Missing Kiteboarder Found After Search (who wasn't lost?!)

[RickI]

A kiter was seen to go down, not relaunch and his kite eventually drifted off. Concerned bystanders onshore called rescue authorities and a search was launched. He was eventually found onshore safe and sound. We need to work to avoid unnecessary searches, these have become a problem in some areas of the world. Simple communication can help avoid this problem. Sometimes kiters are lost for real which is when you need authorities to pull out the stops in the search and rescue efforts. Also, what sort of conditions contribute to lost kites or boards that can potentially put you at risk, possibly launch what may be an unnecessary search, and perhaps cost you some serious money in lost gear?

Lots more about all of this at:

viewtopic.php?f=131&t=2376272

[KiteboardingTampaBay]

That was in this area- we have had East Winds for days, which is directly offshore for Clearwater Beach. I can't imagine a dealer around here selling a kite without lessons (insert sarcasm here) Any word on the brand???

SInce you trimmed my "offshore self rescue method" from your safety article Ricki, here's something that other kiters may find useful:




It works for offshore winds, or going back upwind to get your board. It works, and is far safer than letting air out of your kite.... Try it next time you're out turtle watching and you'll see what I mean...
Read the full self rescue article here:
http://kiteboardingtampabay.com/kiteboa ... escue.html

Happy Kiting!
www.kiteboardingtampabay.com

[tautologies]

We have that over here too. Rescue people told us to call 911 and say that everything is fine if we lose a rig.

[Toby]

We have that over here too. Rescue people told us to call 911 and say that everything is fine if we lose a rig.

make sense! and good to know, thx for the article Rick!

[RickI]

I spoke to one of the local USCG (Coast Guard) offices in Florida about what to do if you lose a board or kite a couple of days ago when this thread came up on another site. They confirmed that it would be good to notify them if a board or kite is lost, when and where. This could avoid an unnecessary search and might even see you getting your gear back if found. Having your contact name and phone number on your kite and board can help a lot. Make sure someone knows where you are when you are kiting and when you will likely be back. Always going with someone is a good idea too. There is a lot that we could say about this from all the accidents and incidents over the years, there have been dozens of threads.

If you are offshore, perhaps well offshore with your kite down do whatever you safely need to do to get back to shore. It should be something you are already practiced at. I have found sailing in with the kite on the water to be the best for me, my record being over a mile off Antigua when my old C kite tied up in knots after inverting in strong gust winds off another small island upwind quite a way off. It took me right into where I was staying as opposed to letting me drift off island.

If the wind is dead offshore, sailing in with your kite on the water may not work, you go parallel to the shore or even slightly away from land. Swimming in is all you are left with unless a boat picks you up. Stay with your gear, it improves your visibility to rescuers among other things. Using your kite as a raft as shown is fine as long as the wind isn't too strong in my experience. I have been out several times with offshore wind shifts and once about 11 years back deliberately (and stupidly) in strong offshore wind when a normally inflated kite had me drifting offshore regardless of my efforts to swim it in. Again, you need to do what works. In those cases (in fairly warm SE Florida) I would drop the leading edge pressure enough to reduce the wind drag on the kite to where I could actually pull the lot into shore with a wing tip low to the water using a side stroke. Your battens are still fully inflated with some pressure in the leading edge too. Kiters should have an impact vest on anyway for times like this and more routine needs in my opinion so you have your own flotation with you regardless.

If you are in hypothermic conditions, things can become even more complicated and individual factors may govern. Things like whether you have a properly functioning dry suit on vs. a wetsuit depending on conditions. Is the wetsuit thick enough for extended time in the water, etc. If your exposure clothing is too light, you may need to stay out of the water as much as possible after a time, meaning you really screwed up. There is a lot more than summarized in this short post that you need to know in such conditions including staying close to shore. You may need to lay on your kite at that point to protect body heat depending on your exposure clothing/circumstances and try to swim in as shown and hope someone picks you up soon. Sometimes they have in time and at others, not.

A female kiter was tragically lost years back in Europe in December conditions like this and was unable to paddle into shore resting on her kite in slightly side offshore winds caused when a cold front arrived. She had been told not to go out in these conditions but did anyway. Rescue came ten hours later after dark when she was found laying on her kite in cold rainy conditions. She had expired from heat loss. Other kiters have been lost with wind shifts and too light or damaged exposure clothing.

Offshore wind shifts from fronts moving in, squalls and shutting off of thermal winds are usually predictable to varying degrees. Don't fall into these traps, work to anticipate problems and act early to avoid them including always kiting with others with a reaction plan, always wear appropriate exposure clothing for conditions and be prepared to blow off kiting if appropriate.

[Baer18]

Thanks for posting this Rick.

Definitely always a good idea to alert the local authorities if any gear is lost.

It is also always a good idea to check not only the wind forecast, but radar predictions as well. Obviously they won't be 100% correct, but can at least give you an idea of any fronts coming in or potential wind shifts.

[RickI]

Thanks for your input and what you say is very true. Paying attention to weather is a good thing. It can bring many rewards ranging from less wind waiting, being rigged right more of the time to reducing the odds of getting messed up in predictable weather changes.

There are some ideas for weather planning and monitoring at the link below. I believe all kiters should go through something like this before sessions using weather sites that work for their area if outside the USA. Less wind waiting, better sessions, less risk of ER visits, sounds good to me.

I just updated the Weather Planning document with links to useful websites in the second post and added a cloud identification guide to the bottom of the thread at:

viewtopic.php?f=131&t=2300711&p=753728#p753728