by windzup » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:14 am
The recipe for a kitemare varies depending on location and conditions. Never trust your safety's, always trust your judgment!
I have plenty of kitemares, or what I refer to as epic sessions, but the basic lesson to prevent them is do a proper pre-flight. We sometimes fly wings in the 10-15m range, and the large kites are almost paragliders. A Para pilot ALWAYS completes a thorough pre-flight before inflating/launching their wing.... including looking at their GEAR, the WEATHER, and the LAUNCH area and obstacles around them.
First, the GEAR... is your kite pumped up properly, no tangles, lines clear? Clear kite lines prevents a jumbled or confused situation while powered up on the launch. (most kite deaths happen near launch, very rare to drown)
NEXT, LOCATION....What is around you? Cars, poles, power lines, trash cans? Maybe the launch is not safe and you should be extra careful, or not go at all. Maybe power lines are downwind and you realize that there is no safety zone should you need to release your kite?
Next, WEATHER.... What is it doing right now? and what is it forecasted to ramp up to? Rig for the gusts if you think its getting stronger.
So, since we live and ride near highways and power lines in Utah (snow & water), here is my Kitemare of the day:
Back in 2000 at Lake Mojave I was flying an 8m Wipika Classic in nuking north winds. There was just myself and an Olympic level Windsurfer/Kiter riding with me. I came in to shore to self land, and I was standing in knee deep water. With a rocky shore, and the older technology, the plan was to drop the kite over the water and then release the safety so the kite would flag out. (then of course, I would pull it to shore, secure it, and roll it all up.) Well, when I let the safety go, the kite flagged out, but the knots on the leaders where the kite lines connect to the kite SNAGGED. Just a simple friction knot, with the left and right wing tips hooked up on each other. THis allowed the kite to maintain a full sail shape with no control... I was hanging on by my wrist leash to a single line and was immediately dragged into deep water. I was already cold from the session, now I was freezing and floating farther from shore every second. Two thoughts came up... either continue this situation.... or pull the final release and watch my kite disappear down wind. I made the $1100 dollar choice to eject the kite and swim to shore. The Kite rolled along the water like a high speed beach ball.
Before the American style happy ending, here's the feedback. DO NOT use wrist leashes, they will tear your arm off (Most companies stopped using them and switched to harness leashes several years ago because of that).
Next, DO not trust your safety, something can foul up at anytime (insert Murphy's law here). If there were powerlines or I-40 downwind, severe damage could be done, including car accidents if a kite had to be let free.
Finally, choose to ride in open areas where you are safe to release your kite should you need. And avoid riding in areas with dangers down wind that Cannot be avoided.
Now the happy ending. My friend saw the scenario, and hauls ass downwind after my kite. He grabs the leading edge as it rolled over the chop...and then rides to a rocky sandbar that stuck out into the lake. He places a rock on the kite and then rides upwind to tell me. By now I've given up on the kite and I'm drying off and trying to shake off a minor case of hypothermia. With his directions, I drive down the beach a few coves, see the sand bar, and hike out to retrieve my kite. Not a scratch on the wing, but a mess of tangled lines.
I was stoked with myself to know that I did the right thing, I pulled the safety when I needed, and I cut free when I had to. But I always think about what is down wind of me now, because it may not be safe to let a kite go free, and the safety may not work as expected when sh*t hits the fan.
I write this little piece because the scene at Lincoln beach last week looked like a junk show.. similar to the Vegas scene where a guy died a couple weeks back. People are launching with kites behind cars and in wind shadows. People are walking their kites weaving between vehicles, with a slew of dangers immediately downwind. It was only a few years back when it was standard to ALWAYS launch with the kite toward the water, and in knee deep water if possible. I don't know if it will happen, but ideally we would all carry our kites to the water line, hand it to a designated Kite launcher who would then walk out further so that the kite is heading out to sea and the rider is already safely in the water.
Wow, I wrote a book. WIndzup, Brian Schenck