Belgian kiter (64) found dead after a night long search - Netherlands

[matth]

Wouldn't it be wise to be well trained, able to read a weather forecast, ask the local crew, and adjust your decisions properly before starting to fumble around with technical toys? What kind of approach is this, "a yeah I probably get in trouble kiting today, but they will fish me out with a 100.000$ operation the taxpayer pays for, because I wear that PLB!"

Exactly, we had the same thing happen recently here in Boston. I bunch of Noobs ignored the forecast that predicted a midday shift in the wind and several had to be rescued..

At matth and alamos :

do you guys use a seatbelt , when you drive in a car ?
How many times have you actually needed a seatbelt in the past ?

Bille

I do. No one is saying a safety devices is not a good idea. Just don't ignore the risk and have a false sense of security with some electronic device.
You have to do your homework and pay attention to the details or you can get yourself in a bad situation fast. Riding alone and offshore is a very bad combination no matter your skill level.. I just hope people learn from this and think twice before they head out.

[alamos_kiter]

Yeah I do, but that's got nothing to do with it. Seatbelt is the analogy to a helmet. Kiting without any preparation nor seamanship is like driving into the desert without a plan B if your gear breaks.

[Bille]

...

I do. No one is saying a safety devices is not a good idea. Just don't ignore the risk and have a false sense of security with some electronic device.
You have to do your homework and pay attention to the details or you can get yourself in a bad situation fast. Riding alone and offshore is a very bad combination no matter your skill level.. I just hope people learn from this and think twice before they head out.

YOU and alamos_ , are under the mistaken impression that i'm talking to noobs and Kooks
when i suggested that a SPOT might be a good idea ; well i Ain't !!

And YES i Have done my homework on the weather thing ; did plenty of homework on
the , (stay-safer than usual) Kite thing as well . I also use every technological advance
at my disposal when driving a car, flying a HG or PG , as well as the best equipment
on the market when i go snow-skiing, or sailing my 21-ft Hobie catamaran.

Offshore winds are a BAD idea to ride in , and so is riding alone ; but i have had the wind
switch on me, (more than Once) while i was in the middle of the lake kiting , so in effect
that would make me kiting all alone in offshore winds that were Totally unforecasted by the
weather people, and unplanned by ME.

Please quit using goofballs as your example for why using a GPS locater, as a bad idea ; your
implying that YOU have NEVER had a Bad-Day !!!

If you had Bothered to read the user manual for the SPOT ; you would know that Ya
also have the option to contact a friend or family member (NOT THE rescue AUTHORITIES)
that you are OK but need a ride home from these GPS coordinates. SO your rescue ain't
gonna cost the tax-payer squat.

Bille

[edt]

you would know that Ya also have the option to contact a friend or family member (NOT THE rescue AUTHORITIES) that you are OK but need a ride home from these GPS coordinates.

that's a nice option. Do all of these various rescue beacons have this option or is it just some models?

[Toby]

for sure a device like that is a good idea...if something happens. But first comes common sense...and the golden rules.

I wouldn't force my luck...there is the unexpected. What does such device help you when you have offshore winds and a death looping kite? Good bye.

I also wonder about these people who ride so far out, that you barely see their kites? And they are proud of it. If there would be a reef with fantastic waves, I get it. Everything else is plain stupid, and the wrong way to impress other people.

[edt]

I also wonder about these people who ride so far out, that you barely see their kites? And they are proud of it. If there would be a reef with fantastic waves, I get it. Everything else is plain stupid, and the wrong way to impress other people.

If you want to do that I think it's fine. I have no complaint about kiters who understand the risks doing what they want. Friend of mine went 3-5 miles out in the florida flats just for fun. If you understand the risks do whatever you like. I can definitely see the attraction of a pristine offshore wave. Go for it if you want. The problem is noobs that have no understanding of the risks. So a noob might see someone kiting offshore winds not understanding just what is going on and think I'll join them. I'm reminded of some australian swimmers who were deliberately going into a rip in order to get to the back of a set so they could body surf back. A tourist saw them playing in the rip and thought "I'll do it too". He drowned in seconds.

In the end it all comes down to who is teaching these kiters. That's where the understanding of the risks has to be learned. Because if you learn it the hard way you might not come back.

It's not really "Never do this or never do that" and I would never tell another kiter not to kite in offshore conditions. You just have to understand what the risks are that's all.

[corbett]

you would know that Ya also have the option to contact a friend or family member (NOT THE rescue AUTHORITIES) that you are OK but need a ride home from these GPS coordinates.

that's a nice option. Do all of these various rescue beacons have this option or is it just some models?

Note the difference between Spot and actual beacons. Spot is a communications gadget and is only connected to a commercial call centre type place, rescue beacons are connected to actual government organs.

Rescue beacons are registered by yourself by filling out a paper or online forum with your name, address, tel, family, car etc and sending it to the government organ. You get confirmation of when it's registered.

It can take several weeks to go through all the motions of registering one and getting confirmation of this

ADT versus police innit.

Note: testing the battery on a beacon is crap, absolute crap.

[Faxie]

Just some extra details to clear things up:

Red dot marks the spot, smaller dot southwest marks the spot where the kiter was found.

There's a windmeter in the water over there, and it was measuring 16-20 knots all day, gusting no more than 24 knots. Around 19:00 the wind dropped to around 12 knots.

More importantly, wind was between 65-90 degrees during the day. Starting around 70, in the afternoon mostly 90 and in the evening 65. I marked the direction in the pictures... there are no big currents at that spot.

There were around 20-30 guys on the water that day. The spot southwest where the body was found, is a kitesurfing spot as well, with sideshore wind that day....

Last thing I heard, but not officially confirmed yet, was that he had a heartfaillure...

[Toby]

well, that's not really considered offshore...there is a rescue beach you can get to. If real ocean, that's a big difference!

Heart attacks can happen...we heard it before.

RIP

[edt]

that's a weird place to kite. It must be gusty from every direction. I can't imagine why you would go there but there must be good reasons for people going there even when you have all of that Atlantic coast to choose from.