Polish Kiter missing on Red Sea

[SBBeachbum]

... It just takes one more thing to go wrong than you planned for to go wrong and you are DEAD.

Good post about the perils of the sea.

Based on the limited info I've read, it appears to me the polish gent prepared well to look after himself alone at sea, and to seek help if necessary (including electronics and flares).

However, kiteboarding isn't well suited to offshore self recue so there may be unreasonable reliance upon public rescue services. Although mishaps requiring rescue can occasionally happen in any seafaring discipline, the likelihood of that for a kiteboarder without a support craft is simply way too high to be reasonable. Obviously, even lack of wind can strand a kiteboarder.

The only remotely reasonable unsupported kite crossing I can imagine would be in a region with wind that is almost 100.0% reliable, and only then if the kiteboarder has painstakingly modified every point of potential equipment failure, including lines and bladders.

Cheers,
James

Amen.

[EvanOR]

Wow - a few things one learns (or ought to) as a blue water mariner are that:

1) Weather forecasts are unreliable, no matter how reliable the weather in the area is purported to be.

2) Hope for the best, but plan for and expect the worst.

3) Have a backup plan for the backup plan - and repeat, the more the better.

I admire his guts and ambition, but basing the entire success of this operation on a) the wind not shutting down and b) the reliability of an electronic device that c) may result in a rescue while you d) may still be alive was clearly not prudent. He was rolling the dice - period.

If this was posted on a sailing form he'd be ridiculed mercilessly, and he'd find no sympathy. But hey, we all make mistakes - hopefully you have luck on your side the first time so you get the chance to avoid making them again.

[Laughingman]

Wow - a few things one learns (or ought to) as a blue water mariner are that:

1) Weather forecasts are unreliable, no matter how reliable the weather in the area is purported to be.

2) Hope for the best, but plan for and expect the worst.

3) Have a backup plan for the backup plan - and repeat, the more the better.

I admire his guts and ambition, but basing the entire success of this operation on a) the wind not shutting down and b) the reliability of an electronic device that c) may result in a rescue while you d) may still be alive was clearly not prudent. He was rolling the dice - period.

If this was posted on a sailing form he'd be ridiculed mercilessly, and he'd find no sympathy. But hey, we all make mistakes - hopefully you have luck on your side the first time so you get the chance to avoid making them again.

Well said Evan.

[Mr_Weetabix]

And as long as they pay for the costs and not others have to pay for it, they can do what they want. Simple.

Not that simple - it's not just about money.

If you are going to put youself in harm's way, fine. Make it as tough on yourself as you like. However, if you think you may have to call for help, it's your responsibility to make it as easy for the emergency services, your friends or your family to give you that help as possible.

Sometimes the SAR guys have to put themselves at risk to get you, but even if this isn't the case (a recovery on a windless day in the Red Sea isn't going to be particularly challenging, once you've found your man), the more time SAR spend looking for you, the more time their resources are kept busy, unable to deal with other emergencies. The more time it takes to mobilise SAR, the more time your friends and family are being subjected to unecessary stress.

"Call for help" is not a viable contingency plan, particularly if it's a plan that you're quite likely to have to act on ("if the wind drops" carries a pretty high probability in the Red Sea). If you don't know what happens when you push that SOS button, best find out before you leave home, unless you want your life to depend on your worried friends looking for SAR contact details on Facebook while your family go on TV to ask for help.

[Staatik]

+1 to Mr_Weetabix

[kitenaked]

Is the swollen face,a result of too much sun exposure,or is he related to Popeye ?

Quagmire.JPG (20.42 KiB) Viewed 1722 times

There is some resemblance in these two tools!

[marlboroughman]

Wow, I am sure when you guys do it you will contact the Saudis ahead of time and they will put their SAR on the highest state of no watching porn and jerking off in the front of computer state of alertness because there is kitesurfer at the sea who might or might not get in trouble. They will also take refresher courses in GPS coordinates conversion because you told them to. The mayors of all the cities along the cost will stand by on the other side to welcome you with bread salt and water in fine East European tradition which they took time to research well ahead of your glories crossing.

[kitenaked]

[Mr_Weetabix]

Wow, I am sure when you guys do it you will contact the Saudis ahead of time and they will put their SAR on the highest state of no watching porn and jerking off in the front of computer state of alertness because there is kitesurfer at the sea who might or might not get in trouble. They will also take refresher courses in GPS coordinates conversion because you told them to. The mayors of all the cities along the cost will stand by on the other side to welcome you with bread salt and water in fine East European tradition which they took time to research well ahead of your glories crossing.

No, but I'd do a little research ahead of time, so that my mates had a number to call if I needed rescuing. I'd make sure that someone was waiting for me at the other end.

Here's a post from a Middle Eastern (not Saudi) Facebook group on Saturday evening:

Here Janek's family need your help! Does anyone have a contact in Saudi Arabia to give us some help in the search for Janek, because there are problems with coordination Polish SAR and SAR Saudi Arabia. LATE-BREAKING info Janek still not found, the media has contradictory information.

I've spent most of my working life in countries with worse healthcare, worse emergency services and often less political stability than my home country. So, I make sure that I have health insurance with an allowance for emergency medevac if I get badly sick or hurt, I make sure that I know how to get to the airport and I let my embassy know where I live and work, so that if the shit really hits the fan they know where to send the marines to find me. This isn't difficult, and the majority of expats in less-developed countries do the same thing.

Following your logic, this is excessive. My response plan for, say, being involved in a traffic accident, would be "phone my mom back home and she'll sort everything out".

Sorry, but f*** that.

[marlboroughman]

You are quoting desperate first communications after the first contact with SAR. It is still unclear if the miscommunication was due to conversion issues or just plain English. Jan has said that they flew helicopter right above him and one rescue boat almost run him over. They just could not see him. As far as calling in Marines they only come if there is young pretty woman being you know what, just the observation, so be vigilant.