Fatality in France

[Leon van Bergen]

last Saturday afternoon a guy and his daughter went out for kiting.
Daughter stopped, waited for her father, but he did not come ashore.
A few hours later the rescue service found his board and kite but had to stop the search in the evening because of the extremely strong wind.
Next morning (yesterday) they found him between the rocks near a pier at scheveningen beach.
He was very experienced and was even a teacher, nobody knows what happened, so terrible. it was all over the news yerterday.

[sarc]

Braugnoff, exactly as you say - right on every point

How can you say these deaths could have been prevented with YOUR way of working. Your method would not work in 40knts and hooked launch is way more controlled, ofcourse there is always a chance for things to go wrong but to simply blaim it on their launching technique is rude!
(...)

Because this is inherently safe, so yes, if trouble appeared just when launching, as seems to be pointed by the comments on the French forum, then not being hooked-in IS a life saving technique. The kite should be reasonably stable on the edge of the window when only held by the chicken loop. This gives an escape route in case the bar is badly trimmed, oversheeted, or plain wind strength misjudgement. Past those first 10 seconds, then the rider can make a go/no go decision.

Also the person assisting in a launch has a responsibility to hold onto the kite until clearly notified to let go, and should check the lines aren't wrapped, that the kite seems fine when lines are pre-tensioned, ... even more so in tough conditions. With a duty to not launch if anything is not right. Talking to the assistant beforehand is also good practice. "Wind is strong, haven't used that small kite in a while, and maybe not on that bar, so before you let go of my kite, make sure you wait for my signal so that I can check if the lines are OK, if trim is alright, etc... Thanks mate!"
Because it's hard to find a trusted assistant, it's sometimes preferable to self launch, potentially with an anchor.

Anyway, don't know the details of this tragic accident, be careful out there!

[TomW]

The problem here is: 40 knots. That's insane. Feel sorry for the guys family.

[Kiterisland]

The problem here is: 40 knots. That's insane. Feel sorry for the guys family.

That's what I was thinking. I think of it in snowboarding slope difficulty ratings...

10-20kts = Green - Beginner
20-25kts = Blue - Intermediate - Slightly more challenging, more skill needed
25-30kts = Black Diamond - Advanced - Challenging, a lot of skill needed
30-35kts = Double-black Diamond - Expert only, extremely challenging with some hazards out of your control
35+kts = Tripple Black Diamond - Extreme expertise required, most extreme challeng with potentially many hazards out of your control

Even the most advanced sailors are taking a pretty decent risk in 40kts, many hazards are not in your control eg-one line snaps and you could die. I've seen guys go out in 30+ knots who had no business being out there, but because they had a small kite they think they are safe. Not true.

My condolences to the family, hope they can heal from the loss.

[Onda]

Absolutely! By far the biggest danger is strong / gale force wind!
My impression is that this factor is heavily underestimated by many, especially younger and very experienced kiters.
In 30+ kts the result of even minor mistakes of pilot or material are easily fatal with no time for proper reaction.
I became much more cautious in this regard over the years (now my 12th year of kitesurfing, luckily never injured so far). I simply didn´t launch quite some times because of too much wind. I could have done it (suitable material, experience etc.), but I simply said to myself: The risk of getting hurt is too high for me in these conditions.
So many unexpected and unlikely things can happen. In 30+ kts you have no chance to react in time. Before you even can think you´re flying into the air and impact hard. Even with your hand at the QR during launch.

My advice here: Better leave out a potential gale session! Next session will surely come anyway, in easier and safer conditions. Enjoy watching the others ripping and save your health. It´s just one session missed.

[Matteo V]

The problem here is: 40 knots. That's insane. Feel sorry for the guys family.

I do not want to encourage beginners or intermediates to go out in 40knots, but there is something that must be said for the above comment.

