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When was the last time you tried out your QR ?

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:51 pm
by panchito
That´s exactly what I asked the fellow who´s kite knocked me down last sunday .....

Here´s the story .... Yesterday was ( thanks who ever { I´m not religious } ) the last " occupation " day of the tourists in Tarifa ( yes half Spain returns back home ) and the wind was blowing from west 15 knots or so , so I decided to take the chance to have a nice " Poniente " session in Valdevaqueros .

I pumped my 13 m and headed to the beach away from the crowd , started to attach the lines and got to my knees to search for the front line pigtail and suddently I hear someone shouting , a noise like a kite is passing towards me and as a reflex I put my arm in front of my face and booom !!! all I can remember was that I was laying flat on the sand with lots of kiters talking to me and asking if I was ok ... after some minutes ( I did saw stars = I though that part was always a joke ) the kiter runs towards where I was telling me that was so sorry , if I was ok and so on .... and then I see that he still has his bar attached to his harness and then I asked him :

Why the f*** you did not use to QR ?

His answer was : everything happened so fast like in 2-3 seconds when I realized that the kite got out of control I tried to release the chicken but it was stuck . and then .... I never really used until today ...

I told him : shit man you could kill me or even worst kill yourself , the QR is the most important part of your kite and you need to know how to use it .

The moral or the story ... I´m ok .. my elbow hurts and I really hope that guy learned something very important from this .

If someone cares about this story , please check your QR on a regular basis not only to be sure it works properly but also so YOU know how to use it ... it can save your life and from bystanders

Yeah I know , my English is terrible but I hope you get the message :idea:

Have fun
Saludos


Franz

Re: When was the last time you tried out your QR ?

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:18 pm
by mv
Good point on the QR check. I try and use my QR to land my kites, FS kites with the FDS, whenever I get the chance. When the beach is empty I like to ride up to the beach with the kite low and pull the QR once my kite gets over the sand. This way I am pulling the release under full power and make sure that it will work like I want it to.

Another issue is not just releasing the QR but being able to put it back together properly. If you never take it apart how will you know how to put it together.

mv
http://www.kitesurfinfo.com

Re: When was the last time you tried out your QR ?

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:36 pm
by Toby
good to hear you are ok!

Thanks for sharing the story, this is the most important for everyone: know where your QR is, and how it works.

Train it every time before and while you are on the water.

See also this:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2350685

Re: When was the last time you tried out your QR ?

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:35 am
by sq225917
I always leave my QR open when i pack my kite, so i have to close it at the start of every session.

A sensible tip.