Just stating the obvious
 

Hopefully Ernesto wont hit us direct.. but im sure we are going to get some wind and many of us will be out enjoying it.

Just want to remind everyone to please be careful.. last storm (Alberto) that came through we had to see one of our own get pulled into a vehicle and and get pretty beat up.

The beaches are slippery.

The winds will be gusty and inconsistent.

People on shore.. PLEASE watch out for those launching and landing and make every effort to help when you can.

Those on the water coming in.. get someone's attention on land BEFORE you come in so they can catch your kite on the waters edge.

Secure your gear onshore and park your vehicles as far away from the water as possible.

and ... New riders... if you are looking a little shakey.. do not take offense when someone asks you to put your kite down. no room for ego in these conditions. myself included. this is a great time to show the world that you understand your limitations.

-b

Good call Bleighty.

Beginners...if the mud is slippery then walk out into the water to solid sand and have someone launch your kite for you, or launch so that you are being pulled out into the water (depends on wind direction).

Do not to launch directly upwind of hard objects. If you launch hooked in (your call), keep your hand on your release the whole time. Shit happens fast in 35+.

If you feel like it might be too much it probably is. Wait it out and live to ride later in the day. In 30+ a helmet is a real good idea.

See you at NSW.

I am not proud of it, but I got launched into my truck and subsequently went over it (equipment failure) on Saturday in 11 knots on a 12m kite. Instantly on eq. failure, the kite looped on me as I was walking past the truck to "get in the clear" after the launch.

Stuff happens fast in 11 knots and not all things are foreseen is my point. I thought I broke my clavicle from hitting the truck. I estimate I was going 15mph within .5 seconds. That was the first kitemare for me in a couple years, first one on land in 4 years. I was simply blown away (literally) by the power of a kite in as little as 11 when stuff goes wrong.
In 35 knots, I would have been dead or severely injured from the impact, that simple.

Good call by Bryan. Please be safe guys. Beginners should simply watch if 30+, IMO.

Scott, what type of equipment failure was it?

What kite were U on?

Glad U R okay :shock:

I would prefer to keep that to myself to avoid brand bashing. No one but Daryl knows what I was on, since I was alone.
I was quite pissed at the gear, however. :evil:

I am fine, but my entire body is sore. Unreal :x

Scott, I think you're right.. I was referring to the more exerienced beginners who have been riding and jumping for awhile already (I am included in that group).

Glad you are ok. Did you do any damage to the truck?

Yes, the truck got damaged. My driver's side door was open. When I flew up and over, I was coming toward the glass in the door, so I reached out, grabbed the frame and pushed as hard as I could to push away from the window. I bent the frame of the door pretty well. The door has a hard time closing now.

I just would hate to see a new rider underestimate what 30mph really means.
Launching accidents at that speed are bad enough for an experienced rider who does nothing wrong (Chili) but run into a series of bad coincidences. Stay safe guys and have a great time :P

scott.. can you relay the details of the equipment failure w/o getting into name brands?

then again.. what the hell do we care.. if there is a possible issue with a brand or something we need to know right now..

just like Tom's detailed issue with the BEST QR from 2004.. it needs to be public knowledge.

of all the people around here, you are one of the few that anyone could say would be a product basher on any level.

details!!!!

and most importantly.... very very glad you are ok.

-B

Scott- glad you're okay. Might end up being enough of a scare to keep everyone safe this season. 8)

To all the rest of the guys... thanks for the advice for the newbies. I know that Tammy and I have been waiting very patiently all summer to finally get out on the water. We're frustated that its taking us so long to learn, but understand that it's gonna be a lot easier to learn once we get some normal and consistent wind. It won't kill us to wait a couple more weeks. Of course on the days this week with reasonable wind, we will probably be out there, but not without our trusty instructor, Stevil Rusty Kneivil and his favorite assistant Mr. Toby Trombone Wilson.

Seriously though, safety should be first on EVERYONE's mind. I know that most of the guys are dying to get back out there and I hope everyone remembers that we have a whole season of wind ahead of us. It would really suck to have someone get injured right before the steady wind hits us. Be safe and wear a helmet!!! :idea:

Hello Scott,

I am sorry to hear about your accident. I am glad that you are OK but it sucks about your truck. Thanks for sharing your experience, light wind can easily cause us to come off our guard. A rider with four years experience was killed in about that much wind last year doing a transition close to and upwind of some rocks. No helmet.

