Missing kitesurfer in Connecticut!?

[aprok]

He was lost because he didn't want to let go of his expensive kit.

I do not know what kite he was using that day but every time I met Stoil he had old 2002 Cabrinha kites that are barely worth anything these days.

If he had abandonned his kit, he could have swum to shore. Our shoreline abounds with off shore currents within the sounds. He could have easily swum to shore according to the eye-witness accounts here when he first began floundering around, but he decided to wrap up his lines while the wind was blowing him into the current.

Whether he could have swum or not had he released the kite earlier we don't know. Neither do we know if he lost the kite deliberately or accidentally - and whether it was the right or wrong decision - we weren't there. We weren't there and it's a lot easier to judge and speculate what should have been done from sitting at the computer and reading witnesses stories. Most of the time it looks like it's an easy swim from shore, but it's a different story when you are in the cold water.

We don't know how we are going to react in a situation until we happen to be in it. Nor will the speculation really help anybody, unfortunately Stoil is no longer with us. Please out of respect to Stoil, let's refrain from making judgements.

What we can do is to prepare ourselves if we end up in dangerous situations is having some kind of device that will help the rescue teams spot you in the dark in addition to other things mentioned in this thread

[hugoc]

Please take 2 minutes to watch this video. It's the local news covering the rescue/recovery operation.

http://tinyurl.com/dnsnk

If you don't watch it, here is the lesson: Stoil was in the _middle_ of their search pattern, but was wearing a dark drysuit with no signaling and no flotation, making him nearly impossible to see in the dark. I'm sure something as simple as a helmet with reflective tape would have made a difference, or a drysuit manufactured with reflective tape on the shoulders.

It took a long time for rescue to get there, but they were there in force. I guess I always had in the back of my head that there's a boat crew and helicopter with the engines warmed up five minutes from wherever we are, and that's clearly not the case. Being prepared with some simple things and the clothing to last a few hours could make all the difference.

Seth

Everyone should carry one of these.

http://www.boatersland.com/acr3959.html

The coast guard wont see you and the reflective tape will only work if the light shines on you. A strobe light will attract the helicopter from miles away.

[SethP]

Hugoc -- That's perfect. How do you carry it?

Do you know anything about personal EPIRBs? For $130, they should bring rescue right to you even when a strobe can't be seen.

Seth

[lndpnt]

I too was there on Saturday, and rode with Stoil on many occasions..

I still can't get over the elation of such a perfect day, as I was driving away, I couldn't have had more fun even if it was a warm July day. 16 kites up, everyone throwing it, all the familiar bro's in the house...the stoke was way up there...

Then the juxtaposition of the horrible hours that followed...I had to leave early, but to all you riders that were there doing all you could for Stoil, I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been, thanks for being there.

No one really spoke about the frontal passage that was in store, It's a classic pattern, SW to WNW frontal passage, see attached for a more graphic example of the wind shift. I'm sure Stoil was unaware of it. Of all the safety issues with kitesurfing, especially on Sat with all the island jumping, and go-for-it stokathon, the wind direction shift wasn't even on my radar...and yet I submit, that was a major reason for Stoil's unfortunate fate. As far as kitesurfing goes, Saturday was perfect conditions, absolute steady WSW wind, the soundside was perfect side on, I have had four similar sessions there, this month. I didn't see how far Stoil was going out, but there was nothing unsafe about the wind direction ....until the violent windshift.

I've never ditched a rig, windsurfing or kitesurfing, I wonder what it's like. There must be at least some hesitation, I'm told Stoil was enjoying his first session on a new (used) Naish kite. I wonder if this may not have been the second unexpected reason for Stoil's predicament. Just a couple of minutes hesitation, and that ditch and swim window slips away forever.

Stoil seemed anti social until you engaged him, and then he was a warm friendly person. I recently borrowed a harness from him and he was eager to help. He would never ask for advice, though from my perspective he often needed it. I decided to give my two cent anyway, he always seemed grateful. Last week he lost his board, and waved me down to get it back to him. He had recently stopped using his board leash and was as yet unable to swim back to his board.

