There have been a number of recent lofting accounts posted recently. So many that processing them will take some time. Given that these incidents and accidents appear to be on the rise, I decided to list some of the posted accounts here in one place. Time to rethink your approach to kiteboarding as our lucky riding streak seems to be ebbing. Be careful out there, all this is just about fun after all, ideally not life and death.
"I have started a new thread dealing with the fatality in Germany out of respect for the family and friends of the lost rider. Thanks to Toby for posting initial details and links to information about this sad accident. I have tried to do very crude translations using automatic Internet translation engines as shown below.
Does anyone have wind records near the area for the time of the accident?
Toby wrote:
hera link to a German site with more info:
http://www5.boot.de/cipp/md_boot/custom ... ,g_u_e_s_t
Another short article:
http://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/po/start_1 ... 36884.html
Poor Automatic Internet Translations follow. I have tried to guess at poorly translated segments with my own text depicted as (xxx?).
Berlin surfer dies in paraglider accident on Fleesensee
At the beginning of back far one end
17.06.2004
Fleesensee,
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Goehren Lebbin (dpa) - in an accident with a paraglider (traction kite?), at the Wednesday evening in the Mueritzkreis a 60-jaehriger (60 year old?), surfer died from Berlin. According to data of the police the screen (kite?) of the man on the Fleesensee was seized with Goehren Lebbin(while riding off of Goehren Lebbin?), by a gust of wind, while the surfer only few meters slid far away from the bank over the water (the accident occurred while another kiteboarded offshore only a few meters away?). It (The Kiteboarder?) was hurled at country (land?), hit against a fahnenmast (flagpole?), and died short time later in a hospital.
Strong wind
It concerns an experienced surfer out of Berlin Wilmersdorf, which was on own fist on the way, it was said. "it had waited that the partly strong wind abates, and in the evening despite warnings out-drove already all day long", said a coworker of a local Surf and sail school (A coworker from the local kiteboarding school said that he had waited until strong wind that had been blowing all day, diminished to launch that evening despite high wind warnings?). The surfer was much too close in view of the dominant wind conditions on the bank on the way (too close to the land in strong, unstable onshore wind conditions?),. The flat beach is one of the few at the Mecklenburgian sea-plate (seaboard?), which is certified for the Kite Surfen in such a way specified (this is one of the ONLY authorized kiteboarding launches in the area?). But it requires as when water AI driving a special permission. (Special permission to ride is required when strong weather conditions are present?)
Wind force 6-8 (22 to 40 KNOTS ONSHORE?)
"we determine still the exact cause, go however at present from an accident", said the director/conductor of the Warener kriminalpolizei, Friedhelm Nofz. The had an accident one suffered strong internal injuries in the case of the impact at the mast. At the Fleesensee wind forces between six and eight prevailed, said a speaker of the German weather service at the misfortune time. The wind reaches top speed up to 75 kilometers per hour (41 kts.).
A risky kind of sport
Accidents with the Fun kind of sport, with which with the paraglider (traction kite?), higher speeds than with are to be achieved the conventional Surfen, are not rare. (accidents are not uncommon in kiteboarding?) Only 2003 died at the Baltic Sea coast one of the best sportlerinnen of this kind of sport, when she was torn up and on buhne impacted.
NOTE: there may be an English version on the Boot.de website but I was unsuccessful in finding it.
and
Goehren Lebbin (dpa) in an accident with a paraglider (a traction kite?),- the Kite Surfen - died a 60-jaehriger citizen of Berlin on the Fleesensee with Goehren Lebbin. According to data of the police the screen(kite?), in the proximity of Goehren Lebbin was seized by a Boee (wind gust?). The water sportsman was hurled at country (land?), hit against a fahnenmast (a flag pole?), and died later in a hospital."
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