Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

New tragedy

Forum for kitesurfers
bakalao
Rare Poster
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2002 1:00 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby bakalao » Wed Sep 04, 2002 1:13 am

A spanish kiter has died yesterday in Valencia. We watched it in tv notices.
They said that he was playing in the beach with his big kite and was draged to a wall
and died.I think beginers shuold take care.
Kite surfing is not a joke.
Does any body nows something about this history?¿

Guest
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Guest » Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:34 am


User avatar
Toby
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 50346
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2001 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2000
Weight: 95 kg
Local Beach: Cumbuco, Brazil
Barra do Cauipe, Brazil
Favorite Beaches: same
Style: Airstyle
Gear: Rebel 2015 18
Brand Affiliation: None.
Location: World (KF Admin)
Has thanked: 832 times
Been thanked: 2365 times
Contact:

Postby Toby » Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:23 am

I heard about it as well, so it must be true, unfortunately.

what sad loss, and for what?

only 5 points to avoid this (golden rules):

1. don't play with your kite at the beach
2. watch the weather and the forecasts
3. avoid onshore winds
4. use the right equipment with a quick release for the depower and full release of the kite (and of course a leash)
5. distance is your friend

he still could enjoy life....

very sad news... Image

Take care guys!

Toby

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 » Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:19 pm

I just spoke to an eye witness. My sincere regrets go out to this man's family and friends.

Unfortunately, my Spanish is very poor and English can be a poor substitute. I am awaiting further information by email.

For now this what I understand:

A new kiteboarder of 1 to 2 months experience was practicing onshore with a Naish kite of approximately 16 m. A sudden squall or storm came along and moved winds up to 35 kts. possibly more. The kiteboarder then hit a wall and subsequently died.

I have no other information at this time. Toby summarizes things very well in his post on precautions. I would emphasize:

1. Never fly onshore for any extended period with a kitesurfing kite, use a trainer kite for that.

2. Always avoid storms and take your kite down well in advance. Some ideas on this appear in:

phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=1766&forum=3&0

3. Take adequate lessons and wear safety gear including a quick release loop, helmet, impact pfd, kite leash, etc.

4. Avoid downwind hard objects.

More information will be posted once available.

Rick Iossi

User avatar
Mr Jo Macdonald
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2185
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2002 1:00 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Spain/Italy
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Mr Jo Macdonald » Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:41 pm

Sorry to hear about this,
I would like to add, imo:
It's better not to hook/shackle in on land, especially if playing, or if in anything but bog steady conditions.
Personally after having been lofted, I stopped using a snap shackle and started using a prolimit quick release spreader.
Hands are the best quick release ever.
Jo

Guest
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Guest » Wed Sep 04, 2002 2:22 pm

Yes indeed very sad news ! But ! My brother lives in Spain for three years now and he is allways telling me about a lot of accidents that happen over there.

They really need some good instructors there because now people are learned how to launche a 16 meter kite with 4 bft. in the middle of the powerzone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like diving, never go alone, allways bring a mate to help each other out

Guest
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Guest » Wed Sep 04, 2002 2:23 pm

Yes indeed very sad news ! But ! My brother lives in Spain for three years now and he is allways telling me about a lot of accidents that happen over there.

They really need some good instructors there because now people are learned how to launche a 16 meter kite with 4 bft. in the middle of the powerzone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like diving, never go alone, allways bring a mate to help each other out

User avatar
kruzlifix
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 509
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2002 1:00 am
Local Beach: Baleia, Ceara, Brazil
Style: wave and HF
Gear: AHC, Firewire, Levitaz, Moses, Cabrinha, Flysurfer
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Switzerland,
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 6 times

Postby kruzlifix » Wed Sep 04, 2002 2:41 pm

to Jo
why did you stop using a snap shakle?
what prolimit spreader bar do you use now?
the one which opens on the left side? Or the one which has a releasable hook?
andreas

BLOWN AWAY
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2371
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2002 1:00 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Postby BLOWN AWAY » Mon Sep 09, 2002 8:31 am

WATCH OUT FOR SQUALLS!!!! They are so dangerous...

What a tragic event...

BLOWN AWAY :sad:

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 » Wed Sep 11, 2002 12:39 am

Here is a repost from another forum on this sad accident:

Question:

man why the hell did'nt they stop him?!?! - this is like 3 + deaths this year?-

if u ain't fast ure last....

Response:

They tried to stop him. It was not fully apparent that major squall winds were on the way. It was only a possibility as with any squall. Many squalls are wet and harmless while others toss out winds 30 to 50 kts. or even more. It is like airplane pilots, they avoid flying through clouds. They just don't know what sort of conditions they will encounter aside from loss of visibility. Kiteboarders just don't know what squalls will bring. Wise kiteboarders will avoid them and scope them out well in advance online, TV or other suitable means. More about weather planning and monitoring for kiteboarders appears at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitesurf/ ... EFERENCES/

As to stopping him, short of cutting his lines or punching him out that may not have been feasible. Many have tried on numerous occassions to talk sense to new kiteboarders with no success. I have tried several times myself with no positive outcome. People can be stubborn , stupidly self-destructive and defend their perceived right to screw up right into the casualty ward.

So what do we do? I would say to try to get people who sell kites to push good quality professional training as heavily as possible. Some retailers require proof of training or through in some intro training with new kite sales. Guys who sell used gear need to get responsible about this as well. It isn't their problem until a imprudent used kite sale results in an incident that stops their access to the local launch.

Hang gliding went through the same process. Enough people died and were injured to compel the manufacturers to form an association and require all retail sales to go through certified instructors with mandatory training before sale of a glider.

In addition you can bring your friends along when you talk to these people. It takes away from your time on the water. Then again, this lost of time is nothing like a ban might cause if things were to be left to travel their natural course and serious accidents/incidents were to occur.

As to the two other fatalities. One may have been avoidable in Germany, but only if a variety of factors including equipment and policies were present. I am very pleased to say that there is a competition series underway in Europe that requires quick release loops, kite leashes, helmets, impact vests and liability insurance. Sounds like a pain but nothing like dealing with an avoidable accident. It started with the Kitesurf Trophy Fehmarn.

The one in Puerto Rico may have been avoided by an impact pfd but there is no certainty about that at all. There will be unavoidable accidents in this sport. The PR fatality may have been one of those. All of the rest have been avoidable to some degree or another by some analysis.

A main way in which we could decrease serious injuries and fatalities would be to spread common awareness of hazards and the means of avoiding them. That is basically through knowledge and encouraging people to use good judgment. Lke they say there are bold pilots and old pilots but not many old bold pilots. Kiteboarding with poor or rushed planning, preparation, careless riding and in more extreme conditions can be like that.

Rick Iossi


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: andrzej351, andylc, bittersvolcom, Chriz76, evan, i_love_storm, jannik, kitehub, Peter_Frank, SolarSet, Tony, Vivo3d, Windigo1, Yahoo [Bot] and 550 guests