Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Rigging error causes serious accident

Forum for kitesurfers
cancun_hound
Rare Poster
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2003 6:31 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Dallas
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby cancun_hound » Thu Jul 24, 2003 8:37 pm

I think that waiting to fully inflate the kite until after you've attached the lines is a recipe for disaster. Least amount of time spent between kite-attached to kite-launched the better, at least in my limited experiences. To inflate the leading edge you would be surrounded by 4 lines just waiting to play with the inflater should the wind get nasty.

Johnpenxa
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Johnpenxa » Thu Jul 24, 2003 8:50 pm

[quote="SouthBasin]This forum is a positive thing for the world kiting community (good work Toby)- but your holyer than thou attitude needs to go - this is a place to share ideas and experiences - Not a pissing match or somewhere to try to feel superior. YOU sound like a "wanta be know it all mofo". Grow up!

So, fokiten, if you can't share your idea's without so much attitude - f*** OFF - most people WILL NOT MISS YOU.

PS - f*** OFF[/quote]


And your comment(s) would be considered positive from what perspective? :o

South Basin, Have you ever heard the term, "walk your talK" :thumb:


cheers,

penxa
Last edited by Johnpenxa on Thu Jul 24, 2003 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Johnpenxa
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Johnpenxa » Thu Jul 24, 2003 8:52 pm

MadMick wrote:Fokiten,you are headed for "Flamer's Paradise" !!!

Its sort of like Space, no one can hear you !!!!

and will all the fowl mouth posters be joining him???

Inquiring minds what to know!

jp

fokiten
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby fokiten » Thu Jul 24, 2003 9:22 pm

cancun_hound wrote:back to top
good thread
--------------

fo, I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions for extending your rigging method all the way to completing a self-water launch, step by step . I gave your method a trial run w/no wind the other day - seems like a winner and was much more tangle free than the one my instructor taught me - I'm sure I would have intuitively wound up thinking of it myself anyway - but thinks for the shortcut. (No other kiters in these parts so tips like this are invaluable). Also, any communication tips that I could utilize to thwart off these curious jetskiiers (hey neat, is that a parasail, parachute crap from 10 yards away)?

Hey Cage,,
Well, it is like this,,, your location is as important if not more important than how you conduct yourself,,take> Mel< for example (you'll find him on this thread),,,he is a safety freak,, He is all about safety,,he talks safety, walks saftey,,he ends every post,,prevent bans leash your kite,,,I mean think about it????? How much more can you do,,,BUT then look at him he got lofted and all diged up,,this happened because he kites in a fucked up place,,,,his spot sucks,,,but he goes there??? So no matter how safe you think,,, you can get fucked by what you do,,,,(the athoritys are smarter than him they are going to ban kiting in this dangerious spot)
THAT is the key to safety,,,You have to do safe ,,, talking safe won't make you safe you have to do safe,,,
So cage,, Do your home work,,search out the best spot for kiting in your area,,,if you have to drive two hours,,well it is better than getting lunched at a poor spot close to home,,,Then on the jet ski dudes tolerate them they will save your ass one day by scoopin you up after you bust a line or just get stuck in no wind,,,
THE best place to kite is in steady wind,,,
find a spot with fetch,,(thats a wide open long streach of clear water that the wind goes over) this smooths out the gusty stuff,,,
Safety is more about the wind quality,, than a kite leash,,Im not anti kite leash Im anti dumb fuc,,,, gusts f*** ya leash or no leash.
that is it for now
fokiten

cancun_hound
Rare Poster
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2003 6:31 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Dallas
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby cancun_hound » Thu Jul 24, 2003 10:37 pm

fo, point taken - just don't have the time to drive 10 hours and not fond of waiting for perfect conditions. So, my clear fetch is obtained this way - I throw small dingy, kite, board in boat and drop dingy on leeward shoreline, then shoot 2 miles across lake, park boat and setup kite. I kite until I drop then end up at dingy, wrap up and shuttle back to boat. Works pretty good so far just looking for tips to perfect my self launch from shallow water.

fokiten
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby fokiten » Fri Jul 25, 2003 3:12 am

cancun_hound wrote:fo, point taken - just don't have the time to drive 10 hours and not fond of waiting for perfect conditions. So, my clear fetch is obtained this way - I throw small dingy, kite, board in boat and drop dingy on leeward shoreline, then shoot 2 miles across lake, park boat and setup kite. I kite until I drop then end up at dingy, wrap up and shuttle back to boat. Works pretty good so far just looking for tips to perfect my self launch from shallow water.
Sorry cage,,,I got nothing new on water launching,,,and if you are on a windward shore,,well thats good for getting draged (you drag to water) but not the best for clean launching wind,,(wind/shadowed),,mm
soon you will be able to go up wind then,, you can (I hope) park the boat sideshore and just kite,,, see if you can find a buddy then boat launching is a breeze,,you two can take turns,, until you both can stay up wind,,
Stay safe by using you're own head
Thats the best advice I can give
fokiten

User avatar
RickI
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2002 1:00 am
Local Beach: SE Florida
Gear: Cabrinha
Brand Affiliation: Cabrinha
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 88 times
Been thanked: 102 times

Postby RickI » Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:25 pm

I just received an update on the lady that was injured in this sad accident. She has come out of her coma but apparently is not fully lucid yet and has a way to go in recovery. I sincerely hope that she recovers fully and soon.

