Lucky to be alive...kitemare gone really bad.

[toby wilson]

Glad you are okay Bill, definitely a wakeup call for me.

I wanted to make sure that your Doyle lived for you to kite another day with it!

That was one of the scariest things I have ever seen. Like others have said, just knowing that you are helpless and can't come to your bro's aid is the worst feeling in the world. I am changing my NSI leash out for a flexi right now.

[onthefritz]

Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like a scary scenario to be in. Glad things worked out for you and you're still alive. Get well soon!

[BigR]

Hey Bill, you were using a cabrinha kite but not a cabrinha leash.
The cabrinha leashes come with that little saucer deal which hooks up right next to your harness so that is is always accessible and you don't have to grab a bar that is impossibly out of reach. Basically the complete cabby system gives you TWO QR's

Glad you are OK, sounds scary mary

What was interesting about this situation relative to most kitemares is just how much time Bill had. I would say 12 to 15 seconds. Most kitemares are 2 seconds or shorter in duration, then someone hits something and it's over.
So, given Bill's take on (no) time, I think the lesson here is that safety stuff should be very easily accessible and easy to trigger (quickly). Most of it is neither, unfortunately.

Distance definitely bought Bill a ton of time. As it turned out, it didn't matter much on the gear he had. A full two minutes wouldn't have mattered, I don't think.

[inferno]

one lesson to take away from this...

it is highly recomended that in higher wind to always be leashed to an outside line, or a single front line (like the new SS i think), if anything goes wrong and your kite starts looping, as long as you can hit the release before to many loops you will flag the kite out to one line (preferable an outside line.....)

i assume you were leashed to both front lines?

[ricki]

Glad you came through OK. Gear needs regular and careful inspection, PM and even replacement. Just put an article up that goes into some of these aspects at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=5871

Hey I just wanted to chime in as well to say im glad your ok... relatively speaking...

Also happy to hear their was people there to help you out...
hope u heal good and fast....

-Jason

[Coach]

Alright guys...my reason for posting was to simply thank the guys who came to my aide and let them know how thankful I am. What happened to me could have happened to anyone from newbie to experienced safe rider with years of experience - like me. It could not have been predicted or prevented in that the bridle lines to this kite were intact and not comprised to the naked eye. IF there is a tool out there that measures the strength and integrity of bridle and/or flying lines, let me know. IF there is, I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY RIDER IN THE AREA USE ONE. You can't predict something like this. I take great care of all of my gear and inspect it regularly, particularly, my bar/lines/larksheads leaders, bridle attachment points, etc. Probably more than most. And, those of you who know me I am sure don't view me as a kook, dangerous on inexperienced rider. I am an educated person and a world class athlete who played professional tennis and coached on tour for over 20 years between the two. I am not a moron. So, please - if you have something productive and not critical to say, something about gear or lines, etc, let me know. But don't evaluate me as a rider, nor my practices as a rider - unless you know me and ride with me. IF there is a way to practice self rescue under these conditions, when a 12 meter kite has a bridle line snap and begins to loop at an insane rate at 20-25 knots and you are unable to break away the kite, in this situation, let me know. Otherwise, don't pass judgement on something you could never know about unless you went through it yourself. Thanks.

Bill you are wasting your breath. There are always a bunch of reasons why it won't happen to them (only because it hasn't yet).

I had a very similar experience 3+ years ago and it was one of the happiest days of my life ... when I realized I was still alive.

Really surprised you are not dead after hearing the story in detail.

Man am I glad that tree was there.

Drink a tall one and plant a tree in thanks.

[Unimog Bob]

Hey Bill,
I'm glad to hear you are on the mend. I was glad to do what I could to help. I know you would have done the same for any of us. I wish there was more we could have done. It was tough to watch knowing there was nothing we could do to reach you in time to stop you. You fought like hell to get loose the whole way. I'll be looking forward to riding with you again soon.