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Kite fatality in Thailand

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Toby
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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby Toby » Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:05 pm

Yes Ronnie, it can happen like this.
Not sure if it happened in this case.

But I also learned my lesson and will always stay downwind of buoys.

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby Bille » Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:26 pm

This is Very Sad news ! :(

For me, it was a wake-up call, to go get a new hook-knife ; before i
go back in the water next spring.

I know first-hand how panic-attacks work ; a practiced exit-plan
is the only way i know , around having another one.

Bille

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby matt_81a » Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:35 pm

Here is the English version:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... s/30334403

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/10 ... t-hua-hin/

However just to clarify the article , an excerpt from another local kiter:

Let’s state the correct information as discussed in other forums and Facebook pages.
He was one of us living here im Hua Hin and an experienced kite surfer. the sea and wind conditions were rough but not unusual for us and they did not represent a danger as such. He also did not rent his equipment but was using his own. There is no surveillance on the beach that day as every Wednesday (..) but it is not the issue as it happened so fast anyway.
The danger came from the presence of buoys all along the beach which makes kitesurfing a lot more dangerous as lines can get tangled in them and the kiter can be trapped if he does not reacted very quickly and pulls the security system in time.

While the kiting community raises the issues of the dangers of these buoys many times, they were many kiters on holidays and locals sometimes not realising the threat who continued to kite.

A real drama for our community here and for the family. Please show some respect by sticking to the facts, RIP a friend.

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby Chris30 » Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:13 am

RIP.

My condolences to family and friends of Jonathan.


In march I will be in Hua Hin and after my trip I could tell something more. For example how far out from the beach the buoy lines are.


Chris

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby Toby » Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:55 pm

Can someone post a picture where the buoys are?

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby RickI » Thu Dec 21, 2017 1:52 pm

A report out of Ireland without some of the serious translation errors. Again, I am sorry for family and friends dealing with this tragedy. The causes of this accident can be fairly common in some areas which kiters should be aware of.

"The man drowned in a heavy surf off the Hua Hin beach
Elaine Keogh and Robin Schiller
December 20 2017 9:55 PM

A 43-year-old Irishman has died while kite-surfing in Thailand.
The man is understood to have been living in the south-east Asian country over the last number of years.
Local police said he drowned in a heavy surf off the Hua Hin beach after his line became entangled with a buoy.
The tragedy occurred shortly after midday local time today.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is aware of the incident and consular assistance is being provided.
According to local media reports, rescuers who pulled him unconscious from the sea tried to resuscitate him for at least 10 minutes but to no avail.
The man has been identified and police said he was a frequent visitor to the area. He was also married to a Thai woman.
Witnesses told the ‘Bangkok Post’ they saw the man’s control line become tangled with a buoy floating about 50 metres offshore, marking a swimming boundary.
He disappeared into the water and emergency personnel were immediately notified. Although rescuers reached him swiftly they took a long time to free him from his harness, and he drowned, police said."
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i ... 26156.html

It is worth noting that buoys can be common in some riding areas. Swim zone, lobster and crab trap buoys can be frequently seen in some places. They are very common in Florida for instance. Add in piling in some areas, rocky bottoms which might capture sinking line in shallow areas and there are a number of things to tangle lines on. We had a kiter have his kite go down on the water near a bridge in the Keys many years back. The incoming tidal current carried his kite under the bridge, his submerged lines were caught on oysters on the piling beneath the surface and the kiter pulled under and held there by the very strong load created by the current against the kite. The kiter was unable to unhook, fortunately a nearby fisherman dove in with a fillet knife and cut the kiter free in time. Another time a kiter was wrapped by his lines after wiping out in high seas and waves, then pulled under when the waves caught his kite. He was able to cut himself free with a hook knife despite being pulled under for extended periods. I had to self rescue about a month ago and worked hard to sail away from a swim zone buoy I had to pass on the way in to avoid a tangle. There is no one solution to these threats aside from anticipating and trying to avoid them. Carrying hook knives may help along with a suitable flotation aid, kiting with and keeping an eye on other kiters, etc.. It is something to think about, do your best avoid tangle hazards and go over various ways you might deal with a tangle should it happen.

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby slowboat » Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:10 pm

Hi Ricki, can you explain the ways in which the "eject" becomes unusable in some of these tangle situations?

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby RickI » Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:30 pm

An excellent question with a fairly extensive range of possible causes unfortunately. The most common cause that comes to mind is the kiter being tangled in one or more of the kite lines. Both QR can be open but unless you are lucky enough to remove the tangles by hand, or failing that cutting out successfully, if the kite loads up with wind and/or water you may be in for a rough time or worse. With the kite on the water with the kiter attempting to address the situation tangling with submerged lines can be difficult to avoid in some instances. It is something that I expect and work hard to detect and avoid in self-rescues. Throw in distractions and complications caused by breaking waves which increases with size, issues with target avoidance, high current, fatigue from staying afloat without an impact vest, along other developing problems, things can get real complicated real fast. Working to avoid more extreme conditions is one approach. On a good day you maybe to handle things just fine but if a few key aspects go south you may be in over your head, as might be with any of us in the wrong setting. Back in the day a common cause was malfunctions with pin releases which wouldn’t open under excess pressure, or maintenance or other questionable designs. QR constructed much before 2006 may have been unreliable. Also, sometimes folks just can’t seem to find the QR or properly release them perhaps due to lack of practice or other causes. It is worth touching on kite depower failure as well. A kite line tangle or anything else could easily disable it along with too many turns of a spinning kite, maintenance issues and still other causes.
slowboat wrote:
Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:10 pm
Hi Ricki, can you explain the ways in which the "eject" becomes unusable in some of these tangle situations?

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby SENDIT! » Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:11 pm

matth wrote:
Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:42 pm
Sad, RIP :( :( :( :(


knife , knife , knife can't say it enough. And that cheap ass one that comes with your harness should by your second or third choice in an emergency.

Ezzycut is the best, nice little holster , replaceable blades, two sided....gold standard IMO..

https://eezycut.com/
matth,
Which of the holsters do you use and where are you locating it?

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Re: Kite fatality in Thailand

Postby windrider1 » Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:39 pm

Just want to add people check your gear regularly at least once a week . make sure your safety releases without any problems before you launch and make sure your knife is there . After an incident on the water a while ago the next day I decided to look over my gear and discovered my knife was missing from my harness pouch. I don’t knw where or when it had fallen out of my harness but realized if I had needed it tht day it was not gonna be there . Also u should become familiar with the force required to release the kite under load because some bars requires a stronger pull vs others and this may be confusing in an emergency LOTS of people don’t check their equipment at all!!


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