Board Leash...To be or not To BE???

[inferno]

Originally Posted by Skyway Scott

Oh... there is ZERO need to wear a leash while land launching a kite!!

just to clarify, scott is refering to a board leash here, not a kite leash, those (kite leashes) are always recommended

Oops, good point. His kite probably would fly away
I was talking about the board leash hooked up to him and his board in 50 knots while hot launching his kite.

[toby wilson]

I see no need for one. Just get an Ocean Rodeo Go-Joe or Skyway Scott's patented Blow-Joe (for more pleasure on the water) and the board will cruise down wind of you making it easy to retrieve and eliminating any worry about losing your board while relaunching.

http://www.oceanrodeo.com/gojoe.php

In my opinion, board leashes are like an archer attaching a rubber band to his body and then attaching it to the arrows before shooting them. I got hit in the head with my board while wearing a board leash in the race this year and even though I had a helmet on, it knocked me silly. I can't begin to imagine what would have happened if I hadn't been wearing a helmet. What if I had turned my head and gotten hit in the face?

I'll NEVER wear a board leash again while kiteboarding. EVER.

I think a good measure of a board leash is whether you are going to be jumping or not and whether you are in flat water or not. Jumping with a board leash is stupid and makes you look like a jackass. That’s like jumping a BMX bike with training wheels on it--doesn't look too impressive, byatch.

Using a board leash at a spot like the Skyway seems lame to me as well, given that we usually don’t deal with that much current there, although I've heard some people have managed to lose boards there, but maybe that was because they were learning and flailing.

In heavy conditions like a race where separation from the board can delay you and possibly cause you to lose the board permanently, I can see using a board leash while wearing a helmet.

It seems like I still see a lot of people walking around at the Skyway on shore with a kite in the air, dragging a board around on the ground by a board leash, and that is the wackest thing I have ever seen. That’s taking a cool situation and turning into a tool situation, like crashing out between two beautiful babes then wetting the bed.

Only lost track of my board twice in 2 years. Once when I lost it in very heavy surf (40 knots side shore)... I found it 200 yards down wind in the surf. Another time when I crashed my kite and tangled my lines at North Skyway. It was strong Northeast and it got pushed towards the skyway bridge. Jayson and (? can't remember who else, Billy?) rescued it for me. I was grateful.

Neither time would I have had time to connect a leash because it was a very hard fall followed by looping and crashing kite that separated it from me.

Aside from that, I have never had a problem body dragging for my board even in 40mph and head high surf.

Agree the Floats on the board would help in onshore winds, but not so much in side shore. I think bayflite is selling those now, and will even rent them out cheap on nasty days.

I don't use a board leash.. if I need to relaunch and can't hold onto my board, I put the kite leash through the handle.

Originally Posted by tomstock

I don't use a board leash.. if I need to relaunch and can't hold onto my board, I put the kite leash through the handle.

That's actually what I do too... but .... then you don't have a leash on your kite!
(even if just momentarily)

[inferno]

i just hold my board in my teeth

Pros and cons


http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewt...335047&start=0

Originally Posted by Skyway Scott

That's actually what I do too... but .... then you don't have a leash on your kite!
(even if just momentarily)

Who cares! If the kite was able to fly you wouldn't be separated from the board

Yeah, most of the time. But, you tend to disconnect the leash from the board and re-attach to the kite after the water relaunch, not before. So at launch, things might go wrong.

If something goes really wrong during the water relaunch (deep water) you now possibly have a wild kite dragging you with a board "chasing you" and no kite leash.
Given enough time, anything can happen.
I actually launched my board (by the leash) up with my kite once.