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Attention all kiteboarders - you must read this

Forum for kitesurfers
Flea
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Postby Flea » Sun Jun 09, 2002 11:55 am

It's time to get out of the mentality of It Won't Happen To Me.

If it can go wrong, it will. Plan for it.

Everyone who takes part in this or any sport accepts the dangers inherent in it.

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Postby Guest » Sun Jun 09, 2002 12:08 pm

I completely agree with Juergen!

All you Kiters with unbounded experience you don´t need no safety leash!
Of course you don´t. You don´t risk your lifes. You risk others´.

It is not a point of not having time to unhook, but beeing hit by kites out of control!

Read the 3 reasons that lead to the accident. It is a criminal action detaching safety devices!

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Postby Guest » Sun Jun 09, 2002 12:14 pm

@Flea:

You may accept the danger.

My approach is to eliminate danger. If you want to accept others risking your life, it´s up to you. I don´t want to kite at a spot with riders wearing no kite-leash.

Think about it. It may hit bystanders as well.

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Postby Guest » Sun Jun 09, 2002 2:21 pm

To all who are trying to blame someone (industry organizers etc.):

To make things clear in advance: i am absolutely not involved in the kite industry (well, beside beeing a consumer) and i am not selling kites or any good that has to do with kitesurfing.

Any kitesurfer - be it beginner or pro is repsonsible for his own and the safety of others. If you do not have the nesessary knowledge or brains to tell if a kitesurfing kite is safe or not then for gods sake get some proper professional (i know that is hard to find) training and use the knowledge available about the topic on the web.

Kitesurfing is not a sport for all people and definately not a sport for stupid human beeings - you will kill yourself or others!

Kiteboarding is an extreme sport which requires complex knowledge about kiting and powerkiting in general, weather, wind, physics and other disciplines. Unless you have not invested the necessary time to aquire that knowledge you shouldn't be out there be it pro or beginner.

The only ones to blame in this game are stupid customers who believe in advertising campaings instead of using their brain to question the often rediculous claims of manufacturers about the qualities of certain kites - wake up, use your brain, dont follow unsafe trends !

I personally fly peter lynn arcs because i believe that they are the safest kiteurfing kites available today (no pull, no spins when the safety is depoloyed no matter how much the wind picks up) and i would never buy any 4-line inflatable simply for security reasons - but i do not blame anyone, i used my knowledge obtained in years of powerkiting to tell good from bad, unsafe from safe.

But thats my personal, carefully thought over and real world certified approach to safe kiteboarding.

If someone would offer you a brand new mercedes without brakes for a few 1000 euros would you buy it ? - so why do you buy (and fly!) 4-line inflatables with no working security system ?

beside from his choice of toys I am totally with cris calthrop and hope that silkes tragic death will change the attitude of a lot of kitesurfers towards usage of kite safety and ragarding their often (in my opinion) stupid choice of Equipement.

Paul

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Postby Toby » Sun Jun 09, 2002 4:01 pm

what about Takoon?
They developed a bar with a working safety and 3 quick releases.
This should be standard for all bars now.
And a bar without any quick release shouldn't be sold at all.
Even an ARC needs a quick release (I'm not 100% sure at the moment that they have one at their bar).

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Postby Guest » Sun Jun 09, 2002 9:42 pm

" Tears in heaven....."

I´m missing the words to describe how I feel.

I´m feeling with Silke´s family, friends and all people knowing and loving her...

I´m very thankful about Toby and Toddo from Kite Pro Shop gave me a Takoon Kite with 3 Safety quick releases, hoping never to get in a similar situation.

Sadly,

Swenja

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Postby Guest » Sun Jun 09, 2002 10:12 pm

wir trauern um dich silke und du bleibst in unseren herzen...
frank und der ganze rest

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Postby ERX » Sun Jun 09, 2002 10:45 pm

hi bros in this tragic moment. its hard to read people who knew personally Silke. I see them crying. My condolences.

I`d like to add my opinion regarding safety systems although I`m absolute beginner in this sport.

Of coarse industry have not been on the right level since we are reading about all of those accidents and incidents around the world for long time. Only some companies have made certain steps to make things more secure. Most of tragedies could be avoided if quickrelise used, safety rules not ignored and so on....
But i`d like to focus Your attention also toward psychological aspects here.
All of newbies who have bought kite immediately go to try the "toy" to beach or even worse to some grassy meadow. No one of firstimers have not heard about dangers of sport and even if so ignore all of precautions (I am not exception, I cut a power on high voltage line last winter, luckily wasn't hooked in and elevated up there). That's a nature of human, we are having lessons only from our own mistakes. Lucky if not paid too high price.
Here in my local place we have just some 50 kiters but regardless of our wide, 500 km long, obstractionfree beaches people do terrible things. As long as they have not seen any accident themselves, cant realise that this lightweight peace of clothe can even kill. Every time I see rude violence of safety rules by kiters. Day before yesterday guy with a season of experience got kite rolled downwind to powerzone and launched kite right above the heads of two childs. Then some month ago another guy "surfed" over the beach and slammed kite near sunbathing family. Then "action" on some lake In April, when water was cold enough not to stay in it for long I saw absolute idiots: first one beginner launched kite in strong, straight offshore wind down to the lake, dropped it and drifted at least one hour downwind weared in shorti wetsuit. Moment afterwards next one started almost in the same place and ended up in the trees on the beach, he still tried to steer the kite. Kite bent over the branch and I shouted him get out of the harness lines but he said: its all right! Afterwards he was lifted out of the water and dropped on the ground. Somehow both, kiter and kite left in one peace.
But that wasn`t the end of the story. Some time after this, another guy finished in the same place. Windsurfers of coarse since part of them have sceptic attitude toward kitesurfing, stood and concluded: kitesurfing is stupid way of spending money and time.
Actually I can tell more crazy stories about broken foots or hands. Looks so strange that fly just some meter above the ground and five forward can brake something. It just looks so funny and innocent.

Later I spoke to one of guys who almost hanged in that lake on the tree. He wasn't idiot as a person, clever enough, just had no idea about kitesurfing and eventual danger.

In the end what I meant: kitesurfing from aside looks nice, not always extreme way of sport, attractive instead of just lazy laying on the beach. I see that those who sell kites are not interested to frighten customers. But I know from my experience, only this forum convinced me that I have to think about worst case what can happen. But not all of beginners read this.
Therefore probably some mandatory instruction have to be made by salesperson before anybody gets his first quiver and then buyer sign certain paper that have been instructed and know his responsibility like it is in parachute sport. There have to be mentioned real accidents, shown pictures with results and also mentioned sad statistics of foolish behaviour. Otherwise everyone find safety instructions in kite manuals like those for microwave owens: "Do not dry domestic animals!" Fun of coarse.......

Looks like people understand only if frightened.
Or I`m wrong?

Good Bless Silke
ERX

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Postby Guest » Sun Jun 09, 2002 10:50 pm


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Postby Guest » Mon Jun 10, 2002 1:33 am

stop smoking crack fool
On 2002-06-09 03:39, Anonymous wrote:
But I dont see any Kite Pros with safety system (5th line).
Shouln't World Tour Organization make them use it !?

My condolonces to her family

Joao Luis Correia


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