'I was just delighted to help': Kite surfer rescues swimmer in difficulty in West Cork

[edt]

My new plan , for saving a victim :

my PDF , and toss it to them ; if they try to climb up the cord
to get to me , (then i'll just let go of the cord).

I wouldn't bother with the line. Give them the pfd and just hold on to it while you tow them in. Time is critical and I wouldn't bother spooling a line out just get them to shore.

That said line is always useful nothing wrong with packing it I would just make the main plan give them the pfd then tow them in.


I saw a ton of rescues last year and I think if you keep calm give them flotation that's enough. Most of the rescues I watched were first timers. You can do it!

[Hugh2]

Best ignore Havre, he is doing his typical trolling over covid.

We have had a bunch of local "rescues" on our lake, dating back to windsurfing days including rescues of swimmers in distress and sailors fallen off boats. But most have been helping other kitesurfers get back to shore as we have only a narrow entrance and exit zone so you have to get back to shore somehow. Since the assisted person is a kiter, we have not had problems with someone grabbing the bar (that was pretty scary in that video, could easily have crashed the guys kite). But we have learned that the person flying the kite has to body drag, holding their board and the person assisted hanging onto their harness. One of us once tried riding their board while dragging the other person and the force was so great they broke a kite line, compounding the problem.

[Havre]

As usual you are missing the point Hugh2. And clearly I'm not trolling. I was ridiculed for not understanding vaccines etc. - and here we are with several vaccines not being used in several countries etc. Anyway. I'm not here to discuss that - those are just the facts. Don't blame me for having been right.

The point in this case is that there is a dilemma. And it has been raised by others than me. How much risk should the rescuer accept? That you can't understand my tongue-in-cheek comment (which I guess pains you because it exposes some silliness from the likes of you - is another issue). CPR was used as an example where someone have fairly ridiculously decided that the risk would be too big for the rescuer.

I think it is an interesting topic how to best rescue someone trying to balance that - how much risk one should accept trying to rescue someone. Or it not accept - be wise to take on. Actually quite fascinating that there is, to my knowledge, not really any equipment available to help in such a situation. One could imagine something like a mini life jacket strapped to your board or whatever. That would inflate in a similar way as the ones on planes. Without knowing I could imagine even a tiny version just to help someone keep their head above water for a short amount of time could save lives. Or at least make it a lot easier to rescue someone.

[Matteo V]

Self inflating throwable life ring?

Or even manual inflate? Easy enough to build one fir inside of your wetsuit with an old wetsuit and some old kite bladder material.

[Floating around]

Rest tube? My impact vest even has a specific location foe one! Forward WIP.

[SimonP]

What I have done in the past is put the donkey dick in so the chicken loop won't unhook, then disconnect kite leash and attach to back of harness. This makes a nice big loop that the person can hold onto while I pull them in. Throw lots of kite loops if the wind is light and the person is heavy.

[andylc]

I must admit I was thinking about that, except that I decided on a short leash recently since I’ve accepted that I’m never going to get any good at unhooking...this would be an argument for keeping a longer leash still.

[McLovin]

I must admit I was thinking about that, except that I decided on a short leash recently since I’ve accepted that I’m never going to get any good at unhooking...this would be an argument for keeping a longer leash still.

For those wanting to prepare for future good samaritanship - this might be a good idea: https://kiteboarding.com/proddetail.asp ... rts&cat=94

Regarding the leash, of course you use a short leash - cause why would you want to unhook? But that doesn't mean you can't still wear a long handle pass style leash doubled up on your handle pass line on your harness. It could come in handy to help somebody, could be used if you break down and need a tether to self launch on an island after a mess - or you could just use it to keep your board comfortably nearby while you wind up your lines if the person you are rescuing happens to be yourself...(more likely)

Good thoughts tho - Keep saving people - and KITE ON...

Mc

[andylc]

Restube looks a really good idea. Not sure there’s a strong enough strap to tow someone on with it but nevertheless a really clever device - might consider getting myself one.

[Slappysan]

But that doesn't mean you can't still wear a long handle pass style leash doubled up on your handle pass line on your harness. It could come in handy to help somebody, could be used if you break down and need a tether to self launch on an island after a mess - or you could just use it to keep your board comfortably nearby while you wind up your lines if the person you are rescuing happens to be yourself...(more likely)

I always carry a spare long leash for these purposes and wouldn't want to be out there without it.