Some more has been posted about this incident, including:
Have evaluated hundreds of kiteboarding accidents and incidents worldwide since 2000, including some of my own. Squalls cause a large percentage of them. These accidents aren't random, there are often obvious causes. Just as in flying and bluewater sailing, you need to do weather planning to try to avoid becoming a statistic yourself. These frontal squall lines rake across much of the country including Florida for a good portion of the year. They are obvious, predictable and can be extremely hazardous in some cases. These systems commonly spawn tornados, microbursts, high wind, lightening, hail and lots of damage this time of year in large areas of the country. Some ideas on weather planning and monitoring appear at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=69 &
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=7043
What was known before that kiteboarding session?
- Severe Storm Warning w/ 65 to 75 mph winds, lightening & large hail forecast
- Tornado warnings
- If you looked at color radar, something kiters worldwide now do routinely, you would have seen this same severe system about to pass over
- An obvious severe storm cloud with intense green gust front and rain band minutes away.
- Anyone with experience would know a hazardous system was going to pass over within minutes and not to launch into it.
What size kite do you fly in 65 to 75 mph winds perhaps gusting to 100 mph+? You don't, they don't exist nor does the skill to keep flying through such conditions. Even a totally depowered kite can harm you in such winds or break away if you're lucky. Usually, you can't tell what winds a squall will throw down, you just need to avoid them. In this case, there was an unusual amount of good information, in advance.