Please let Chris know he is in our prayers for a speedy recovery, thank you for the update.

-Roadie

"I don't want that QR rigged like Tom Stock's".

LOL. Thanks Al.

I burst out laughing when I heard that. too funny.

sorry tom
 

I am sorry, Tom I forgot Scott was miked at the time. Honestly, i burst out laughing too. I was just being funny.

WOW twisted news
 

I just read the article quoting scott fears. I was present when scott was being interviewed by Julie Busch. Anyway scott represented our group very well and stressed saftey by all. He stressed it was an accident that happend to chris, and that our sport is safe with good instruction and common sense. They filmed scott for 10 minutes going over all the safety features of the kite bar. but of course the news shows none of it. They stick to their agenda of sensationalizing the accident with chris. I know scott is upset that his words got twisted around. Notice the quote in the article that if chris had a smaller kite up the accident would not have happened. thats obviously a misquote of scott we all know even with a smaller kite, the accident would have still happened due to the close proximity of the power lines. It makes me wonder when i watch the news about Iraq about what is really going on over there. the news just print and say whatever the agenda is that they try to push. very sad. hang in there scott you did a good job. they just twisted the words.

Hey Scott,

Sorry for the poor accuracy and apparent bias in the reporting. There is a tendency in the media for that however the severity will vary among publications. Overall though I though your comments reflected fairly well on the sport.

I never spoke to Keith Morelli, had messages to contact him nor had I heard of him before seeing this article tonight. I am mystified as to what all his gross misquotes are based upon. The statistics included are incorrect to my recollection, some amazingly so. For instance there were NO FATALITIES in the USA in kiteboarding in 2003 or in 2000 that I know of. As to total accidents in the USA in ANY year, I have no idea. Wonder if he attempted to read the KSI with one eye closed, gathering grossly incorrect totals and publishing them in possible violation of the Copyright and terms of use. That wouldn't be very professional and as to fact checking?. I just left a voice mail for Mr. Morelli seeking a better understanding of what he printed and the basis for it. Scott, at least he spelled your name correctly. Although, all things considered I don't really mind his screwing that up in my case.

Anyway, the media at work. It does make you wonder about news from Iraq.

Here is my email to him.

Keith,

This is Scott Fears.
I read the article about kiting "Accidents on the Rise" and it has a few misquotes. I mainly care about one and it actually has me very upset.

I never said that if a smaller kite was up Chris wouldn't be in the hospital. I don't even know what size kite he had up when the accident occurred, so it is literally impossible for me to make that determination.
Did you take notes, or just guess about what I said?

Please remove that quote. I focussed solely on the proximity to power lines in our discussion toward Chris and his accident.
I would appreciate it if the proximity to powerlines (something that can be controlled by decision processes) is focussed on more than the gust coming (the whole reason we control our distance from objects). There is no way Chris would have known on that day that a gust line was coming, especially with his experience level. Again, it is for this reason (mother nature is sometimes unpredictable) that safe kiters live by the saying "distance is your friend." I am hoping this article will reflect on this reality and that most of the time kiters are safe because we follow these safety guidelines.

In addition, kiting is more safe than SCUBA diving and many other recreational hobbies.
It seems the article mainly wishes to show kiting as dangerous. I find this odd, since this is literally the first injury in the news in this town, ever.

I am hoping at bare minimum my quote can be changed to reflect what I actually said.
Thank you,

Scott Fears

Anyway, the truly important thing is that Christopher will recover. After such a harsh accident, it is marvelous news. Best wishes for his rapid and complete healing.

Oh, the safety stats. Yeah. I am curious how it feels Rick, putting countless time and God only knows how much effort into tracking kiting statistics, to have them abused and grossly misrepresented in attempts to make the sport look less safe now than before SLEs.

Remember "the summer of the shark"? Look up the actual stats. The media is clueless even when given the proper information. It's beyond disappointing.

