doesn't work, how am I going to break free from the kite?

If you think through (and frequently go through the motions) everytime you launch your kite, you'll ensure you know your safeties, that they are attached correctly, and that you'll probably be able to find them when needed. It takes two seconds to pause and think through these things but it could save your life.

Another really good thing to do is to think through what your safety is doing especially when you get a new kite. All safety systems are different. Practice killing the power.
I work with Midwest Mountaineering to ensure that every kite that goes out the door, gets a product walk through (set up, launching, landing, safety systems) by either myself or one of our instructors. If you just purchased a new kite (from wherever), utilize the local team riders to make sure you understand your kite PRIOR to your first session.

this is all great discussion. Too bad such a tragedy has to happen for us to bring this up again.

[Matt Z]

I was doing a downwinder on the Oregon coast and wind dropped off very quickly. My kite went down, large 8 ft wave hit me from behind and tumbled me all around. When I came up I pulled my quick release and grabbed my OS handle. While getting tossed around I had gotten all rolled up in my lines. The big waves kept coming and hitting me then my kite and my kite was pulling me under water repeatedly. The first thing I tried to do while I was getting pulled under water was grab for my hook knife. It had apparently fallen out at some point and wasn't there. I had on a 4.3 wet suit with an ocean rodeo drysuit on over; I broke two lines with my body, calf and mid back. I also figured out if I swam at my kite right before the wave hit it that it lessened my underwater drag time. Obviously, I made it to shore and all was well minus two broken lines and a funny bruise on my calf.
Moral of the story? I think those hook knives are a good idea, they aren't hard to grab, you just need to make sure it's there before you go out, many kite problems last more than 10 seconds as the responsible kiter should be a nice safe distance from shore.

[steveb]

One of the things about the accident I don't understand, is how could a guy get dragged past so many kiters and no one helped?.
Kitemares happen, I've had a few, Nancy had her first last year. There were only two of us on the lake at the time, but we ride semi close to each other so the other can respond if needed, so I was able to help. After years of windsurfing together we have learned to watch each other and always be subconsiously aware of where the other rider is.
Over the 20 odd years of water sports in this community I can't remember how many times I have helped someone and how many times I've been helped by others when I have some sort of problem.
When you're on the water you have a shared responsibility to be aware of your buddies in the community, if you see problems,help. If you're not sure if someones in difficulty stop and ask. It's better to be asked 20 times if you're in difficulty and say No, that it is to be in difficulty and everyone assume you're OK.
Be alert on the water, kiting has created some new problems for us to deal with,but windsurfers can have problems and drown just as easily, so watch every one.
This spring the waters going to be cold, for those of you with little experience of this you need to know cold water saps your energy very fast, energy goes to trying to warm your core in extreme cold. So you tire very fast. I mean very fast, a 30 yard swim can be the end of someone.
So until the waters nice and warm be very aware of your own limitations and keep an eye on everyone.
Those of us who were windsurfers ,before the kiting thing came a long , had a fairly small tight community. It was easy to know everyone and Keep an eye. Now there's loads of new people, the community is bigger than it's ever been. So it's going to get harder and harder to keep track of everyone, make sure people know you, make sure they know you're going on the water, be sure of how to help a windsurfer or kiter with problems. If you don't know how...ask.

[Tom L]

Jerry Sandell used to have his hook knife in a holder right on the front of his helmet. I've also seen guys put it in a hollowed out section of foam at the rear, or front of the helmet. Some good ideas to be explored. I think where the manufacturers usually put the knife (at the back of your harness) is the worst place possible. It's going to be very hard, if not impossible, to reach in an emergency.

[pete168]

My dakine harness came with one of the small line cutters that's velcroed into a back pocket. You might be able to find the loop on a good day in the water if your lucky. Once you put on a pair of gloves the thin pull tab is impossible to locate. At first I was going to zip tie on a practice golf ball, but that wouldn't feel too good landing on your back! Instead I have a carabiner hooked through the loop. This lets me miss a landing without getting impaled but I can still find the carabiner attached to the knife even with heavy mitts for those copld days. Plus, you can never have too many carabiners on hand!

Pete

[champlin]

This is an excellent post, I think Steve B mentions something thati haven't seen a lot of kiters do and thats ask another person in passing if they are O.K. I always try and ask if I even think someone is in trouble, you never know if someone is in trouble unless you ask. It's nice to know that so many new people are out there and trying the sport it's awesome, I was thinking maybe we should make up a sign for the Reddy Creek beach and Malmo beach as to things to do when kiting in these area's, like don't kite by the beach close to swimmers, don't jump close to shore, Keep your distance from boaters and so on, I don't want to call them rules because they are not rules they would be suggestions. I could get in touch with the DNR up there again and ask if they didn't mind if we put one up there..what does everyone think? We could get a collective of like 10 major things to remember before going out, maybe it would put the swimmers who use Reddy Creek at ease a little more too? This is just a suggestion, I don't want anyone to think I am suggesting to put up rules being nobody owns the beach, it would just be a sign for safety things to remember before goiong out, might sound funny but people forget things all the time like leashes.

[Paul F]

When I learned scuba diving the instructor would come up to you (60ft down) and knock off your goggles just to see how you reacted. If you freaked he'd fail you. The biggest challenge I see is connecting FEAR with the GO FOR THE RELEASE action. Whenever I have had students getting themselves in trouble they tell me the thought they could get it under control. It's a switch in focus from trying to regain control of the kite to OMG I gotta break free. And as Scott points out, seconds count. I've often thought about bringing out an airhorn, and telling students if they hear it to go for their release. Then at some random time during the lesson scare them with it to try and connect the two.

I was thinking of drills like "ditch and don". Ditch your equipment on the bottom of the pool or lake, swim to the surface and then swim down and don your equipment. As a totally off the wall brainstorming suggestion, simulate the accident where the bar is out of reach for instance by dragging someone on your jet ski by the leash and see if:

• A)they can calmly keep their head above water with all effort done by the hook or
  B) do a QR with their head under water

I have no idea if "A" is possible. Remember the Dilbert Dunker in "Officer and a Gentleman" The Navy pilot trainees had to release their seat belts under water. You could call your jet ski the Belden Dunker