Mr_Weetabix wrote: ↑Sun May 27, 2012 5:56 am
A couple of days ago, Mrs Weetabix pulled a drowning kid out of the pool. His mom was only a few feet away, but he wasn't making a sound, and she didn't realize that there was a problem until Mrs W had him out of the pool, coughing up water.
Take a look at
this article. What I found particularly sobering was this line:
It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC).
I doubt that this will save many kiters - we're generally decent swimmers and there are usually other indicators when we get into difficulties. However, as regular beach users (and hopefully competent swimmers) we have a duty to look out for other beachgoers - particularly kids whose parents might not realize that they need help.
I would like to bump this thread up because it's old and many people have joined the sport since, and know how to kite but know almost nothing of the sea, waves, currents, weather and safety at sea.
Personally I pulled a dead boy out of the water once when I was kitesurfing (the boy was a beach-goer) and assisted in search for 3 drowned teenagers another time (water was turbid so jumped a lot trying to see if I could see the bodies from above). It's no fun.
I see so many even fairly competent kitesurfers behaving like they are having a party in the safety of their local gym. If I see someone crashes and they did not relaunch within a minute, then I'll do a drive-by to check them out. If I see a beachgoer swimming far out I approach from downwind real slow and have a 20-second chat (done it a dozen times, they always turn back).
When on the water keep an eye out for each other at all times, it's not a chore, it's just common seamanship.
The more people read this article the better!