For sure. Chris, I PM'd you awhile ago. I hope you get it. :)

Great To Hear Chris Is Going To Be Ok...for Chris' Mom, I Have Some Positive Advice...
For Any Of You Who, Like Myself, May Be New To The Sport Or You Are Looking For Info In The Tb Area...as I Am A 43 Yo, Male:
1] I Initially Researched The Sport, Gear, Difficulty & safetyconcerns Via Internet.
2] I Visited A Kite Boarding Shop (watersports West) And Talked Extensively About Whether Or Not I Was A Candidate For The Sport.
3] I Signed Up For The Introductory Class Taught By Steve-0, During Which He Stressed Safety, Safety, Safety & Of Course, Safety. I Would Highly Recommend This Class To Anyone Remotely Interested In The Sport And if Any Of You Media Folks Happen To Be Truly Interested In The Safety Of The Sport, Give Watersports West A Call And Sign Up For This Class. It Will Be More Than Worth Your While...as You Will See How A Certified Insrtuctor Prepares His Students!!!
4] As Advised During The Class, I Have Purchased A Trainer Kite And I Am Well Into My Minimally Recommended Preliminary 20 Hrs.
this Has Been The Most Difficult Process, As I Am Anxiously Awaiting My First Lesson. Hurry Up Steve-o!!!

I Believe That Having The Safety Guidlines Engrained In My Skull, Rather Than Some Asphalt, Will Help Prevent Any Avoidable Disaster Due To Lack Of Knowledge.

Maybe One Of You Instructors, As An Ambassador Of The Sport, Might Be Willing To Give Chris A Free Local Lesson, As A Result Of His Hardship. I Would Be Willing To Contribute To The Cause, If Someone Stepped Up With The Certification!!!

Again, For Chris And Family--may God Bless You And Keep You In His Care!

I know Al, I laughed... no big deal. I can learn from my mistakes :)

me too
 

hopefully i can learn from my mistakes too.

He also got all of the statistics wrong.

The statistics were obtained (and then twisted) from
http://kitesurfingschool.org/safety....t%20Statistics

If you look at the stats, accidents were DOWN FROM 2002.

2000 - 9 accidents - 1 fatal
2001 - 16 accidents - 3 fatal
2002 - 59 accidents - 9 fatal
2003 - 21 accidents - 1 fatal

14, he claims is the number of fatalities for 2003 is actually the TOTAL from 2000-2003.

So as popularity increased, equipment became better and riders became better trained and accidents went down by more than 50%. Fatal accidents went down by more than 90%!

This is also where he obtained the misspelling of Rick's name... so we know this is where these statistics came from.

It's interesting that the author would completely ignore the facts from the very source they were obtained unless of course he wanted kiteboarding to seem more dangerous than it actually is.

The facts suggest that kiteboarding is safer now than it has ever been.

2007 equipment is significantly better than 2003 equipment in regards to safety. 2003 equipment was so poor that none of us would even consider using it today.

1 fatality per year? I bet the easy bake oven has killed more people.

From what I read in one of Rick's posts those are the Stats for world wide not just in the US! I think more people are seriously injured chewing gum in this state.

Bob

any updates on how Chris is doing?

shattered pelvis.
he landed on a guard rail.
i talked2 one of the guys he rides with and apparently they are NOT spooked out and dude(not christopher) sounds like he wants2 keep riding there.
not good.
not gonna name drop here but...
i feel4 the riders in N pine county on these easterlies.
driving over an hour both wayz must be a bitch.
move2 the burg yawl.
its werth it.
peace

I know of a few instructors who ride there too believe it or not...

i dont think its as bad as you guys are making it out to be, i ridden there... and if you take the proper precautions its perfectly fine.... when you launch your kite, keep it low, on windy days you should never stand on shore with your kite at 12... your just asking for it........
thats probably the best spot (without a boat) to ride on a N wind, its about 2-3 miles wide and all 3-7ft deep....

any spot can be dangerous if you are not careful....

