Kite surfer hospitalized after accident
http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Ki ... ida-021912

Updated Feb 20, 2012 3:17 AM ET



A kite surfer was hospitalized Sunday after losing control in the air and colliding with a building in Palm Beach, Fla.

The surfer, who has not been identified, was swept into the lakeside one-story building as strong winds gusting as high as 31 mph buffeted the area, The Palm Beach Post reported.

A West Palm Beach police spokeswoman said the surfer was taken to nearby St. Mary's Medical Center after complaining of pain.

There was no damage to the building, the spokeswoman added.

He was on a small inland lake west of the Intracoastal Waterway which should remain nameless. The wind was southwest and given a lot of buildings in that direction is particularly gusty. It cleans up a small amount there out of the WNW. You are better off heading to the Keys or Miami Flats by sea taxi for SW winds. This is a poor choice for kiting for many reasons. Does anyone know more details about what happened including the size kite the guy was on? If he was lofted while on land, the building is pretty close by.

The kiter was launching a 13 Waroo (I've never flown them, and know nothing about this model, but some of the guys who have flown them in the past were telling me that this particular model year was know for being unstable during gusts). Most others were on 11 or 12. I work with the kiter, and another friend of ours was meeting us out at the lake that day. I was coming in to land my kite as this all happened. The other friend launched the kite and despite being lined up properly for a launch, some turbulence immediately took the kite towards a tree. Experience is surely a factor in what followed, but there was an overcorrection when steering the kite away from the tree that initiated a down loop of the kite to the right away from the trees and buildings. The kiter began getting pulled violently, and the other friend ran to try to get a hand on his harness and help him regain control. He was only able to get the pilot turned around a bit before he was dragged violently into a 2' tall knee wall, striking with his right hip/back. The kite crashed onto the top of the building described in the article, but the kiter did not strike the building at all. There was probably 20 feet or so between the knee wall and the rear wall of the building. There have been a number of break-in's at the building in question, and the police were responding to an alarm that was set off when the kite struck the building. They were the ones quoted in the story as saying the kiter struck the building, however, only the kite struck the building and set off the alarm.

We followed the kiter to the hospital a short while later, and were relieved to learn that there are no broken bones. Some serious bruising and swelling, but nothing requiring surgery. This is the scariest thing I have ever seen kiting, and I am thankful that the individual who launched the kite was able to get the pilot turned around before he struck the wall. When he first got pulled, he was going head first. This was my first time ever kiting in *Nameless Lake*, and I don't think I had a real appreciation for how quickly things can go wrong in that environment.

good to hear he has not been injured severely!

Thank you for the details in particular that the kiter did NOT strike the building. The media got it wrong, imagine that? Glad he is ok.

So, the fellows kite was launched pointing towards the water or inland towards the tree? That is a real gusty spot, more so out of the SW as you noticed. Your kite can rapidly yo yo up and down in the lulls and gusts particularly if you don't sheet in and out regularly enough. You need a lot of room and good kite handling to manage things properly. That spot has very little room for error as you say.

I've had Really Close calls in this sport, that resulted in some seriously
pissed-off body parts & bruising. It's Always "Good", when you can go home
to the Hot-tub & a shot or Three of Whiskey !!

Bille

Rick, kite was launched with LE facing the water. Almost immediately after release, the wind lulled and shifted a a few more degrees out of the south, and the kite drifted towards the trees that sit between the buildings and the lake. It was a combination of sheeting and steering error and his fear of the what would happen if the kite was to strike the tree. Best bet would have been to just steer it back to the ground where someone had just launched it rather than try to get it up above the tree. He got the kite above the tree and then overcorrected to bring it back towards the water.

I know from talking to him at the hospital that he didn't want to trash his kite and he was really focused on keeping the kite away from the tree. These are decisions that we sometimes have only moments to consider before things get very quickly out of control. I, for one, have a new appreciation for what I think is worth putting at risk to try and save a kite.

We ride similarly sketchy wind around here on our inland lakes. It's easy to get complacent but gusty spots are always unpredictable.

One of our guys got lofted into some rocks and messed up his wrist a few days ago. He's ridden the spot a million times and knows the drill, but all it took was an oddball gust and he went sailing for the rocks. Could have been worse in this case too. Luckily he steered out of most of the danger.

Gotta respect those gusts (and I have to keep telling myself that too).

Pretty much the worst session i've ever tried to have, I didn't even launch my kite. I saw this guy slam into the wall and everyone elses kites were falling out of the sky every 2 minutes so I didn't even bother.

At least there was no damage to the building...

In every kitemare there seems to be common elements or trends. One of this is always risk management.
The most important part students learn in kiteboarding lessons is understanding 'risk management'. Im a fighter pilot for the US Air Force-We call this Operational Risk Management and we do this every time before we fly. The four principles of ORM are:
-Accept risk when benefits outweigh the cost.
- Accept no unnecessary risk.
-Anticipate and manage risk by planning.
- Make risk decisions at the right level.
This simply comes down to considering all factors and whether they add or subtract from the risk. Subsequently, mitigating the existing risk level by adding certain variables (i.e. Its offshore today and cold so I will wear a wetsuit and have boat support just in case things go south). We use this ORM every time we go up and fight and it will definitely apply to kiteboarding given the extreme nature and changing variables. If you are in a controlled environment with adequate support i.e. dedicated jet skis who are constantly watching, then this might be an acceptable risk. The most important thing to take from this is to make risk assessments every time you kite.

Jake
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