29 yo woman dies in Aytré / France (near La Rochelle)

[Hugh2]

Sorry to hear of yet another fatality.

Those rocks remind me of Milnerton lagoon in Cape Town, where at least two kiters have died in the past decade that I've been kiting there. In the winter when the SEaster is not blowing, some kiters are tempted to kite in that tiny lagoon mouth, including doing tricks, but doing so on a westerly wind means any mistake can send you into the rocks.

I've taught a couple of people to kite, including my daughter. One person is a very good windsurfer, but even with a trainer kite she managed to get dragged, and eventually decided it was not for her. Another was a macho, extremely good windsurfer who simply would not let go of the bar no matter what, and after a few episodes of hanging on with one hand and tomahawking my kite into the water, I declined to help him further. As said above by others, not everyone is cut out for this sport.

[Bille]

...

Kiteboarding is epic, but never downplay the safety aspect - there are not many sports where the equipment can throw you 60ft onto you head from a momentary lapse of judgement or due to the effects of erratic weather. It's a flying sport where we pilot a wing after all!

...

Well said ; and i agree Completely !!

At age 29 , that young lady should have had another 50-years to enjoy life ; she
didn't make it, perhaps because of a momentary laps in concentration.

I'm Hoping she didn't have her kite at zenith, when that accident happened ; or
was it caused by a Bad launch ?

Bille

[or6]

RIP. Poor woman, poor relatives.
Yes, if I understand the articles correctly she was launching the kite and lost control. Apparently, she never made it to the water. Conditions at the time were, according to a local instructor (teaching at the beach at the time) 'super calm'. Apparently the local authorities are still investigating the cause of the bad launch. The victim was a very experienced windsurfer, but her experience at kitesurfing is unknown, according to the article.

Unless there's a follow-up here, we'll probably never know what happened. One thing is for sure; launching and landing is where we need to pay most attention!
Regards, Or6