Run away kite!

[DocDeuce]

Funny, We all have stories like this. Last year I was at our local kite spot, somehow this guy loses his kite and it blowing down the beach. I was closest to it so I start sprinting to get before it goes into the houses. I'm about arms length away and I hit a low area in the sand... full faceplant mouth full of sand. Didnt catch the kite, but I did get a standing ovation from my buddies.

DD

[Puetz]

... this happened to a mate,,, turned up to beach and saw mate rigging up at another spot, about 2 km's upwind so decided to go check it out. Slowly jumped back into the car and as I'm driving around I meet up with him half way and he's in a panic. He didn't make sense, something about 'new' and 'kite' and 'pump' and 'waaaaa' or something to that affect so I turned around to see what's up, I follow him.

Get back to beach carpark where I was just at and I see him jump out of his car, trip, get up then high-tail it to beach.

I hurry up a bit and just as I get to the clearing I see him strolling towards, hands on hip, kite sitting on the rocks, deflated. I get to him, he's standing there looking at the limp kite, hands on hips, standing over it and I say, whose kite, I don't recognise it????

Yeah it's mine, the new one!

Same as posts above, kite got away from pump leash falling off only he chased it for nearly a kilometer before he gave up and turned around to get his car. Damn thing slid nearly 2km only it stopped on some very sharp rocks and coral. Hundreds of little tears in the LE, brand new barely 1 hour old never flown kite.

Doh!!!!

[shawn13]

hahaha ive had this happen too. I only wish someone got it on video.

25 knots pumping up a brand new 7m switchblade. As i unhook from the pump and start walking with it, gust drops, kite slips down the hand then gets taken by another gust. I run as fast as I can to grab it before it hits the trees 50 m away. Grabbed it just before the trees.

Same day, A surfboard gets picked up and starts flying across the beach tip to tail, guy trying to grab it and backing away every time the fins come swinging around. Kinda funny but dangerous at the same time!

[KiteCulture]

one thing I've done from time to time is to use the leash from the harness to tether the kite while pumping. Fail proof

[RickI]

Not a tool at all. Things can go south in stronger winds a lot faster than in the lighter stuff. Stronger wind is far less forgiving of mistakes, obviously enough.

Another thing to watch for is when you land in advance of squalls. Your kite, even somewhat anchored by sand can be ripped off the sand and blown offshore with wind direction changes that can commonly come with such things. Best course is to pack your kite up or at least roll it up with battens still inflated and anchor the lot before the gust front hits.

[jbdc]

I've never trusted the kite pump to hold things down when rigging, I was always afraid of the kite getting away on me like the stories here. A few years ago I started setting up tether bags for launching and landing (even if there are other people around to launch, who knows if they'll be there to help land).

I now use the sand-filled bag, a long tether with a small carabiner attached to the pump leash point on the kite. It's long enough that I can flip the kite over with it still attached and only disconnect it when I'm ready to launch. Works a charm, haven't had to chase down a kite yet.

[Westozzy]

one thing I've done from time to time is to use the leash from the harness to tether the kite while pumping. Fail proof

Now that's a bloody simple and obvious solution..

[plummet]

I've never trusted the kite pump to hold things down when rigging,.

Well I guess I'm blessed at my local with a non windy grassy pump up area! I didn't even think about a run away kite because 95% of the time its not an issue for me.

[Hugh2]

Sorry to say, but I've snapped my kite completely off the lines three times. Once was in gusty slightly offshore conditions, and yes, I should not have been kiting. Anyway, self launched on a near deserted beach, then dropped kite in a brief lull, then powered in a gust, all so quick there was nothing I could do. The kite powered up so hard it simply snapped all four lines, the steering lines at the pigtails on the kite, the center lines where they joined the middle line from my harness. I hardly felt a jerk, and the kite was gone. Off it went out to sea, and I thought it was gone forever, no great loss as it is an old Waroo 7m. But then I noticed after rolling a bit it landed as if being drift launched, and with the seaward tip raised, so it was working its way along the beach, just outside of the waves. So I trotted along the beach watching it, and a couple of miles later as the beach finally curved outward, a wave finally caught it and I recovered it.

[Don Monnot]

One of my first experiences kiting on smooth, hard-packed snow taught me how quickly an un-anchored kite can drift in even light wind. I tell my cardiologist when I do my stress test it's one of only two reasons for me to run--the other is to chase down a runaway kite! He also tells me that every time I kite I probably do my own version of a stress test!

Don