Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

ACCIDENT DETAILS - WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS

Forum for kitesurfers
User avatar
Lindy @ Sharkless.com
Frequent Poster
Posts: 209
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:00 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: South Haven, Michigan
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Lindy @ Sharkless.com » Sun Feb 13, 2005 3:30 pm

Rick, I think you are a natural storyteller. I read the whole thing!

I do believe the pictures are what get's the biggest reaction and gets people thinking. I think they were a necessary part of the story.

I wish the gentleman a speedy recovery.

Lindy

Sophus
Rare Poster
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2004 11:02 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Sophus » Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:20 am

Having spent some time in hospital, a month away from work and the last five months with a partly paralyzed left leg, all caused by a jump that went wrong, I have now INVESTED (thats right!) in a helmet and back protection. My leg is almost back to normal (migth never be fully ok though). I will rather not go through such an experience and pain again (there are some bundles of nerve cells in your spine you know). I have also witnessed my fair share of close calls and minor accidents with other riders.

Not wearing a helmet because it makes you look stupid? That's stupid IMHO.

Take care, have fun, but wear a helmet (and back protection, especially if there are rocks at the spot).

User avatar
Sea&Sun
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 737
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 1:31 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

WHEN YOU’RE OUT ON THE WATER ITS MAGIC TO THEM WATCHING

Postby Sea&Sun » Mon Feb 14, 2005 2:39 am

I can not believe a KITER would care or think it matters what a helmet looks like or what he or she looks like with a helmet on. I am and old guy and I wear a helmet and impact vest. The only time in my life I have had cars pull over and people watch me and photograph me and smile and point at me and treat me like I am a super hero is when I am KITING. WHEN YOU KITE YOU LOOK MORE THEN COOL REGRADLESS OF A HELMET ON OR NOT. . Yea and even old kiters with helmets on can get young chicks JUST BY BEING SEEN KITING ---EVEN WITH A HELMET ON. I am 51 going on 18.

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 Feb 14, 2005 5:18 pm

I wanted to repost some ideas here about helmet use from another couple of posts.

Also, there are some recent photos of the rider at the bottom of this posting. Fortunately, he seems to be healing rapidly although he is working to bring a scalp infection under control via an IV drip. Heal fully and fast!


Morph wrote:is it really usefull an helmet? I ve tried it once but it really wasnt confortable.
I never heard someone crashed it's skull with kitboarding and i'm very timide myself so I don't think I need one. Any sugestions?

Thnx

Unfortunately, there have been quite a few head injuries in kiteboarding including some fatal ones. You can read about some of them HERE

There is NO guarrantee that a helmet will save you from injury or even assure your survival in a bad enough impact. Still, in many impacts they can do a tremendous amount of good. Helmets are far more resilent than our relatively fragile skulls, which would you rather bounce or scrape on things? If you picked your skull or do, think again.

One of these days, helmet use will likely be fairly common in kiteboarding. The problem is that people will need to see a fair amount of blood letting to compel them to undertake this simple precuation. Any volunteers for suffering some head impacts? Some among us will have such head injuries whether we volunteer or not. So, gear up now or blow this off until more nasty avoidable injuries occur. Tough decision or so it would seem.

The best safety is using good judgment, gear, knowledge and experience. Helmets and impact vests just improve the odds, sometimes a lot.

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 Feb 14, 2005 5:27 pm

A question came up in another post, I thought it was worthwhile to copy it here:

quote="fourperf"]You will hit your head kiteboarding[/quote]

how so bro?[/quote]

Let's count some of the ways. Many of these have little to do with experience by the way. Not everyone will suffer head injuries only some of us. Now tell me who, in advance, OK? That way ONLY the guys that are going to get bashed will need to bother with lids, simple!?

- Sudden strong wind gust

- Rigging too large a kite for conditions

- Sudden change in wind direction

- Rigging your lines in reverse

- In the OLD days using a board leash, although the board could easily miss the helmet and could hit your throat, spine, torso, wherever. Not a lot of people use leashes anymore anyway, right?

- Miscontrolling your bar

- Launching your kite with the bar upside down

- Having a jump extended on to shore

- Being knocked over by a wave

- A line tangle on launch

- A line snag on launch, say with a stick

- A line tangle caused by strumming in stronger winds

- Having an assistant screw up an assisted launch or landing, releasing too soon, throwing the kite, loosing thier hold on the kite, slipping, grabbing the wrong part of the kite

- Slipping on the bottom and falling over at speed

- Trying to climb up some rocks to exit the water

- Chicken loop breakage

- Someone tangling their kite lines with yours and releasing their bar

- Being uplift lofted when your kite passes over a vertical surface in onshore winds.

