Forum for kitesurfers
-
Beardytello
- Frequent Poster
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 3:07 pm
- Local Beach: Isle of Man
- Gear: North / Spleene / Ozone / CrazyFly / Mystic
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
42 times
-
Been thanked:
14 times
Postby Beardytello » Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:22 pm
K-Roy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:12 pm
hard to explain the feeling in a situation when you and your kite is getting washing machined by two different waves simultaneously in powerful surf...
IMO.
release kite to safety if beyond relaunch.
(the next few minutes will be easier on you and your kite)
if you get in the lines get ready to release completely if need be.
try to stay focused, especially with breading, shit happens fast in powerful surf.
life west is a good idea!
(it easy to loose orientation when getting rolled underwater and panic can hinder your judgement, here the extra flotation will help)
glad you are ok.
cheers
Cheers dude, yeah luckily the vest was quite floaty (although it didn't feel it at the time) pretty sure this saved me.
-
alford
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 823
- Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 7:53 pm
- Gear: all brands
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
101 times
-
Been thanked:
47 times
Postby alford » Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:30 pm
edt wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 3:48 pm
In surf you can't swim towards your kite. You need to eject immediately otherwise the kite will yank you hard when the waves catch it, either the leash will pull the attachment right off the kite or something on the harness will break. It's different if you are out in the rollers. No matter what the situation is when you are swimming, gotta conserve energy. Lesson learned and no harm, get out there and hit those waves again! As for the kite set up, heck that can happen to anyone.
-
edt
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 7323
- Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
- Kiting since: 2010
- Local Beach: Michigan
- Gear: ride hard, no regrets
-
Has thanked:
531 times
-
Been thanked:
667 times
Postby edt » Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:37 pm
If you feel yourself tangled in the lines, just grab a line (any line don't be particular) and start hauling line so you can get to the kite. Usually if you are tangled up in the lines you are already close to the kite so it's not as hard as it seems. If you are in the surf and waves are hitting you, and you are tangled up in the lines, you can end up washed up on shore as a kite/lines/kiter meatball, quite embarrassing. If you can see the lines and figure out how to get out of them that's better of course, but not always possible. If you are in the surf and not tangled in the lines, once you see that wave eat your kite, full release, you ain't relaunching it. Whatever you do, just relax, stay calm, fear is the mind killer, we all know that from that Dune movie.
-
Matteo V
-
Has thanked:
0
-
Been thanked:
0
Postby Matteo V » Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:43 pm
Good that you are alive! Most kiters do survive this experience, but are forever changed by it. But even with being changed by it, you will still be able to have a good time kiting in those conditions again.
The first thing I would suggest is to get out and do some prone surfing, though strong swimming skills are a prerequisite to that. I strongly recommend that anyone who has a chance of kitesurfing in overhead waves get this experience first. And prone surfing does not need to be experienced in overhead waves to give a kitesurfer the confidence to release the kite completely and make it in swimming.
The second thing I would suggest is not flying an unfamiliar kite in conditions that are at the skill level limits of the kiter. Bottom line is that knowing when to not go out, is more valuable than having the skill to "almost" handle it. Definitely try new gear as much as possible, but just make sure there is a margin of safety with the conditions to account for not understanding that new gear. Personally, I will not get on a TT board in conditions that are at my limits anymore. I started out my kiteboarding experience on TT's and was good on them, but since I don't use them any more (but get asked to try one once in a while), I do not have the instinctual reaction required for the conditions you are describing. My biggest problem with TT's now is pulling my back foot out of the strap to try to jibe them - not a fun experience at the point of realization of what I just did. However, chest high at my local beach would be fine. But not double overhead.
The third thing I would suggest is to beach fly the kite you are "renting" a little more before heading out. Unwanted backstall caused by the back lines being too short (or fronts being to long) is NOT something you want to figure out in the waves. If you do get out there and realize you have lots of backstall happening, depower the kite. Do this by trimming front line adjustment in, or back line adjustment out like on the new click bar. This will make up for some of the backstall issue and could get you back to the beach. The biggest benefit of flying a kite on the beach is that you can simulate the effect of "longshore" current that typically reduces your apparent wind on the inside (WHERE IT COUNTS THE MOST!!!). Just fly the kite, then walk with the kite downwind. This should reduce the wind and power of the kite to induce stall. To get a really good feel for how much the kite stalls on the beach compared to the gear you are used to, walk downwind at the kite, but also make sudden quicker movements downwind and upwind. This simulates working a wave face, going upwind to get around a shoulder, and going downwind to get around a shoulder.
-
sarc
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 1629
- Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 4:01 am
-
Has thanked:
37 times
-
Been thanked:
135 times
Postby sarc » Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:12 pm
Light wind and big waves = I have learned to say NO - turn around and go skateboarding or something
Big waves and rented equipment (you are unfamiliar with, may be tuned wrong, may fail on you at any time) - NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE....
If kite hits the drink in the waves, check that nobody downwind or down the line, then release EVERYTHING (kite, board), and bodysurf the small waves, duck under big waves. Swimming is useless. Even if you lose the equipment and have to pay back the rental shop, it's cheaper / better than injury/death.
