I agree...he would have likely died if he went directly into the building at that speed...

Kevin - Has not learnt his lesson!!!
 

I think the Kiteboarding Florida community. Got real lucky that Kevin came through this to live another day.

My problem,
Is the lack of leadership from the senior riders on the beach that day.
Someone should have made the call - no riding - period....

It's just a matter of time that it's going to happen again and again and again.
Until we have another death in South Florida...

Kevin is a nice guy. I know him.
But, Everyone in Fort Lauderdale knows that Kevin can be alittle reckless.
And from my observations. He has had past safety and rescue situations.
Neil knows this. Most of the guys know this....

The interview. WOW
What got me. Was the attitude Kevin had.
You would think he would be alittle humble from the experience. Not at all...

Kevin needs to admit. That he shouldn't have been kiting that day period..
But NO, He broadcast that he loves kiting, and will do it all over again next tropical storm!!!

Going forward...
It comes down to leadership and the need for it. On every kite beach.
I hope the guys on Fort Lauderdale come up with some guidelines soon...
The location is the focal point to our sport. Everyone is watching..

BVIChris

What up Chris? How you doin? Ok, with that said, your correct, and we all know that Neil does one hell of a job policing and making sure that kite beach is a safe and enjoyable place to kite. The problem is that its a public beach with that said Neil and other veterans can only give advice in saying its not safe don't go, I for one have asked Neil a couple times if its safe to go and he'll say yes or no, if its no I don't go, 2nd guessing him Is like calling yoda a dyslexic liar. It really comes down to ego, the guys that were out there that day were super experienced, does that condone going out no, but others see it and ego gets in the way and then its the old saying if they can I can. Basically, you have to use common sense, is this weather too much for me, and i for one would much rather wait for a 25-30 knot day in marco then waste my time in squally, washer cycle waves. Too each there own. One more thang to add to this bitter diatribe, Kevin if your reading this man Im glad your ok, sorry if this stings but WTF bro? Interviewing that soon after, you couldn't have a super experienced rider go on to explain the saftey features or what exactlly happend, some of your answers were like a hamster in a wheel, they went nowhere, I love the part that said you would go out again in a tropical storm condition, thats great go ahead but if you do get hurt again and tiki beach has to suffer from your neglect, its on like donkey kong bud. I am glad your doing great and get well soon.

Brain train brain...
 

Again the discussion is common sense, and how to handle people that don't have it. Kevin apparently does not have that much common sense.
So let's police and talk more sense into the people we really don't want on the beach close to us.
Stay away from swimmers, respect local rules and know limitations at any given time, YOUR limitations

tx

Ok I wasn't going to chime in... but there's 3 points that I can't help but put out there.

One is that I find there's a major difference in what I call FORUM talk and BEACH talk. I hear all the time on the forum that the injured kiter should've done this, shouldn't be out in that and why wasn't he wearing a helmet? But on the beach, I see no one practicing their releases, lots of talk about epic storm / hurricane riding and other than Rick and I think one guy in Pompano, I've never encountered another rider wearing a helmet. I'm often tesed for wearing mine and often asked when am I gonna "outgrow" that thing. Rick talks the talk AND walks the walk. I can't say that much for most kiters I've met.

Another point is I agree with OC... beaches are public. That means no one other than officials can close down the beach. It is not on Neil's shoulders to do so just because he has a concession stand there. Though he often TRIES to give kiters his judgement, he has no authority to do anyhing about other people kiting. Unfortunately, other people's judgements often have the biggest impact on his business ... shame ;( But the reality is every beach is ALWAYS kite at your own risk. And IMO- every kiter is a leader. The stories we tell and the actions we do have influence. You think kiters should wear helmets... wear a helmet. You think storm riding is crazy, say so when someone is telling their epic story. And certainly don't be out in it yourself. Make it OK to ask someone to practice your releases without being looked at like a kook or newb.

And lastly, recognize that Kevin's accident could've happened to anybody. Experienced and skilled or not. Snowbaord park riders wear helmets, impact vests and shorts under their gear for a reason - when you are pushing your physical and mental limits, it's not a matter of IF you're are going to have an accident, but WHEN. Add to that an unpredictable element of wind for kiters, you increase your odds. So while you always have to mitigate the risks, you also need to be equipped to reduce the severity of your accident. So yes, learn to be a better read wind and weather followed by the use sound judgement. But also wear proctective gear for when shiz hits. Seems simple. But then most things are...

peaches.....
 

i could not disagree with you more on your point about how kevins accident could have happened to anybody.....simply not true....first off that area was being hit by an approaching hurricane that everyone is s. fla knew about for 3 days...the weatherman in the GMA summed it up best....25- 30 knots is one thing but tropical force winds can go to 60 knots at anytime....so probably best to not kite at all...but if you do ...put your kite down in the water....dont even think about getting out of the water onto the beach knowing the winds can go to 60 knots at any second...also evidence is there that other people kited that day at that location...yet only dumbass ended up going across A1A

Hurricane season is on and there are some threats below the horizon perhaps moving our way. Lest the lessons of the past be forgotten or ignored, let's bring this back up to the top. Way too many people have been killed and badly injured in squalls, and in recent years too. This despite all the major depowering capablity that may or may not do you some good in wind extremes. It mattered little to quite a few injured parties.

A segment on MSNBC about the lofting:



There is a good deal more about this lofting at the start of this thread.

Learn from the past or be doomed to repeat it. These squall accidents have already be repeated way too often. Volunteers for more?


Weather planning & monitoring ideas at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=9528[/b]
.

Toby with Kiteforum just passed along an interview of Neil shortly following the accident. More at: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2351479