The newbies don't need to take this thread as a shot at them. That's not been the tone of this thread. What is being noted is a bad kiteboarding decision and the possible outcome of same. What we have done here is discuss why tangling kites is a bad idea and what can be done to prevent it. As a community, we should be able to talk about these issues.

When I nearly got waxed by that 9m Waroo in early 2006, I was right on the forum with an explanation of what went wrong and how it could be avoided. 4 of the 5 factors leading to the kitemare were avoidable (and my own errors) which allowed the 5th factor, a design flaw, to kick in. After getting a serious woodshed beatdown, I readily admitted to my own mistakes that led to the kitemare. I don't gloss over my own mistakes and I won't look the other way when people f*ck up in a way that can impact everyone.

The idea here is for kiters, particularly beginners, to avoid other kiters on the water. In very light wind, the results of a tangle was not catastrophic but was still bad for them and the rest of us. It ended their sessions, nearly ripped the Waroo (and I surprised it didn't rip from trailing to leading edge), led to Roy having his phone trashed (danger invites rescue, as Justice Cardozo once said, and Roy responded by trying to jump in to help), and the whole snafu caused the Bone to have a minor kitemare flashback.

This is not even a true kitemare, as some have pointed out. The photo Roy posted was from a December 2006 session but it was not very windy yesterday at the time of the tangle, maybe 12 or so, if that. I was on a Gilde and a 12m yesterday, so it wasn't honking. There was no blood, either, so I don't think this was a real kitemare. Real kitemares keep you awake and thinking for several nights afterward.

Still, the potential for carnage was there. The actual outcome here is not the only stick by which the problem should be measured. Scott and I charged yesterday afternoon in the hope for a 20mph session just before sundown--hell, we were sure it was going to go off. The wind never kicked in but it usually does, without warning, under those weather circumstances. The outcome of such a tangle had the wind jacked up could have been severe. The newbies, as well as every other beginner around here, deserve feedback regarding that potential outcome.

I have spent a lot of time within the last year pointing out newbie errors because I think that local newbies, not hotdogs, are at the most risk for being in a kite mishap this year resulting in injury or death because the new gear, when used as designed, allows for so much depower, leading in some riders to a false sense of security. When the gear is misued, however, whether through improper rigging, leash use or nonuse, hot launches, tangles, etc., you suddenly have a ton of power that is out of control.

I look forward to seeing both of these newbies, toward whom I have no animus, developing into solid members of the local crew. Still, no one, particularly a beginner, is above having his or her riding discussed by others when that riding is being done at our main kiteboarding launches.

On another note, Roy, that new trick is actually called the "Bottoms Up." Everyone can keep hating on the Bone but when I throw that trick, especially at Backside, I always end the session with lots of cash stuffed into my harness. Gotta pay for new gear somehow.