Whats your stupid story?

[plummet]

Everyone has a kiting story of when they did something really stupid and lived to tell the tale.

Whats your story and what did you learn from it?

[SLiiCK]

Got back from a kitesurfing holiday in caberete back in 2002(full of confidence and a bit cocky) went to my local beach and tried to self launch my 12m cabrinha c kite in 35 gusting higher and got lofted all the way down the beach cross shore wind before hitting my safety, always respect the power of the wind was my hard lesson

[Laughingman]

Everyone has a kiting story of when they did something really stupid and lived to tell the tale.

Whats your story and what did you learn from it?

3 years into kiting, I'm in Hatteras with a very gusty side shore wind ...maybe even slightly side off. Many of the group we were with have been out and I decide I should be able to handle it... I go out and having a good session first of the spring season enjoying every minute of it. Then I see off in the distance a kite that seems to be totally free tumbling out into the sound. I go way out past where I am comfortable to find my friend standing in chest deep water with his kite slowly making its way further away from him and the shore. His leash broke. I say if I can get hold of your kite can you make it to me? He says yes.... So I go after it. I quickly realize the water is deeper then I can manage to hold he kite. In the confusion I mismanage my kite and get loafed away from my board and the kite I was trying to rescue... My kite crashes and with the line extensions I was using ( not even sure why) it took some time to get the kite back in the air... I had lost sight my friend and of the other kite and could not find my board even after what seemed like a lifetime of body dragging. I was in a position miles off shore being blown out further by the minute and no idea of what happened to my friend, his kite or my board. Exhausted I choose to body drag toward shore. I ended up coming in at kitty hawk. My other friends in the mean time had realized we were missing and were in the process of organizing a search. I was okay but the guy I had attempted to help was not yet found... He made his way to shore eventually and rescue was not launched in the end.
What did I learn...? I learned to never attempt to help someone if you are not skilled in doing so. My efforts would have been more valued if I had gone to shore and alerted others that there was a situation that needed attention. Regardless of my failed attempt, others in our group were able to rescue the loose kite and the pilot made his way in once he saw me lose control.
I credit myself for giving up on my board before I ended up drowning, I am not sure what I would have done if my friend didn't make it in but I was not able to do much else once I set the kite recuse plan in motion. If he had drowned it would have been on me.
So plummet. You started this thread... What's your stupid story?

[plummet]

Well i have many stupid stories. Here's one of them. I loaded this up the other day on another thread.

But its relevant here too.

I had an overpowered instance last year on my 6m Reo. To be honest I was surprised. That kite holds gobs and gobs of power.

Anyway it was one of the stupidest situations I have put myself in.
Deserted country beach, 30+ knots cross/off with a hell wind shadow in the lee of a cliff in the launch area.

I get the kite to the edge of the water and wade into the water and solo drag launch in the wind shadow 20-40knot gusts. That went fine. I wade out deep to launch. I pull the kite to the zenith to do my water start. Then BOOM. Lofted into the air!. Its alight I'm over the water. I just fly the kite and splash down.

I get going and head out through the surf. The surf is raging. I strike a lull in the sets which is probably still double head. Then I get past the wind shadow and all hell breaks loose. Its not 20-40 knots any more!. Its something a lot more than that. perhaps 35 knot lulls? and god knows what gusts. I get outback to see house sized walls of water heading my way.

I realise at that point its a live and death situation.

I turn to run back to the beach, fully depowered and bar out. Nek minut... I'm doing the hell out death run. Plus a triple head monster is jacking up. right next to me. I threw one of my overpowered slow down jumps and slowed down enough to hold an edge after landing and turn down the face of the wave. I rode the monster wave then blasted out in front of it at full speed towards the shore. When I got into the shallows I dumped to safety instantly so the kite it the water and got washed in.

A very stupid situation.

[BWD]

stupid, maybe but I bet you wouldn't be too ashamed of it if it was on video....

My stupid is crashing a kite across a dock covered in barnacles.
The dock boards catch the lines and keep them all up and spread out -and impossible to flag.
The kite stays powered and pulls me into the dock, covered in barnacles.
I have to scramble up and over the dock and grab one line (5th line in this case, and probably good thing it was a 5th) to depower the kite before it powers up more or something worse happens.
It worked out with only a few scratches but I really should have ditched the kite instead.

One more, from long ago:
Slowly body dragging home downwind after wind died, over oyster beds.
Oops, the tide had dropped while I was out, got a nice 3 inch incision in my upper thigh courtesy of an oyster.
Didn't hit the femoral artery, obviously.
Good reminder though, mind your tides as well as the wind.

There weren't even any waves or decent wind in sight in either of these, that is stupid!

[Westozzy]

Back in 2002 on a very isolated beach, in a very remote part of the pilbara WA (in board shorts only, no shirt or rashy... without jocks of course) got skull dragged on an old C kite (little depower) that ripped my shorts competely off. Lots of breeding male turtles seem to be looking at me very suspiciously with just a harness on! Didn't see a soul for three days kiting there, until the very moment i came to shore, standing there with all the tackle for show and sure enough three ladies came over the nearest dune!

Didn't have a spare pair so had to wear my ladies bikini bottoms which antomically created a weird sensation...

not stupid but a funny story nevertheless.

[kas911]

Many years ago i wore shorts OUTSIDE my wetsuit

Hehe that was like soooo stupid

[SLiiCK]

The problem is westozzy did you enjoy wearing the bikini bottoms LoL

[Kamikuza]

Trying to learn kite loops on a 16m Crossbow in light wind is probably the stupidest thing I've done. I've had some bad luck but those weren't my own fault...

[murph68]

4 years ago while trying to self land a 15m cabrinha omega so as I could help my wife who had a cramp, I just couldn't get enough line in my hand so I stupidly wrapped the lines around my hand, all the while saying to myself "you shouldn't be doing this".
Needless to say the kite relaunched and I couldn't get my fingers out quick enough, took about 1/2" off my index finger, straight through bone and all and done a fair bit of damage to my forefinger and little finger.
Lesson learnt!