JustinZ
01-29-2007, 03:27 PM
I just thought I would share my first experience at Hobie Beach with anyone interested.
I have been kiteboarding for about 8 months now. I usually ride at Matheson or Crandon and once in a while on the Beach right behind my apartment building on Miami Beach when the waves are not too crazy. Since the winds were coming out of the West yesterday, I decided to check out Hobie Beach since that was the only place I knew I could ride with the West winds. I have a CABRINHA CONTRA BOW 12 and a CABRINHA PRODIGY 158 board.
I have read all the warnings about Hobie Bach and it's hazardous launching area. I figured I would go out there and be as safe as possible. My plan was to launch and then get myself as far out as possible so that I could ride with biggest buffer zone between me and the crowded beach launching area.
I was having a great session for about an hour, jumping really high and just having a blast. I must have been about 2 miles out (hard to tell exactly but I was the furthest kiteboarder out). Anyway, a gust hit, and since there was no one anywhere down wind of me, I went for a crazy high loft and landed on my ass. Once I crashed, I guess instead of letting the bar out, I instinctively pulled the bar in and the kite came crashing down super hard LE first in to the water and BOOM the kite just ripped in half a straight line from the leading edge to the trailing edge. (This exact same thing happened to me a few weeks ago at Crandon and this was now my second kite this happened to - it was only my third time using it).
So here I was, in the deep water of the channel, about two miles from the shore, kite unusable and ripped and getting drifted further and further SW towards the big bridge leading to the ocean on the other side of Key Biscayne. I disconnected my leash from just above the chicken loop and reconnected it to the stopper ball and let the bar go so the kite would only be attached by the one line. I then tried swimming toward the shore but trying to drag this heavy kite and board against the strong current I was only heading further and further away. I then tried to swim down the line to the kite to roll it up but I kept getting my feet tangled in the lines and did not want have another disaster to deal with so I just stayed with the one line connected to the kite in my hand.
Finally, two kiteboarders saw me and rode over to me. I was about to just let the kite go and start swimming back but they convinced me to hold on to it a little longer while they went to try and find help. After about an hour of wading out there and getting drifted away, a rescue boat came for me. It was a really nice guy who happened to be going out to serve as a chase boat in some kind of sailboat race later that afternoon.
So here I am, alive and well with a destroyed kite. I hope to be ablke to fix this kite, (the last one was unrepairable) - because my wife will give me a hard time if I tell her I need to buy a new one now. I have learned a few lessons from this incident and I feel this experience will only make me a better and safer kiteboarder. From now on, if I am really far out I will just play it safe and ride regular - not try any crazy jumps or anything unless I know I can swim back or the water is shallow enough to stand. Also, if I crash in the future, I will immediately let the bar out completely so the kite doesnt slam in to the water again.
If the guys that helped me out are reading this, Thank you so much for all your help. One thing that has amazed me since I got in to the sport is how friendly and helpful everyone is. Just knowing that someone else knew I was out there helped me relax until a boat came.
Also, I was wondering if anyone else has had experience with tomahwaking their kite straight down in to the water causing a vertical rip through the entire kite. My first kite this happened to was a 2006 YELLOW CABRINHA CROSSBOW 12. Since it was going to cost $300+ to fix it, I just sold it to a kite repairer as material and bought this 2007 YELLOW CABRINHA CONTRA BOW 12 and yesterday deja vous. Is something specific to Cabrinha kites, all kites or do i just have bad luck with kitebaording?
Hope my story was helpful to someone and I hope to be back out riding as soon as possible.
All the best!
-Justin
I have been kiteboarding for about 8 months now. I usually ride at Matheson or Crandon and once in a while on the Beach right behind my apartment building on Miami Beach when the waves are not too crazy. Since the winds were coming out of the West yesterday, I decided to check out Hobie Beach since that was the only place I knew I could ride with the West winds. I have a CABRINHA CONTRA BOW 12 and a CABRINHA PRODIGY 158 board.
I have read all the warnings about Hobie Bach and it's hazardous launching area. I figured I would go out there and be as safe as possible. My plan was to launch and then get myself as far out as possible so that I could ride with biggest buffer zone between me and the crowded beach launching area.
I was having a great session for about an hour, jumping really high and just having a blast. I must have been about 2 miles out (hard to tell exactly but I was the furthest kiteboarder out). Anyway, a gust hit, and since there was no one anywhere down wind of me, I went for a crazy high loft and landed on my ass. Once I crashed, I guess instead of letting the bar out, I instinctively pulled the bar in and the kite came crashing down super hard LE first in to the water and BOOM the kite just ripped in half a straight line from the leading edge to the trailing edge. (This exact same thing happened to me a few weeks ago at Crandon and this was now my second kite this happened to - it was only my third time using it).
So here I was, in the deep water of the channel, about two miles from the shore, kite unusable and ripped and getting drifted further and further SW towards the big bridge leading to the ocean on the other side of Key Biscayne. I disconnected my leash from just above the chicken loop and reconnected it to the stopper ball and let the bar go so the kite would only be attached by the one line. I then tried swimming toward the shore but trying to drag this heavy kite and board against the strong current I was only heading further and further away. I then tried to swim down the line to the kite to roll it up but I kept getting my feet tangled in the lines and did not want have another disaster to deal with so I just stayed with the one line connected to the kite in my hand.
Finally, two kiteboarders saw me and rode over to me. I was about to just let the kite go and start swimming back but they convinced me to hold on to it a little longer while they went to try and find help. After about an hour of wading out there and getting drifted away, a rescue boat came for me. It was a really nice guy who happened to be going out to serve as a chase boat in some kind of sailboat race later that afternoon.
So here I am, alive and well with a destroyed kite. I hope to be ablke to fix this kite, (the last one was unrepairable) - because my wife will give me a hard time if I tell her I need to buy a new one now. I have learned a few lessons from this incident and I feel this experience will only make me a better and safer kiteboarder. From now on, if I am really far out I will just play it safe and ride regular - not try any crazy jumps or anything unless I know I can swim back or the water is shallow enough to stand. Also, if I crash in the future, I will immediately let the bar out completely so the kite doesnt slam in to the water again.
If the guys that helped me out are reading this, Thank you so much for all your help. One thing that has amazed me since I got in to the sport is how friendly and helpful everyone is. Just knowing that someone else knew I was out there helped me relax until a boat came.
Also, I was wondering if anyone else has had experience with tomahwaking their kite straight down in to the water causing a vertical rip through the entire kite. My first kite this happened to was a 2006 YELLOW CABRINHA CROSSBOW 12. Since it was going to cost $300+ to fix it, I just sold it to a kite repairer as material and bought this 2007 YELLOW CABRINHA CONTRA BOW 12 and yesterday deja vous. Is something specific to Cabrinha kites, all kites or do i just have bad luck with kitebaording?
Hope my story was helpful to someone and I hope to be back out riding as soon as possible.
All the best!
-Justin