Letting Go of Kite to Save Your Life

[Peert]

Interestingly, he seemed to describe the start of his troubles as losing control of the kite. Maybe he was hit by a gust but, to me, it looked like he first lost control of the board. In conditions where I have become worried about being totally blown out and need to get back to the beach, my first course of action is to cut board speed. In the extreme putting your butt in the water and having virtually all the board submerged and edging. Adding 20 knots apparent makes a big difference, but a 5m kite with a big guy should cope in relatively extreme conditions imho.

Thanks for another interesting video from a fun loving group, ditching kites is pretty much a last option or for a looping drag with locked in tangle where it is not possible to pull a steering line imho.

In the water I hardly ever flag a kite, but on land if in doubt I flag. I have read about numerous water based incidents where imho flagging has possibly made things worse but I guess it also depends on experience plus skill set. ( I also have a very long bar throw on my storm kites, so if I let go of the bar it is almost as good as a mini 5th. Just means I have to pull a handful of centre line to retrieve the bar. )

I fully agree with Arminius.
It is very well possible to control a 5m with TT in those conditions with better technique. Weight down the heelside rail, drive the kite low to the edge of the wind window and nothing happens.. A small TT has the strong preference, makes it a lot easier to weigh down the rail...

[UKSurf]

Released a 10m eclipse thruster when hit by a 40 knot squall. Probably one of the best decisions i ever made. Informed the coast guard incase some one reported a kite was washed up. Was also concerned the kite would blow onto land and get wrapped about someone.

[Hugh2]

Released a 10m eclipse thruster when hit by a 40 knot squall. Probably one of the best decisions i ever made. Informed the coast guard incase some one reported a kite was washed up. Was also concerned the kite would blow onto land and get wrapped about someone.

And? Ever recovered?

[downunder]

Interestingly, he seemed to describe the start of his troubles as losing control of the kite. Maybe he was hit by a gust but, to me, it looked like he first lost control of the board. In conditions where I have become worried about being totally blown out and need to get back to the beach, my first course of action is to cut board speed. In the extreme putting your butt in the water and having virtually all the board submerged and edging. Adding 20 knots apparent makes a big difference, but a 5m kite with a big guy should cope in relatively extreme conditions imho.

Thanks for another interesting video from a fun loving group, ditching kites is pretty much a last option or for a looping drag with locked in tangle where it is not possible to pull a steering line imho.

In the water I hardly ever flag a kite, but on land if in doubt I flag. I have read about numerous water based incidents where imho flagging has possibly made things worse but I guess it also depends on experience plus skill set. ( I also have a very long bar throw on my storm kites, so if I let go of the bar it is almost as good as a mini 5th. Just means I have to pull a handful of centre line to retrieve the bar. )

I fully agree with Arminius.
It is very well possible to control a 5m with TT in those conditions with better technique. Weight down the heelside rail, drive the kite low to the edge of the wind window and nothing happens.. A small TT has the strong preference, makes it a lot easier to weigh down the rail...

correct.

40kn gusting on 9m is possible, no problem. Small board, like 120cm is a Mini Cooper. This is the wind with rain, when the rain feels like a hail on face.

It feels like the rain will pierce through the skin. That is a feeling. The kite is struggling, very much so. But, it is a ticket for getting back on shore. Release, and the ticket is lost.

Hence, on a smaller kite, like 7m or smaller, 40kn gust is not a problem at all.

Watched the vid. Nothing spectacular, not seeing 50-60kn at all. It is not unusual at my spot. People who do not kite high wind, should not criticize people who do that.

Because they can.

[edt]

Watched the vid. Nothing spectacular, not seeing 50-60kn at all. It is not unusual at my spot. People who do not kite high wind, should not criticize people who do that.

I wish I had 50-60 all the time. Here it's only twice a year. Because it doesn't happen as often, we really aren't that good at the high wind stuff so it's a lot more dangerous for us. Places where you get these kinds of wind all the time you get better at it and it becomes less dangerous. Still quite dangerous though.