-
Toby
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 50492
- Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2001 1:00 am
- Kiting since: 2000
- Weight: 95 kg
- Local Beach: Cumbuco, Brazil
Barra do Cauipe, Brazil
- Favorite Beaches: same
- Style: Airstyle
- Gear: Rebel 2015 18
- Brand Affiliation: None.
- Location: World (KF Admin)
-
Has thanked:
842 times
-
Been thanked:
2392 times
-
Contact:
Postby Toby » Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:34 pm
Beardytello wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:11 pm
Toby wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:00 pm
Do you have pictures of that day?
How far from shore is the surf?
How high where the waves?
Where you in the surf when the kite didn’t relaunch?
I agree, when the kite is in the surf stay away.
If not, swim to it to have a floating device and wind the lines.
No pictures no.
The surf was weird it was like a big section multiple break points going in different directions, it was a mess!
Yes, I had drifted into the worst of the surf zone trying to relaunch.
Ok, then you did everything right.
I don’t see anything that you should have done differently while it happened.
Just the gear check before hitting the water.
Thx for posting your story...this helps all of us in the future!
-
tautologies
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 10865
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:36 am
- Brand Affiliation: None
- Location: Oahu
-
Has thanked:
100 times
-
Been thanked:
156 times
-
Contact:
Postby tautologies » Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:57 pm
So glad you are okay.
New gear and new spot might just be a recipe for disaster. Big surf changes the game radically. Swimming to the kite is the last thing you should do in surf, getting tangled in lines is a major risk, and it will chop limbs off. If you are way way off shore, then consider if releasing is a good idea or not, but if you are close to shore getting away from the kite is definitely the thing to do.
As I am sure you already know, here is the key to where the problems really was:
with this sort of situation I panic swam frantically until I was literally spent, still in the breakers with nothing left in the tank, I think this was probably the first time I've felt completely helpless.
A lot of people that are not used to the dynamics of waves do not think about this until they are in the same situation you were in. It is critical to know what to do. I do not mean to be arrogant, and it is easier to say than do, but panic leads to poor decisionmaking. Feeling like what you spend your strength on is not working leads to panic.
In big surf it is all about relaxing and spending your strength strategically. You cannot fight currents. You might get pushed out way way out from the beach, but swimming against the current will have you lose. Instead swim cross current until you find a place where waves can push you in, at that point it is a matter of trying to swim with the waves and body surf on them.
-
Slappysan
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 1459
- Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:54 am
- Kiting since: 2004
- Gear: Wave Bandit Performer 4-10
- Brand Affiliation: None
- Location: Vancouver, Canada
-
Has thanked:
44 times
-
Been thanked:
188 times
Postby Slappysan » Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:07 pm
100% agree that swimming to the kite would have been a very bad move. If the kite is pulling you towards shore on the safety just ride it in like that, if it's pulling you away from shore, let the kite go (try not to think about the $2000 charge for the rental, you'll probably get the kite back more or less unharmed).
Even swimming in at all in big waves is not what you want to be doing, you want to body surf in, not swim in. If the current is pulling you out to sea, swim leisurely sideways.
-
knotwindy
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 2388
- Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:49 am
- Local Beach: baja, gorge
- Style: erratic to none
- Gear: yes, I use gear
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
275 times
-
Been thanked:
319 times
Postby knotwindy » Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:17 pm
Something else to consider is before all the crazy, when you noticed the kite was backstalling a lot, if you pull some depower it can help the kite fly better. Of course what you really want to do is lengthen the back lines on the beach but if you forget or miss that part you can shorten the front lines on the water and lose some depower but the kite will fly much better especially in light wind where you won’t need the extra depower. Keeping it in the air, as you said, matters.
Most think the if there is not enough power I can’t pull the depower line, that will make it worse. But it is not really a depower strap, it is a trim strap. If the lack of power is poor trim as the back lines are too short using the trim line can help increase the power. Counter-intuitive but true.
-
Flyboy
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 2715
- Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2002 1:00 am
- Brand Affiliation: None
-
Has thanked:
157 times
-
Been thanked:
288 times
Postby Flyboy » Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:14 pm
sarc wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:12 pm
Light wind and big waves = I have learned to say NO - turn around and go skateboarding or something
Big waves and rented equipment (you are unfamiliar with, may be tuned wrong, may fail on you at any time) - NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE....
This! Unless you're a huge guy, you shouldn't be going out in big waves on a 14m kite. On unfamiliar equipment - even worse. Getting tangled in the lines is a real risk when you are in waves. I seem to remember that a couple of people died in Tarifa two years ago when they were just trying to walk their kites back across the river mouth in light wind. They dropped the kites, got tangled in the lines when they were pulled out into the surf & drowned.
Return to “Kitesurfing”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: ak200, alford, andrzej351, Billtx, Bing [Bot], bragnouff, cglazier, Cheoz0r86, Dutchman, evan, Faxie, Gonzavala, Google [Bot], i_love_storm, jjm, Kitedicted, Kitedog2000!, matt_81a, Sander O, Saski, Tony in FL, Xtream and 385 guests