Take care,
Rick

Yeah,

I shared it mainly to point out that any wind speed can be dangerous.
Also, equipment failures happen. I consider myself pretty safety conscious, and yet, I was heading straight for my own truck due to a failure.
There was only 2 seconds of a window of opportunity for this to happen (upwind of a vehicle), and yet, it happened right then. I always am very weary on a launch and ready to pull out. The launch went fine. The failure happened about 1 minute later at the absolute worst time.

It really opened my eyes to the full power of kites when on land and "out of control". Also, it was only a measley 12m in all of 11 knots.

I consider it a reminder and am actually kind of glad it happened. Sometimes people, myself included, get complacent after awhile. I try not to, but this incident reminded me to be on guard when on land or close to it.

Glad you are OK, Scott. Too bad the impact didn't loosen up that jammed lock cylinder on your truck door!

Yep,

That'd be nice. Hey, I haven't checked yet, maybe it did!

We are going out in about 15 minutes.
http://www.ikitesurf.com/windandwher...112&siteID=383

Guess what we are gonna' ride?
A 13m Hellfish :shock: vs. the 12m Atom for light winds (13 or so).
I will take pics.

We'll see how obsolete the Atom is.

I have been going upwind on a 12m Atom (on a Glide) in steady 11 knots and having pretty good fun in 13. Obviously the sweet spot is around 18 or more.
I find that low end pretty unreal for a TRUE 12m kite. (The 12m Contra is obviously bigger just by looking at it).

The Link seems to have pretty good low end as well, as well as the waroo (but everyone already knows that :) )

Well, the Ikite chart exaggerated the wind a tad. It started off at seven knots to 10 knots and then filled in to 10 to 13 knots.

Daryl got stuck in the shop and couldn't bring out the hellfish.
But, I got some pics of the Atom.

http://www.extremekiteskiteboarding....hp?p=1282#1282

don't even get me started scottie.
i got dirt on you.
don't make me bring it. :P

Yeah Scott, I don't think it would be kite brand bashing if you revealed what kite you were riding during your accident. In my eyes you would be protecting your bros, keeping them as safe as possible in an unpredictable sport by letting them know what to look out for, especially with the accident being due to equipment failure. Otherwise you are being pretty much as bad as the faulty equipment by not educating the rest of us. This is just my measley opinion and I know what everyone thinks of it but I believe that failures like this can be a learning tool for us all and at the very least if we aren't informed, the company who's equipment failed should DEFINITELY be made aware of the occurence...

I hear ya'. My main reason for the post was to let people be aware that at any speed, on or near land, a mishap can be bad. I demo alot of stuff over here and I am not always familiar with the bar setups (cuz they are new to me). Because there is an outside chance I did something wrong with the setup I don't think it is worth the possible "scare". I will continue to ride the rig and if it happens again... BAM..... I will be more vocal.

It wasn't any of "my equipment" - - I left Donna's stuff with her so that she could ride in case of wind in St. Pete. So, that rules out a lot of stuff.

So it wasn't either a turbo diesel bar setup nor a contra kite then.........

Ughh. :?
My main reason for the post was to show that shit happens fast... even in light wind. Don't worry about the equipment, please. Is any equipment totally immune to failure?

You guys gonna get wind, or what!??

It wasn't equipment failure as much as it was the fact that he was distracted and made a mistake. I stunned him by showing up with a camera. You see, the truth is, he was on a pink waroo. I know he's afraid to admit it, but it's the truth. Scott rides a pink waroo and it's time the world knows the truth.

He tried desperately to ditch the bar and pretend the kite was flying by itself, but when he tried to push the bar into his shorts it wouldn't fit because his harness was in the way. He looped the kite in an effort to launch himself into the front seat of his truck but he didn't expect so much power from the little pink fluff in only 10 knots and went higher and faster than planned. As a last ditch effort, instead of jumping into the truck, he slammed the door on the way over so I wouldn't see him hiding on the other side. Nice try Scott. You are busted.

That explains it!!! NICE.

LMAO!!

:oops: Crap.

Thanks for elaborating Scott and please do let us know if you notice any "trends" with the gear. Hope to see you back in St. Pete soon and happy kiting!!! 8)