[Flyboy]

Watched the vid. Nothing spectacular, not seeing 50-60kn at all. It is not unusual at my spot. People who do not kite high wind, should not criticize people who do that.

The fact is it was gusting to 60 knots. The wind meters around that spot clearly show that. It's a weird launch at the best of times - the wind was freakishly warm air in the middle of December & very unstable. It turned side off & was then coming over land with high buildings in the area. As a result, the kite was bucking around, lulling & then surging forward. Impossible to ride under control in conditions like that. The rider could have hung on & tried to get to shore but then he would have been left approaching a rocky, tree lined shore with the kite in an even more unpredictable wind shadow. I can understand why he released the kite, but the best thing would be not to go out in the first place. A very experienced local kiter was killed in a similar storm front the previous year & at a much less sketchy spot.

[edt]

of course it was windy. no questions.



this is in detroit same day sorry for the MILES PER HOUR NOT KNOTS, so i'll convert it for you. At 1:30pm it was gusting from 9 knots up to 50 knots

It was a lot steadier wind in Ohio but nuking harder



Again I'll convert that to knots. The wind came through a bit later since they are east of us, so at around 4:30pm it was gusting from 33 knots to 64 knots

I don't know which sensor they are using for Toronto but it was definitely nuking don't try to doubt it. I'm going to plead the fifth amendment if anyone asks if I was riding that day.

[Flyboy]

I don't know which sensor they are using for Toronto but it was definitely nuking don't try to doubt it. I'm going to plead the fifth amendment if anyone asks if I was riding that day.

No need to plead the fifth- you could probably judge for yourself whether the local conditions made it worth going out that day. The question I have: was it actually an enjoyable session & what kite were you using? The conditions in Toronto that day were already pretty questionable before the squall came in with gusty side-off wind. My guess is that the kiter probably thought "hey it's only a 5m kite how bad could it get?" and probably had little experience with a 5m kite. I have used my 5m kite a lot ... because I'm using it on a SB. My experience is that over 35 knots - on the Great Lakes at least - the wind is generally too gusty to have a good time on a SB. Still go out sometimes, but that's in side-on to side conditions with a decent beach behind me, not in side to side-off with a tiny rocky launch to return too.

[Regularkiter]

I don't know which sensor they are using for Toronto but it was definitely nuking don't try to doubt it. I'm going to plead the fifth amendment if anyone asks if I was riding that day.

No need to plead the fifth- you could probably judge for yourself whether the local conditions made it worth going out that day. The question I have: was it actually an enjoyable session & what kite were you using? The conditions in Toronto that day were already pretty questionable before the squall came in with gusty side-off wind. My guess is that the kiter probably thought "hey it's only a 5m kite how bad could it get?" and probably had little experience with a 5m kite. I have used my 5m kite a lot ... because I'm using it on a SB. My experience is that over 35 knots - on the Great Lakes at least - the wind is generally too gusty to have a good time on a SB. Still go out sometimes, but that's in side-on to side conditions with a decent beach behind me, not in side to side-off with a tiny rocky launch to return too.

the wind prior the squalls was actually remarkably steady, believe it or not, steadier than the "trade winds", we call it doming. With regards to going out on a 5m, it was not unreasonable, as many have done so in the past, and they were usually underpowered due to the lulls. The offshore, "WSW" switch, was unexpected and wasn't forecasted by any of the models. When it switches "offshore / WSW" wind blows from the city, and you have less than "2km" of fetch, making the wind "un-ridedable" to say the least.

[UKSurf]

Released a 10m eclipse thruster when hit by a 40 knot squall. Probably one of the best decisions i ever made. Informed the coast guard incase some one reported a kite was washed up. Was also concerned the kite would blow onto land and get wrapped about someone.

And? Ever recovered?

No i think it might have been carried out to sea by currents amd tides. Looked up and down the coast for a day after.