I have a video of a friend on the original red f-one board, 5-6 years ago getting what I believe to be his first jump. Stoil was standing next to me, and exclaimed "He's Flying!" in his russian accent, he was a windsurfer at the time, but I believe that was when he got the kitesurfing virus...

I saw Stoil flying the other day, his jumps were getting pretty respectable ....peace out, Stoil We'll miss you for sure/Lane

[vietkiter]

It took a long time for rescue to get there, but they were there in force. I guess I always had in the back of my head that there's a boat crew and helicopter with the engines warmed up five minutes from wherever we are, and that's clearly not the case.

Yes, while the frustration is understandable, but it's so convenient to blame the rescuers and expect them to risk their lives so that we can be risk takers... primary responsibility rests with those of us that put ourselves so close to the precipice out of love our sport...

I really think those who chooses to go out in those conditions should form a club and arrange for a jetski for these very situations... even a two man kayak may have helped...

I think a beacon is not very useful here... immersion hypothermia likely to hit you within an hour... given the rescue delay... all that means is that your body will be recovered quicker... it doesn't really change surviability...

[gideonlow]

This is truly terrible news and I find myself totally bummed-out this morning to learn that a fellow kiteboarder lost his life this way. I have a wife and son, and reading all this definitely gives me pause. My heart reaches out to the bereaved. I'll bet that almost all of the individuals on the rescue teams did everything they could even though there seems to have been delays in getting started.

I lived on Long Island the last couple of years and know have seen how fast the wind direction changes. The post-frontal winds are usually very gusty as well. I'm from California, and it hadn't even occured to me that you ride in water under 40 degrees F. When I saw people of my beach of Long Beach (Long Island) having a blast in February, I broke down and decided to buy whatever gear I needed to withstand the cold water.

I thought about it quite a bit--especially in the context of what could go wrong. A drysuit seemed like the nicest and most recommended solution, but if you did tear it for some reason you could be dead in 5 minutes. I was even considerusing a 3/2 under a drysuite thinking it would buy me valuable minutes in a crisis.

I ended up buying a Bare drysuit and trying it out in the relatively safe confines of Plumb Beach. Seemed wonderful the first time out, but on the second, I got pulled down into the water near the beach while launching and the suit got a little hole right away. At that point I was spooked and never used it again.

My next purchase will be a 6/4 Pyro for the NorCal waters this spring. Especially after this incident, there is no way I'll ever consider a drysuit for cold conditions. One more tidbit I learned from that book about the guys that discovered the U Boat of the NJ coast--after some time stuck in the water even drysuits start to leak through the the wrists and ankle (something to do with the way your skin absorbs moisture). So experienced divers know that after some amount of time stuck in cold water with no rescue (not sure, 12 hours?) you're done for.

Gideon

[hugoc]

Hugoc -- That's perfect. How do you carry it?

Do you know anything about personal EPIRBs? For $130, they should bring rescue right to you even when a strobe can't be seen.

Seth

Seth,

I wear an impact vest to I stick it in the zipper pocket of the vest in the back along with a whistle. I think that if you're kiting in the later afternoon hours that it's not a bad idea to have it strapped to your arm or helmet so you can just turn it on. Imagine trying to fly the kite, hold your board and get a strobe light out of your vest in gusty conditions - not easy.

For those of you who kite in the ocean with a back pack you can carry a vhf radio which allows you to communicate with other boats and the coast guard. The coast guard always monitors channel 16 so you can always hail them on that channel.

Regarding the EPIRB I don't carry an EPIRB because I'm not sure where I would carry it unless you wear a back pack. If you're kiting in the ocean in winter conditions I would definitely carry one. If $130 can improve your chances of getting rescued than why not - it's cheap life insurance.

The big thing we all need to consider here is that in cold water temperatures you do not have allot of time. I was in the water for almost 4 hours in 48 degrees and I barely made it. I was wearing a very warm 5/3 wetsuit at the time. You would have to layer pretty extensively under a dry suit to be able so spend any kind of time in the water. In the water you will loose body heat much quicker than in the air. If you did layer enough to spend time in the water than kiting would not be easy because you would overheat when riding. So the verdict is that no matter what you were if you're going Kiteboarding you cannot afford to end up in the water for any period of time - probably 1/2 hour tops or so. Hypothermia is pretty serious and my body started to shut down - you're legs and arms stop working and I suspect that this is what happened to our lost Kiteboarder.

