Things Safety Rick Won't Tell You

[Satan]

I'll try this post in a way it won't get moved to Flamer's Paradise.

1. This whole thing about keeping the kite low thing is a huge oversimplification of the problem. If you are 75kg then you have 75 kg of force to pull against the kite when it is directly above you. If you have the kite low then you may have more force or less force to pull against the kite depending on what kind of surface you are on. For example, if you are on nice sand with good traction you will get more force to pull against the kite then 75 kg if you keep the kite low. If you are on ice you will have zero force if you keep the kite low. There are many surfaces in between, for example slippery rocks, sharp shells with no booties (you can't dig in here), slippery mud, etc. Once you lose your grip with the kite low you lose most of your force against the kite. With the kite above you the kite pulls you straight up and you land back down usually pretty softly and you always retain the 75 kg of force. Keeping the kite low is necessary in some situations. Keeping the kite high is necessary in other situations. In most situations it just doesn't matter where it is.

Keeping the kite low required more rider input and thus has a great chance for oversteering the kite if the rider is distracted by something else. Unless you can keep your full attention with the kite, keep it high.

Bottom line, a 70 knot gust will take you for a ride regardless. Telling people that keeping the kite low is safer is a joke. It's been repeated so many times, that everyone believes it to be a fact. It's not.

2. Holding the bar by the ends is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do. Oversteering the kite is what causes most (not all) "loftings" including this most recent lofting of Kevin in Florida. Safety Rick wants to blame it on the weather. What really happens most of the time (not all) is that some guy gets hit by a gust, loses his balance and oversteers the kite, generating a lot of power at the worst time. Holding the bar in the middle give you something to balance against with out steering the kite too much. He won't comment on this because he knows it's true and he holds the bar at the ends.

3. Lulls are more dangerous then gusts.

4. COREGS won't help anyone navigate a crowded kite spot. I don't even know what COREGS are. I think they are something about right hand forward (starboard tack) has the right of way. This makes no practical sense at most kite spots. People say it's an international rule that's been in place for 10,000 years. Well guess what? Our sport is new. It's faster and more dynamic than yachts cruising around in the sea. Who even knows what right of way means? Does that mean you go upwind? What if the rider is a beginner that can't hold an edge? The list of exceptions goes on and on, to the point to where it only makes sense if you have two identical riders on identical gear approaching on flat water with no one else around, at which point you have to wonder why they would even need COREGS to avoid a collision.

[Windrider]

...
4. COREGS won't help anyone navigate a crowded kite spot. I don't even know what COREGS are. I think they are something about right hand forward (starboard tack) has the right of way. This makes no practical sense at most kite spots. People say it's an international rule that's been in place for 10,000 years. Well guess what? Our sport is new. It's faster and more dynamic than yachts cruising around in the sea. Who even knows what right of way means? Does that mean you go upwind? What if the rider is a beginner that can't hold an edge? The list of exceptions goes on and on, to the point to where it only makes sense if you have two identical riders on identical gear approaching on flat water with no one else around, at which point you have to wonder why they would even need COREGS to avoid a collision.

Well, you were on a roll up until #4.... then out of the the mouth of babes comes..... gibberish.

Revving too fast makes your mental wheels lose traction.

Think "law of large numbers" as opposed to the "possibility of infinite exceptions." Rules for cooperative interaction will generally assume an expected value of skill level as the norm, and apply sets of recommended actions to enable that majority to interact with least disruption to their overall system.

[Toby]

I agree, 1-3 is something to discuss about. 4 is important to have as a basic rule to make things work in a crowded spot. And it works. ut in waves, and approaching shore etc other rules count.

[afflatus]

Satan,
I think you'll find rick has backed way off off the low and go thing.

I'd like to think his only goal with catch phrase was to discourage the practice of just standing on the beach chatting with your kite floating around up there, out of site out of mind.

That's what I prefer to think anyway...

Take some solace from the fact that he has scrapped that avatar (Keep it Low and Go) for something a little more

see me (pun intended)
-----------------------
f*** with rick too much and the tob-ster will deactivate your ass...

I guarantee it

careful...

talking kiting is the way to keep it from getting personal.

Note to rick:

asking for real names and credentials is not keeping it about kiting...
Afflatus

we have no angels posting here we all have our faults

[jakemoore]

If you are keeping it low with your heels dug into the sand does that just give you more "pop" when the 70 kt gust comes through?

I am a big fan of the second part of RickI's slogan; "and go" If you keep it low and your kite is pointing to the water and the gust comes, no big deal right? If you are coming in or you are launching with your kite toward the road and the gust comes it could be a pretty big deal.

If I am at all unsure of conditions I like to put my kite down in the water usually while riding downwind to reduce appearant windspeed. But you would want a kite that goes to a single line with little pull or propeller like a foil or a 5 liner.

There needs to be some method of determing right of way especially in crowded waters and the international sailing rules seem like a sensible place to start.

[tomatkins]

#1 states:

"Keeping the kite low required more rider input and thus has a great chance for oversteering the kite if the rider is distracted by something else. Unless you can keep your full attention with the kite, keep it high."

I have always had better luck when throwing my kite to its safety, from a low position in the sky, than from a high position...less of the wild rotations and pull.

That fact is a plus for keeping the kite low, in situations where impending, drastic action may be needed.

[mulletrider]

Think "law of large numbers" as opposed to the "possibility of infinite exceptions."

I'm totally using that on my girlfriend in our next arguement.

not sure I understand #3, why are lulls more dangerous??

[afflatus]

Verification

keep it low and go enables the poor choice.

like it or not, that's a step in the wrong direction;

if impending doom is looming, best to pull it,

if you dig in and wait for the yank to happen, then you'll decide?

see what I mean?

any questions?

#1 states:

"Keeping the kite low required more rider input and thus has a great chance for oversteering the kite if the rider is distracted by something else. Unless you can keep your full attention with the kite, keep it high."

I have always had better luck when throwing my kite to its safety, from a low position in the sky, than from a high position...less of the wild rotations and pull.

That fact is a plus for keeping the kite low, in situations where impending, drastic action may be needed.

[Skyway Scott]

Just keep at it Fo.

[afflatus]

been at for years without
effect...

It's such a catchy phrase....

and we all need that excuse to go anyway......

Probably the most destructive well intentioned phrase in the history of kiting...

bad mojo can be a prize possession, hard to one's prize possessions away

Just keep at it Fo.