View Single Post
  #66  
Old 02-29-2008, 11:36 AM
kent kent is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 430
Default

Whoa there cowboy! I sure as hell wouldn't want to take you on in a typing race. Five posts in a row would have to be a record. Seriously, I apologize for posting in this thread as it would have been better in a new one. In truth, I do have more years kiting under my belt than all but 3-4 riders in this state (Raul being one of them). My job has taken me to ride in nearly every location in this country and many others. You learn different things riding with different people and some lessons have come to me and my friends the hard way (Raul, remember riding the first inflatable at V-Key with me when you went head first through the garbage cans in 1999 or so?). Two of my good friends and co-workers lost their lives in this sport. Like you they were experienced and both would be considered by anyone as accomplished watermen.

While working in the kite industry is only a small part of my job, I take all aspects of it seriously (have to pay the mortgage). Helping to develop better safety equipment, preserving access, and educating riders are all very important issues to me.

Attending last weeks marine advisory board meeting in Pompano (where I haven't ridden in 6-7 years) to help preserve beach access, participating in a pod cast discussing issues pertaining to industry standardization and certification, and my yearly participation in Cabrinha prototype testing where we bench test against all top competitors safety equipment to insure improvements are made, all help me to learn from others and get the message out.

Having basic information that would help other riders stay out of trouble and not providing it to them is in my eyes unethical. My choice of threads was however poor (although after re-reading my post, I still wonder why it caused so much anxiety, hmmm). While I clearly don't know it all and I learn from others on a daily basis, basic information like I passed along in my post can and will be used by some and will hopefully result in pain avoidance.

You are right. I don't know you. After speaking with Raul and hearing nothing but admiration from him, you are probably just as I expected you would be before I wrote my first post. I assumed you to be an accomplished athlete and a knowledgeable kiter that takes this sport seriously. I assumed that you, like me, don't know everything and that any tidbit coming your way that might result in avoiding a future accident for you or your friends would be appreciated.

Once again Bill, I hope that you will accept my sincere apology. Out of respect for you and the fact that I apparently already put my foot in my mouth, I won't comment further on this incident. I wish you a very speedy recovery. Please send me a PM if I can help with anything to sort your gear out once you're good to go again. It sounds like you have a very tight knit group of good friends and riders up there keeping a good eye on each other. Good luck.

PS. Maybe Rick can dig up the info from my incident at Crandon about 4-5 years ago. It was very similar to yours and lasted even longer from what I remember. I was wearing a suicide leash with no release that was hooked to my chicken loop. The net affect was a 50 yard hike out of the woods. The crash included about 15 feet of vert spanning the first 15 to 20 yards before the first wooded scrub impact. After thinking that I was likely impaled and that I surely broke my neck, I couldn’t figure out how to get my leash detached from the chicken loop fast enough. I was rewarded with another free flight of about the same distance… I was lucky and only ended up with a bruised chest where my chin impacted, a tweaked back, and stickers in my feet from the hike out. Post away Rick.

Kind regards,

Kent Marinkovic