- Someone grabbing your bar or lines unexpectedly

- Jumping a hard object and having the wind change or merely setup the jump wrong

- Hitting a floating limb or other flotsum

- Having a wave propel your board or someone elses into you

- Jumping using a kite on land

etc.



That is all that I can REMEMBER for now. That is these have ALREADY caused people to be injured and in some cases killed. None of these are made up. The victims have ranged from newbies to some VERY experienced kiteboarders.


So, who needs helmets?


and


These photos were taken by the rider yesterday. He will continue to heal over time, the hair will grow back fairly rapidly still this is not a great experience for anyone to have to go through. Thanks to this kiteboarder for sharing his experience in the hope of sparing some other guys from having to go through this.

Image

Image

Be careful out there, learn what precautions to employ and use them even if you feel you need to hurry. While you are at it, get a good helmet for kiteboarding, impact vest and wear them WHENEVER you kiteboard. This rider usually wore a helmet, just not this time. Safety gear is for just in case.

User avatar
jonnygo1
Rare Poster
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:10 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Northeast USA
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Go slow bend....

Postby jonnygo1 » Mon Feb 14, 2005 7:51 pm

I've ridden at Go Slow a couple of times and it's a SHIT launch even with some people to help you. I think it shows some bad judgement to even try to launch here when the wind is strong enough to warrant an 8 meter kite.
While I feel bad for anyone that is injured as a result of kiting I don't think even the best helmet will protect you from a bad decision.
All the best to you in your recovery! I think go slow is best left to the kook windsurfers. VIVA club med!!!!!

User avatar
Balloonboy
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 515
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:57 pm
Favorite Beaches: sandy
Style: Kook-style
Gear: Kite + bar + board
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Nassau, Bahamas
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Hmm. Shit launches?

Postby Balloonboy » Mon Feb 14, 2005 7:55 pm

I'll remember that next time someone suggests we go to "T'unnelles" in the Gorge. :bye:

User avatar
DrLightWind
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2002 1:00 am
Local Beach: Matheson Hammock Park Miami
Favorite Beaches: Crandon Beach, Hobbie Beach, Keys, St. Lucia, St. Marteen,
Style: Old School
Gear: Flysurfer15m and 21m Speed3 DLX
RealWind Mutant 148 X 40 and Directional 190 X 48, F-One TT 128 X35, Dereck Semi Directional 143 X 38 and 177 X 46.
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Miami @ 6" Flat Butter!
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby DrLightWind » Tue Feb 15, 2005 12:17 pm

I do believe the pictures are telling us a thousand word!

I'v been using the Gath Helmet since Alex's accident.

If he had a helmet when he was lofted and s*ite hit the fan,
than he would be still with us I'm telling you guys.


Sorry to say but it was a sadly way of lesson to be learned on somebody else's mistake.
DrLightWind

PS - Stop jumping close to the shore and if it's onshore and gusty consider a helmet for your brain which is your best safety! :!:
Attachments
Alex Right on Pic & RULES.jpg
Alex Right on Pic & RULES.jpg (82.11 KiB) Viewed 2443 times
Last edited by DrLightWind on Mon Sep 07, 2009 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 » Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:09 pm

I just spoke with the rider and he said he is feeling much better, strong and positive. His doctor was impressed by how rapidly his neck fractures are fusing. He is on a new diet to try to aid the healing and is working through a physical rehab routine to help things along. His right eye is still blurry with distant objects and he thinks he may have to go in for glasses. His knee is also acting up a bit still. The doctor has told him he needs to stay off the water for another month. He was grateful to be alive despite the severity of the accident and to be healing so rapidly. Thanks for all the positive thoughts out there!

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 Mar 30, 2005 4:22 pm

I just got an update from the rider. He says he feels great now that he is back on the water kiteboarding. He is just cruising and jumping at this point, avoiding more radical tricks for now. He said he would send some riding photos to me.

His wife has noticed his stronger spirits to the point to where she is wondering about taking this sport up herself. His knee is still acting up so he wears a knee brace when he rides. The vision in his right eye is still blury and his neck is still painful at times. Still, the man is moving on as he heals.

He has shaped some boards shown below:

Image

Image

He has been busy around the house, painting the exterior indicating ladder work is still a bit dodgy. He is also about to cast the floor slab for his new workshop.

Things have changed at the local launch with most everyone in helmets and impact vests including the rider in a bright red lid.

So, he is continuing to recover well from this serious injury. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your experience.
Last edited by RickI on Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: andylc, Baptiste_FR, basti52406, Bing [Bot], Cab Driver, DanielorDani, Google [Bot], grigorib, IvanoKite, nothing2seehere, Peter_Frank, SolarSet, tilmann, vladi elthve, WS79, y2kBug, Yahoo [Bot] and 365 guests