Kiting alone

[skullcandy]

From personal experience: know the local area well, currents, tides, obstacles, weather conditions / tendencies, etc. I think solo kiting issues happen when people arent familiar with localities. If you are more of a beginner, I'd limit it to staying close to shore or an area with shallow water where you can touch the bottom. If thats not an option, stay close to shore and dont venture too far from the launch site in either direction.

[Foil]

Two of us out foiling today
my buddy went in
I realised the wind was getting lighter,and the fast moving tide was on its way out
foggy cloud bank was looming way offshore
no hesitation on my part, I came ashore as well

[JakeFarley]

I actually prefer kiting alone. Most people think of me as a loner. Probably from my early days kiting when there was only one other kiter in the immediate area. Not only do I kite alone, but I drink alone.

[Peter_Frank]

I never use any of these gadgets at all (okay, there might be a knife in my harnesses ), eventhough out alone mostly when winter (because there ARE no other out most often).

But as jumptheshark says, it is a matter of calculated risks.

Good gear plummet?
Of course a good idea, but on the other hand, if you (wrongly) rely on your gear because you change it often, it can most likely only be a matter of time till something serious or deadly can happen
Thus, if you got worn gear, you think about it and calculate the risk so safer - I know this sounds contradictory but I guess you get the idea, not only an advantage

Meaning, when I ride (no matter if older gear or brand new, mostly bar and lines) I always think "what if a line snapped NOW, at the farthest most risky position", and take precautions so always being able to rescue myself, no matter when this could happen.

Much better than trusting your gear "too much" and getting a false sense of safety...
A personal thing indeed, but one see so many NOT thinking about what could happen if things goes south

Meaning, if summer and open water and warm, I might ride really far out in open water (knowing our currents) or across a big bay, just not too close to darkness, no issues with that.

In winter and side, mostly sideon wind, stay closer to shore, and not that far outside the impact zone (waves), and stay away from sideshore open spots where there is a risk you might end up in open water on the way to a new country if going past the last entry to shore so you end up in offshore wind, when the coast bends "away"....

Exactly the same precautions goes when kiting after sun has set in the summer or autumn, no difference, except I also stay further away from hard objects (piers and docks and jettys etc) now, and much safer alone than being two out.

Peter

[Grizwald]

Thanks everyone for your input.

knotty windy - funny you should mention the living will, I updated it yesterday. Good little organ donor me and no heroics.
JJM - the mystic knife says it is not rustproof, which given the environment that I kite in would reduce it to oxide in about 5 minutes.
Matth - do you know if the ezzycut is rust proof? I would think it would be but then I would have thought the mystic knife would be as well. I can't find anything on the website that says one way or another.
Foil- how do you carry the flare gun?
Jake Farley - while I prefer not to drink alone and I prefer not to kite alone I would rather do both alone than either one in a crowd.

Does anyone wear a camel back or something similar?
It would seem no one relies on any high tech gadgets which is interesting.
So is there anyone out there on a sailboat ducking into those little undiscovered coves to kite off grid? What do you do when there is no one to watch your back?

Again thanks everyone.
Griz

[Peter_Frank]

I use a backpack if going for a long trip, having something to eat and drink, maybe a camera but usually it is stored safely in the kite, much better.

Then I can go ashore on islands or similar and take pictures and enjoy the journey.

I might take a phone too, in a waterproof bag - so possible to call for help, or to be picked up if the wind dies.

A friend of mine always carry a phone inside his wetsuit, and have used it a couple of times - once was when out foiling, the wind died and he drifted ashore soooo far away, that he had to call some family that could pick him (and the gear) up.

Of course nothing dangerous about this, he could just have walked back home even if it would take hours.

But IF something happens and he is far out drifting, he can call for help

Peter

[knotwindy]

If you are really concerned about rusting you can coat the blades in grease to prevent/slow the oxidation. But you will need to test & replace the blades regardless.

[plummet]

Good gear plummet?
Of course a good idea, but on the other hand, if you (wrongly) rely on your gear because you change it often, it can most likely only be a matter of time till something serious or deadly can happen
Thus, if you got worn gear, you think about it and calculate the risk so safer - I know this sounds contradictory but I guess you get the idea, not only an advantage

Meaning, when I ride (no matter if older gear or brand new, mostly bar and lines) I always think "what if a line snapped NOW, at the farthest most risky position", and take precautions so always being able to rescue myself, no matter when this could happen.