She was described as a very careful new kiter, watched the videos, was taking essons and was cautious. She launched at an area that has a lot of sand as opposed to some other more technical launches in the area with rocks and other obvious hazards.

The winds were reportedly light at around 10kts. She had repeatedly attempted to launch her kite unsucessfully, indicating a likely rigging error. One report came in they she rerigged her kite before the accident but perhaps not correctly. Alternatively, she may have picked her bar up upside down or have been knocked seriously off balance by a wave. At anyrate she was dragged forward and hit the sand berm headfirst and was knocked into a coma.

She was not wearing a helmet.

Safety gear is for just in case, think about using it, regardless of your skill level. Accidents can happen when you least expect.

A special request: This is a serious subject, lets try to keep it from going over the top again. Having a bit of fun now, may well cost someone some serious injury and pain by inducing them to blow off the whole thread as a waste of time.

User avatar
theflyingtinman
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1322
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2003 11:45 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: California
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby theflyingtinman » Mon Aug 11, 2003 11:10 pm

RickI wrote:.... At anyrate she was dragged forward and hit the
sand berm headfirst and was knocked into a coma.

She was not wearing a helmet.

Safety gear is for just in case, think about using it, regardless of your skill level.
Rick, I agre 100% about using a helmet (I never ride withjout one) but
a helmet is little protection against this type of injury (head hitting soft
ground)
A friend of mine suffered a similar impact after blowing a paragliding
launch last year and was wearing a very good quality paragliding helmet.
He never recovered from his coma.

Helmets protect well against medium impacts and hard glancing blows
with hard or sharp objects but the padding of a typical kitesurfing helmet
provides virtually no cusioning against sudden, total deceleration of the head.

In fact in my friend's case it may have made things worse; the injury was
caused by the brain impacting the inside of the brain pan but there was no
visible mark on the outside of his head to guide the surgeons where best
to open up his skull to relieve the internal pressure.

The only protection against that sort of sudden deceleration injury is
guarding against getting launched into a head-first impact in the first
place, by safer kitesurfing launch/landing procedure.


Steve T.

fokiten
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby fokiten » Tue Aug 12, 2003 1:43 am

So,
Are you ready to indorse my rigging meathod yet?
May-be you do not understand the method?
May-be you think it is a bad method?
Maybe WHAT? how many more do you want to see in a comma?
how many more will it take?
it was not a helmet error it was a rigging error
HOW LONG WILL (you/them/ everybody) JUST POST?
WHEN WILL YOU ACT?
IS IT AN EGO THING?
OR WHAT? WHATS STOPPING YOU?
fokiten

User avatar
RickI
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2002 1:00 am
Local Beach: SE Florida
Gear: Cabrinha
Brand Affiliation: Cabrinha
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 88 times
Been thanked: 102 times

Postby RickI » Tue Aug 12, 2003 2:38 am

theflyingtinman wrote:
RickI wrote:.... At anyrate she was dragged forward and hit the
sand berm headfirst and was knocked into a coma.

She was not wearing a helmet.

Safety gear is for just in case, think about using it, regardless of your skill level.
Rick, I agre 100% about using a helmet (I never ride withjout one) but
a helmet is little protection against this type of injury (head hitting soft
ground)
A friend of mine suffered a similar impact after blowing a paragliding
launch last year and was wearing a very good quality paragliding helmet.
He never recovered from his coma.

Helmets protect well against medium impacts and hard glancing blows
with hard or sharp objects but the padding of a typical kitesurfing helmet
provides virtually no cusioning against sudden, total deceleration of the head.

In fact in my friend's case it may have made things worse; the injury was
caused by the brain impacting the inside of the brain pan but there was no
visible mark on the outside of his head to guide the surgeons where best
to open up his skull to relieve the internal pressure.

The only protection against that sort of sudden deceleration injury is
guarding against getting launched into a head-first impact in the first
place, by safer kitesurfing launch/landing procedure.


Steve T.
I try not to analyze what a helmet might or might not do in the critical milliseconds of an impact. They could have turned a few degrees and taken the impact full in the face or a few degrees the other way and the helmet would have been hit, etc. You either wear it and hope for the best if things hit the fan while practicing a great deal of hazard avoidance that kiteboarding demands the rest of the time.

Helmets have been split of of peoples heads and they have survived. They guy in England recently slammed his head against the roof of a house and had the helmet split open and fling off of his head. He survived. In the case of some bicyclists this helmet fracturing has reportedly occurred even without serious concussion.

Helmets protect by ideally resisting penetration that might extend into the skull. The is largely a function of the helmet shell material properties. Critically in the case of impacts, the helmet acts to slow the rate of deceleration of the head and in turn the brain on impact. Even deceleration reductions of a fraction of a second reportedly improve survivorship and potentially reduce injury.

I agree, that if impact occurs at sufficient speed and/or force, the helmet may not do a great deal. Say a full on impact at 30 mphs. Still hang glider, paraglider, football, hockey la cross players, etc. etc. wear them. Why, because lots of their fellows were slammed, concussed and in some cases severely injured.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: arjas, Bing [Bot], dpublic, Glice227, Google [Bot], grigorib, ham-er, Kitemenn, Leon van Bergen, nixmatters, Pera, plasma180, purdyd, SolarSet, Tony, Ulrik, Yahoo [Bot] and 207 guests