[hugoc]

I too was there on Saturday, and rode with Stoil on many occasions..

I've never ditched a rig, windsurfing or kitesurfing, I wonder what it's like. There must be at least some hesitation, I'm told Stoil was enjoying his first session on a new (used) Naish kite. I wonder if this may not have been the second unexpected reason for Stoil's predicament. Just a couple of minutes hesitation, and that ditch and swim window slips away forever.

Stuff happens fast in this sport. If your life is threatened and you feel that ditching the kite is the best thing to do and you can swim back to shore don't even thing twice. The gear can be replaced, you cannot.

Most would argue that in most cases it's best to stay with the kite because it adds flotation and makes you visible, but it's not always the case and different in every situation.

I ditched my kite and was lucky to find it the next day without a scratch on it but I was so happy to have survived that the kite and bar were the last things on my mind.

[alsoares]

My condolences to the family. I'm very sad about this.
Thank God we have pretty warm conditions here in Brazil.

[kiteguy98]

This is very unfortunate, and my sympathy goes out to his family and his friends. I did not know him but I am saddened as the incident hits home for me. I would like to share a few thoughts on winter kiting with you.

My name is Mike Alpert, and if you don't know the story already, it was 3 years ago that I was lost at sea under similar circumstances. Kiting at the last few hours of the day in Dec. with a Nor'Easter due in the evening. Long story short, it was a broken line that dissabled the kite and my ability to get back to shore, strong currents thwarted any attempt to drag in behind my buddies. With dusk quickly approaching, I told them to get back to shore and call for a coast guard rescue. Well, with it now being completely dark, no moon, 50 kt winds, it was not expected to be found, especially when you're dressed like a ninja. I spent 6 1/2 hours in the ocean before I made it back to shore myself, and another 5 hours walking along desolate shoreline before reaching a phone.

So, as a survivor of similar circumstances, I offer this advice:

1. In the winter, stick to the harbor if you can.

2. THE COAST GUARD WILL EXHAUST ALL RESOURCES AND ENERGY TO FIND YOU, but for god's sake do something to make it easier for them. Put reflective tape on your suit., you can go down their and they will give you reflective tape for your suit. A blinking light, a mini lipstick size flair, MOB watch, something is better than nothing. AT ONE POINT THE HELLICOPTER FLEW RIGHT OVER ME AND I THOUGHT I WAS FOUND, IN FACT, I WAS RIGHT IN THEIR LIGHT, BUT THEY DIDN'T SEE ME.

3. Ditch the kite and swim in, If your too far from shore to swim in, do your best to hang on to the kite. Asside from floatation advantages, it's big and easier to see. I let go of mine, and my board, and sure enough, those things they found, me they didn't.

4. Finally, and this is my own personal feeling, having worn both, I believe that a 5mil wetsuit will keep you alive longer than a drysuit. The wetsuit uses the elements in your favor, the drysuit just fights it off. You can urinate in your wetsuit and that will help you stay warm, the drysuit does not offer this advantage. Like I said, my opinion from personal experience.

After every unfortunate incident and kitemare, there are the shoulda, coulda, woulda, statements, the tips and advice that may have prevented the unfortunate incident, but the undeniable fact is that all these situations have a common difference, the person. We all handle things differently when faced with such a situation and what could be our demise. So with that, I offer this (again, from personal experience):

***We as humans don't know a %^ing thing about the future, anthing is possible regardless of how convinced we are otherwise, which means take everything you know and are absolutely sure about, and accept the fact that you can be completely 100% wrong.

***Give yourself credit for being stronger than you think you are

***Don't give in, live as long as you can despite what you think the outcome will be.

I was certain I was going to die out there, 100%. and I was ready to close my eyes and sleep and have it be a peaceful ending. But then I thought, this is all I got and if this is the end of my life then I'm going to see it through to the end and not deny myself any of the precious few minutes that I have left. That meant being concious for the end. Yet with everything I "knew" here I am.

I don't wish this experience on anyone, but if if anyone does find themselves in such a predicament, I hope reading this helps in some way.

Michael