Much better than trusting your gear "too much" and getting a false sense of safety...
A personal thing indeed, but one see so many NOT thinking about what could happen if things goes south


Peter

Its about reducing the chance of risk.

Lets pose a thought experiment. A 30-40 knot day 4-5m swell.
Is there a greater risk of failure if i use my 5year old bar with fury lines or my less than one year old bar that is near new?

The next question is what is the ramifications of gear failure in these conditions. If it is high risk then i will use the newer gear if possible. On a balmy 20 knot day with low swell close to the beach i'll use my old fury lines and keep the good lines for the high risk days.

The chance of failure is lower on the new gear. So on extreme days, solo days where possible i will use the newer gear as there is less likelyhood of failure.

[Peter_Frank]

Agree 100 % plummet.

My point was, that it is a mental thing, and many believe so much in their gear that they DONT think about it.

Whereas some with used gear and experience are thinking more about the risks, and not taking chances going too far, or risking getting offshore because of the spot and wind direction.

Having said that, I do the same as you, use my new gear for heavy conditions indeed, and more flurry stuff for hydrofoiling or less risky conditions.

What I see is, that most dont EVER think about what could happen if they get a failure, or even if they just by accident released to the flagout line or the loop got twisted when going toeside and pops out.
Sometimes it is not easy or possible to reconnect, maybe you will drift/blow to an offshore point, maybe with less wind, and now it is not possible to relaunch...

This is not when kiting alone, as otherwise I would never see this.
But when I talk to them about this very issue afterwards, they say "oooh, you are right, thanks" or something.

What happens with many though, is they dont give it a thought whatsoever when they are adrenaline high and out.
So even if they KNOW what not to do, they forget when having fun.

This will also apply to the same riders when out alone, and here it gets really risky of course

I also take chances myself now and then, where I know it will end really bad if something went wrong in that very instant, which I think we all do, just a matter of WHERE our limit of risk taking is.
That could be things like riding just windward close to a huge rock jetty in rough weather or similar

Quite rare you see an equipment failure though, and that is why it gets risky, as those who have never experienced this, nor an acciendental flag out release, have no idea about the risks when they ride, and many take this "unawareness" with them when they ride alone.
If you have had some failures during the years, you will most likely know the risks, and take better care and precautions.
Also, with experience you will know HOW much the weather can suddenly change, also a parameter overseen by most.

Unfortunately this does not go for everyone as said, as some of us gets so excited we forget once out

That goes for everything else too, not kite specific, yes.

Major problem is, even when not alone, you can not rely on others being able to see you, so sometimes one should ride like out alone even when many - in order to have a chance of getting rescued because some calls the coast guard chopper.
Most of our wave spots are without any houses, so not a chance that someone not kiting will see you either...

In reality the rescues happening most often is not at wavespots, as close to shore, the breaks, only at the risky ones where you end offshore yes.

But the race foilers are "bad" in this respect, as they ride out many miles when alone, and if the wind dies or any other failure, they have to swim ashore.
This is in the cold winter close to the freezing point, mostly totally new gear (when racing), so one example.

Many got a mobile inside their suit for this very reason, and get picked up by local rescue boats then, on occasion.
OR, they pack the foilkite down, put it on the board and paddle towards shore - but then some has called the rescue because they have seen one "out there in trouble", eventhough he/she is not.

This happens quite often, also at wavespots - bystanders not knowing got no chance of judging when in risk or not, it can be really close to shore almost able to walk in, and still some will call the rescue.

Of course better than a lost life, indeed, but most often it is ridiculous in these situations (actually ALL situations I've seen or heard of when close to shore)

Not saying one should be extremely careful, no reason to be a sissy, and this is individual choice.

Just that many got no clue whatsoever and ride like a gear failure or weather change can never happen

Peter

[Jamesconn300]

If Kiting alone in water deeper than 6 feet, must wear pfd.
-Especially if water is on the colder side.

Get a pfd with a front pocket, I kept a vhf in there when alone. The Coasties also service my area back home. You could stow a phone, people use smartwatches also.

Never go out offshore or side off.

If there is insane crazy current or any rocky obstacles downwind, use a board leash if absolutely necessary. Some people will disagree with this piece.

Always tell someone your going out, tell them you got back when you do.

Try to avoid going out before dusk, if anything breaks or something happens, its a shitty feeling knowing sun is almost or is going down.

Never go out farther than you can swim, never go out farther than you can swim after getting the wind knocked out of you.