The primary thing to make 40knots relatively safe is experience. Kiting in 35knots is a prerequisite. And kiting in 30knots is the prerequisite to kiting in 35knots....and so on. The best recipe for death is to kite in 22knots of wind for 99% of your kite experience, and 1% of your kiting experience at 30knots, then think you can handle that one 40knot day. Work up slowly, and have the maturity to decide to watch kiting on a day that you are unsure if you can handle the conditions - specifically if you have not been out in winds close to the speed they are on that day.

But the thing that makes this statement "technically wrong", is that I could make 25knots more dangerous than 40knots by simply choosing the wrong kite/kitesize. A 4-6m kite in 40knots is less dangerous than 25knots on a 17m (with average depower capabilities) for an experienced kiter. If it is 40 knots and the smallest kite you own is a 9m, you can't handle it! Stay on the beach and watch.

There are many other factors that one could cite such as familiarity with a spot, turbulence, and a freak gust. But those pose just as much, or more of a hazard, than just the the stated wind speed on ANY KITE SIZE!

[Matteo V]

10-20kts = Green - Beginner
20-25kts = Blue - Intermediate - Slightly more challenging, more skill needed
25-30kts = Black Diamond - Advanced - Challenging, a lot of skill needed
30-35kts = Double-black Diamond - Expert only, extremely challenging with some hazards out of your control
35+kts = Tripple Black Diamond - Extreme expertise required, most extreme challeng with potentially many hazards out of your control

10-20kts = You can kill a beginner in slightly offshore winds with a 17m (or any size) in 10knots if that beginner cannot relaunch it. You could kill a beginner with a 17m on the beach if there are rocks or other hard objects to hit, or if there are big gusts/turbulence. This wind speed should never be considered safe.
20-25kts = Same here for intermediates on the wrong kite size, lacking experience, unfamiliar location, gusts/turbulence on many kite sizes
25-30kts = Same here for advanced on the wrong kite size, unfamiliar location, gusts/turbulence on many kite sizes
30-35kts = Same here for experts on the wrong kite size, unfamiliar location, gusts/turbulence on any kite size
35+kts = Same here for "extreme experts" on the wrong kite size, unfamiliar location, gusts/turbulence on any kite size

Even the most advanced sailors are taking a pretty decent risk in 40kts, many hazards are not in your control eg-one line snaps and you could die. I've seen guys go out in 30+ knots who had no business being out there, but because they had a small kite they think they are safe. Not true.

You are correct in the statement that having a small kite does not make you safe. It is a 2-5 variable equation.

#1 is experience - more important than kite size because if your 4m is in the shop getting repaired, an experienced kiter would not go out on thier 7m. They would just skip that day. An inexperienced kiter would likely "try" to go out on their 7m.

#2 Kite size - also necessary, but having the right size does not make up for a lack of #1

#3 Conditions (apart from just wind speed) - If turbulent, gusts, direction changes or rotor, or wide range of wind speeds within a 30minute period (4knots to 35knots 45knots), you would have no business kiting, nor would you have any fun if you even made it out. A kiter with lots of #1 would go home.

#4 Gear specs/condition - do you use thin rear lines for higher performance at lower wind speeds? Is your lineset more than 50% through it's lifespan? Any issues with your release of late? If the kiter answers yes to any of these, then even an expert should not go out in above 30knots.

#5 Physical shape/injuries/capabilities - do you poses the mental/physical reaction time to control a kite at that wind speed? Do you have any injuries (even recently healed) that would be detrimental to you making the faster tempo of high wind kiting safe? If no to the first, and/or yes to the last, don't go out.

[iriejohn]

The problem here is: 40 knots. That's insane. Feel sorry for the guys family.

This.

[Toby]

Simple question: is it worth putting up that risk for a fighting, cold and no tricks session in 40 knots, where the chance of an injury or even fatality is pretty high?
Or just stay home and wait for the next good and fun session? And more of those in your future. If shit happens you will miss many good sessions...so ask yourself if you really think you gain something from a hardcore session.
You are more of a hero in front of your buddies if you landed a new trick instead of riding in 40 knots.

[grigorib]

The incident description is barely giving an idea what actually went wrong. Any details please?