View Single Post
  #31  
Old 05-07-2007, 01:56 PM
E-Bone
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by invisible View Post
Everyone helps whenever they can. I can't even tell you how many times I've done the 100 yard sprint.
I think that is a good estimate of what happens around here. People pitch in because they are cool. I've argued on this forum that kiters do not have a duty, as in a legal obligation, to help other kiters in trouble unless we have a special relationship such as teacher/student, but that does mean I won't jump to help out when the shit hits the fan.

I might not always help, though, if I don't think I can or should cash the check.

Any suggestion that most kiters around here won't do anything to help others is going to stir up a lot of people because it is simply not true. Every time someone launches or lands your kite, grabs you by the back of the harness during a powered launch, retrieves a board, etc., a gratuity is getting thrown your way.

I don't have any obligation to lauch or land anyone's kite (and it is not what I want to do when I am trying to rig, either), but I do it all day long and so does almost everyone else around here. A lot of people have helped me out before, with launches and rescues, but aside from when I was actually taking a lesson, I can't remember thinking that anybody owed me anything when I was neck-deep in a kiteboarding cesspool of my own making, even though I do remember screaming, more than once, "[insert name here], grab the f*ck*ng kite!"

When bad shit happens, it can be tempting to look at the last moment of the kitemare to assign blame. Here, it is a good example--if only someone would have decided to grab the kite, it would not have been in the trees. Maybe so. Maybe the outcome would have been worse. But that does not take into account prior decisions that were made by Bryan (Bryan decided to ride in the first place, moreover decided to ride in heavy wind, rode with an older bar that has likely been used a lot in the last 1 to 1.5 years and could have been replaced before today's session, and that even different decisions by Bryan once the failure occurred might have led to a better result).

Am I saying that in the end, this is all on Bryan? Yes.

Note that I am not calling Bryan out or criticizing his kiting actions. He's been riding for a while now and has been a solid citizen. Had I shown up today and this had happened to me with a one year old Ion bar (and I have and use several), my analysis would be the same. The risks and rewards of kiting are personal to each kiter and, in the end, it is up to each kiter to control his or her kite. Period. Bryan deserves credit for putting his experience up here so others can learn from it. Bryan already qualified his earlier statements regarding a lack of assistance from others by noting that he was jacked up by the kitemare when he made those comments.

I am responsible for the outcome when I lauch a kite. When I ride, I assume the risk to get the reward. When the session works out great, I get the stoke. When the session sucks, I get the ass-beating and the blame. It is not fair to point at others and demand that someone else take the blame for the bad outcome. Even if 50 people are nearby, it is a lonely moment when you are getting worked and it hits home with amazing clarity that if you can't solve the problem, no one else will.

This is an important concept for new kiters around here to take to heart. It is up to you and no one else to make certain that you get your kite launched and landed without injuring yourself or anyone else, even if something does not proceed according to plan.

Don't ever rely on being able to get help if something goes wrong. It's better to figure out before you launch that you are on your own.
Reply With Quote