Tuesday Squalls, Pompano Rider Injured

[ricki]

i was 20 feet away from the guy that got lofted 30feet up on the beach...big huge black squall commin from the south...everyone was trying to milk it til the last second...until the wind went from 15knots to 35knots in 2 seconds...the guy was a newbie out less then 15 times on 15m yarga...had the kite at 12' o'clock gust came thru at 35-40....lifted him 30 ft in the air, he panicked in the air, pull the bar to one side and flung him 50 feet across the beach and slammed him down hard onto the sand, bouncin 3 or 4 times....he was insteadly knocked out as soon as he slammed to the ground...then the kite powered up across the window while unconsicous and dragged him another 100 yards thru the sand while limp as a rag doll...it was pretty distrubing to witness....i immediately ran up to grab the kite, but before i could get there a non-kiter eyewitness went up to grab the bar to keep him from being dragged more down the beach and when he grabbed the bar it went across the window again and dragged him another 20 yards....ambulance, fire and ocean rescue showed up a few minutes later....and he remained unconscious for about another 5 minutes the was carried off to the hospital...kiters do not stay out if you see dark clouds close by, big mistake! another 5 minutes of kiting isnt worth your life! live to kite another day!....i'm sure he will be out of commission for months and might be scared to come back to kite at all after that...i'm waiting to hear more details of the extent of his injuries and will update as soon as i hear anything...until then kiters be safe and dont push the limits in squally weather...it went from 15 to 40 knots in a matter of seconds...hes lucky to be alive, he was complaining of neck pain when he left and could only groan and moan not talk...lets hope hes not paralyzed or anything, he would be lucky to have only a few broken bones and was lucky to have missed the obstacles while being dragged down the beach such as beach chairs, cabanas,catamarans, and other people :roll: ...if u get caught in a gust, keep the kite low at the edge of the window,not 12 o'clock!....be safe and good winds

from kiteforum

[ricki]

I saw the same squall but from about 15 miles north in Delray Beach. It was huge, very obvious and ugly. I watched it move in for about a 1/2 hour. I watched it on radar waiting to get out of the office two hours before that while deciding whether to even go out as it looked like it would hit south of Delray. It chased everyone off the water in Delray even though it was well to the south. The wind boosted up there to 22 to 25 kts. roughly.

Miami just to the south had been getting trashed with squalls whipping off a tropical system much of yesterday with gusts over 45 kts. shortly before your squall.

IF something like this comes in, you want your kite out of the air, lines off it and well secured before the temperature drops, or the wind changes direction and picks up. Having a kite up, particularly a C kite is begging to get injured or killed. Act early because storms can move in very fast.

You should remember the guy very close to your launch that came close to getting killed a few years ago in a similar squall. He was knocked into a coma for at least five weeks after he was teabagged across the beach and into a palm tree only to fall head first into the parking lot. He lost three years, his entire time and life in Florida to amnesia. CLICK HERE AND READ THIS (http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=920) .

I was dragged about 120 ft. at high speed by a 5 m Wipika two line kite at your launch by another squall 6 1/2 years ago.

When will people learn, if ever? It is so simple and the results of ignorance and indifference can be so severe.

[ricki]

Does anyone have additional information on the condition of the injured kiter?

[ricki]

More about what went on that day in Pompano and at other launches in SE Florida at:

http://fksa.org/viewforum.php?f=81


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album188/Squall_1.sized.jpg