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Just a warning to all beginners, even if you've been kiting for a few months but you may kite for a first time in a new spot.
Take extreme caution.

today, I was out at my usual spot just messing around by myself with a trainer kite in 20 knots. Then these 3 marines, here in Jamaica for 3 months, arrive one with kite gear. I was just packing up to leave when they arrived so i briefly said hi and introduced myself, they didn't seem in the least interested in getting some info on the area, any conditions they might want to know about etc.

so i decide to go for a lil walk and circle round, came back round and decided to take my trainer kite out again for another spin as i was having shitloads of fun teasing these dogs on the beach with the kite lol .

the guy all geared up was the 2 month rider , the other 2 guys never. spoke to them briefly again and told him if hee needed any advice or help just shout me, i'll be right here with ma trainer kite.

so he goes and hooks in, while i'm setting up my trainer, and next thing i look across and his noob buddies , (whom he gave absolutely no sintruction to) launched his kite (10m 2012 Rebel in 22 knots, the guy was 135lbs) , launched the guys kite DIRECTLY down wind. obviously way too much power soo he's being pulled inland (as the wind is pretty much directly onshore)... loses control and it smacks into some small trees. i rush to get it out ... luckily north's are build tough and he got no damage.

so he goes and sets up again, and i show the guys how to launch him at the edge of the wind ... so he gets the kite up , clearly over powered. so i ask if he's depowered, he told me he didnt know how , so i had to show him how the depower works.

he gets to the water ( remember almost directly onshore wind, and this spot is quite choppy) ... i gave him some advice ... not to be afraid of pulling your QR.

so i launch my trainer kite again and messing around , while he's trying to bodydrag out a lil so he can try launch, next thing i know his kite has crashed on the beach and he doesn't know how to re-launch.... long story short, ends up in the bushes again.

then they left....


JUST some advice to new-comers to the sport... if you reallyyyyy want to try and kite in an area you DO NOT KNOW,,,, and you're lucky enough to meet a local kiter there.... take some time to chat to him and ask everything you need to know about the area and the conditions etc. it might save you losing a $1500 kite... and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Bless !

Good advice, but it seems that even if those guys were kiting on a local spot it'd turn out the same. You launch the kite on the edge of the wind window anywhere after all.

That's not a case of not having local knowledge (like where the reefs are) that's just plain ignorance on how to kite right

why were you on the beach with a trainer kite while it was blowing 20 knots?

I used to be like you back in the good old days , looks like irresponsible and stupid people are all over around the world and tried way to many times to offer my help unsolicited and the reality is that it never really worked out ...

The key word is : unsolicited

And it happens to be that when you try to give some " good " advice to someone without been asked , they usually never listen to you ( even with an extreme and dangerous sport like ours )

So .... Unless I've been asked for advice ( on which i gladly give ) I just sit there and watch the show ... If he/she ( mostly he ) survives the experience , either you will soon find " cheap kitesurfing gear " for sale in some web site or the guy will do it better next time ( or maybe not ) .

Sad , I know ...

Have you seen someone launching a 9 m kite on extreme gusty conditions around 30 or so knots ? You are there , you know what is going to happen , you see what happens and then you shake your head thinking about what you said to that guy 5 minutes ago and than you come to the conclusion that ; there are indeed stupid people out there and there is nothing you can do.

Saludos

peter64 wrote:why were you on the beach with a trainer kite while it was blowing 20 knots?

1. Went up to FLorida last week and sold my kites. Getting some new LF stuff soon

2. still resting this finger injury

3. just got the trainer kite and wanted to find an ideal spot to give a friend a go

Watching the show can be entertaining. Unless of course there are innocents around. Have seen idiots do this kind of thing on a crowded beach....It is so tiring trying to explain that lines, kites, wind and sunbathing families are not a good mix.

Some guys think their manhood is measured by the strength of their stupidity.

Are they idiots? really?

No I think the majority of these people are simply ignorant.

They simply do not know what they don't know.

There are 4 shages of competence.
1) unconcious incompetence. egThese guys, they don't know what they don't know.ie they have no idea what dangers they are putting them selves in.

2)concious incompetence. Oh shit i've just realized i know nothing... i thought i knew everything!

3)concious competence. I've studied how to do it i know the theory. But i have to think about how to do it.

4)unconcious competence. i know how to do it without thinking about it. its automatic.

Now your job as the most competent guy is to somehow ease these guys from unconcious incompetence to concious incompetence. That needs to be done in a subtle manner. Its not an easy task.

So if you fail at that task who is to blame? the student or the teacher? I'm afraid its you. next time try a slightly different approach.

PS If you stand by and watch and do not offer any assistance when it is quite clearly required and that guy kills himself. You are part partly to blame for not trying your best to stop the situation.

plummet wrote:Are they idiots? really?

No I think the majority of these people are simply ignorant.

They simply do not know what they don't know.

There are 4 shages of competence.
1) unconcious incompetence. egThese guys, they don't know what they don't know.ie they have no idea what dangers they are putting them selves in.

2)concious incompetence. Oh shit i've just realized i know nothing... i thought i knew everything!

3)concious competence. I've studied how to do it i know the theory. But i have to think about how to do it.

4)unconcious competence. i know how to do it without thinking about it. its automatic.

Now your job as the most competent guy is to somehow ease these guys from unconcious incompetence to concious incompetence. That needs to be done in a subtle manner. Its not an easy task.

So if you fail at that task who is to blame? the student or the teacher? I'm afraid its you. next time try a slightly different approach.

PS If you stand by and watch and do not offer any assistance when it is quite clearly required and that guy kills himself. You are part partly to blame for not trying your best to stop the situation.

Excellent points! ... except for the one about who is to blame.... If I, as a voluntary unpaid "teacher", fail to coach someone from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence, I am not to blame. I would be to blame if I didn't try. But, if I tried and failed, I am not to blame for their unconscious incompetence and failure to learn. They are still responsible for their own ignorance.

I like your train of thought.