I think for some people alot of places to ride, even with hazzards might be fine, but the name of the game is to limit your risk exposure. Riding near powerlines doesn't do that, I don't care who you are, you never know when a line can snap looping you all the way to shore!

Louie says:

Play it safe around electricity!

If you happened to launch, with kite low, when it gusted to 40 as it did with this kid, would you end up in the highway? Is it that close? Looked like the beach was only 30 feet wide with no protection (mangroves, etc). Seems sketchy to me but I admit I've never ridden there (and probably won't).

Chris' Status
 

Chris is doing really well. He came home from the hospital two weeks ago and will be going back to school this week. He ended up with a couple of broken ribs, four pelvic fractures (not shattered which would have been horrific) and some burns. His body never actually touched the electrical lines but the electricity did arc and touch him on the way down to the guardrail....therefore the damage was much less than it could have been. He will have no lasting damage....a lucky boy. He will be back kiteboarding in a couple of months with more local instruction re: weather and local conditions. For what it is worth he launched north of the causeway because he saw several other kiters out in the water and also had helped someone teach a lesson there this summer. He will not make the same mistake again.....and he will tell others to avoid that spot. He keeps going over it and can't believe that he ignored the proximity of the powerlines...as someone else has said there is no margin for error. He tried to depower the kite and could not (gust was 45mph) and then the next thing he remembers is waking up in the ambulance. He never lost consciousness though......and is unsure why he never unhooked the kite. He is a strong athletic kid but it may still have been impossible or things happened too quickly....who knows. Also...we made him wait until he was 16, he had to earn the money and buy his own equipment and took several lessons including attending two summer camp programs up in Michigan this summer. He did nothing but fly the kites all summer to get used to the feeling....he is not reckless or we would not have supported him picking up the sport (and would certainly not be continuing to support him in his decision to get back on the water as soon as he can.....). Thank you to everyone who gave him their support. He will sign on under his own signature and be reading all of the info on the forum...lots of great safety tips.......Chris' mom

Props to Chris!!!
 

That is great to hear Mrs. Kenny. Props to Chris for having the cajones to "fall off the horse and get right back on"!!! I don't know him personally yet but it appears as though he is a great addition to our kiteboarding community here in the St. Pete/Tampa/Sarasota area!!! Thanks for the update!!!

I am glad to hear he is doing so well.

Also, when sh** hits the fan things do happen so quickly that more often than not people dont pull thier quick release (QR), including experienced riders. Accidents dont happen that often to each individual so we don't get practise pulling the QR. It's Human Nature,when in panic mode, we get tunnel vision and use instincts without involving much calculated thought.

Yep. I remember my first accident. I got lofted but didn't think I would keep going up. Then I got too high and was scared to let go..... and then went up even more.... I finally came down just on the edge of the shoreline and then need a couple of stiches in my knee. Loads of fun. It's not that easy for everyone though. I think I got lucky that day. and I'm a lot safer for it now.

I already told Chris in a couple PMs that I lied my ass off regarding never going to the hospital due to kiting in that stupid interview. I've been at least 4 times, and one injury killed a whole season. Sometimes stuff happens, even when you are trying to be safe.

Anyway, my point is that I felt lying about our injury rate to the media was probably best since their goal was to make it look dangerous, but I definitely want Chris and his Mom to know (much as Kevin is doing now) that we all make mistakes, and sometimes the wind just "has it's way".
It's just unfortunate that you got hurt so bad on one of your first mistakes.
Most of us just get scraped up real bad.

Get well soon and come out and ride with us.

Yeah dude! I hope to see you in the water sometime soon. I'm glad to read that your love for the sport is still intact. Get well soon brah!

This message is to Chris and everyone else on here.

I am personally impressed with the outpouring of support and encouragement that has been given to Chris. This really shows what kind of people we have in the kiting community and I think these times reveal true character.

Good job everyone, hope to see you on the water soon Chris!