Dunedin Causway Disaster-9/29/07

I hope Christopher recovers, and soon. This is a horrible story.

As bad as the story is, having another kiter get injured tomorrow or next week from not discussing the situation would only add insult to injury. I think this unfortunately is the 5th time in 2 months we have had riders injured as as a result of being lofted from one of these east wind spike events in the late afternoon.

5 of 7 days this week the wind filled in quickly (spiked) from only 10 knots to around 25 or even 40 knots as the wind filled in from the East. Last week was very similar.
Today was not a freak wind event, it was part of a fairly predictable pattern.
The timing on all 5 spikes this week was within a half hour of 4 pm.
This event always looks the same (clouds moving in from the east) and can be spotted as it approaches.
Christopher is obviously new to kiting, as are many local riders, and was not aware of this pattern. I am in no way trying point the finger at someone seriously injured who was not aware of possible danger.
I feel horrible about the incident.

At the same time, I do feel it's necessary to shed some light on some of the causes, so that others have opportunity to avoid getting lofted or caught in these wind spikes in the future and lessen the odds of this happening again.

Let's play it safe on these East winds. If it is only blowing 12 knots and it is forecast to blow, please keep eyes peeled for clouds coming in from the east. The odds of it spiking as it cools are very high on days like today.

The telephone number for PORTS is 1 866 TB PORTS (827 6787).
If you see clouds coming from the east in the late afternoon, with totally blue sky behind them, I would call PORTS before launching.
It very commonly (but not always) spikes at Port of Tampa about a half hour before it reaches both the SW and EB (I don't know about Dunedin). If it says 20 or so at Port of Tampa, it will be much more by the time it reaches the SW and EB.
It gusted today at Port of Tampa to 35 at 3:30, a half hour prior to the "wave" of wind reaching the SW.
That's a huge spike for that side of the bay and is a huge hint of what was to come.

Prayers to Christopher and his family.

I heard the SW riders and EB riders are okay. A couple of very close calls during the spike, but no one got hurt badly at those two spots.