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  #11  
Old 04-03-2006, 12:12 PM
Eagle Eagle is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyway Scott
My "definition" of excessively gusty is when it is not fun to ride.

The day Tom got dragged, I called Eagle's phone 10 minutes prior to the incident leaving him a message to please beware and tell others because doppler looked like HELL and it was obvious something was up. (Remember Brian?)
Immediately upon getting my message he called me back (that was about 10 minutes after Tom got whacked) We were ALL upset and concerned for Tom.
Yea, when its not fun to ride is a pretty good gust indicator.
Scott you should tell everyone about your experience with the leading edge of a cold front.

I do remember the message and had I been on the beach would have recieved it. I'm glad the return call was good news.
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  #12  
Old 04-03-2006, 12:17 PM
E-Bone
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I am happy to report that I am back to normal after the worst kitemare I have ever had in 5+ years of kiting. I figured out the problem with the kite, as well. My lines were not crossed in the usual manner. What happened is that the left rear bridle got tangled on a scuff guard or something else after I rigged but before I launched. My left rear line was thus effectively 3 to 4 feet shorter than the right rear line. Yeah, that might create some steering problems.

This is a potential hazard with flat kites that can be dealt with by using a little extra caution with the bridle while launching. Caution on my part was in short supply that day, and I got worked as a result. With high or gusty winds, everything changes fast when something goes wrong. The flat kites give and take away. Because they can handle high wind and gusts so well, we will likely be charging more and more high wind and gusty sessions. In doing so, however, we will increase the stakes should something go wrong.

Word on the QR. When I had my problem, I was on the 9m Waroo in 25 to 30. Megapower, especially given that the kite was looping in the middle of the window. After I pulled the chickenloop QR, the kite actually pulled on my SS bungee so hard that it yanked the ring out my Dakine seat harness. Had I not known how to use the QRs on my rig I would have been in deeper shit. It's hard to figure out your gear for the first time when you are busying tunneling into the beach like a mole rat on steroids. I had sand coming out of my ears for days.
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  #13  
Old 04-03-2006, 12:34 PM
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toby wilson toby wilson is offline
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Tom's accident wasn't an isolated case either. About 2 months ago I was catching an after-work session in the afternoon/evening and a real nice guy was visiting the area from Michigan and was at East Beach when I got there. I think Colin may have been there that day too, not sure. We were all riding and having a great time but I decided to come in early to pack my gear up as the wind was pretty light and the night before I held the Rangers up after dark and didn't want them to think it was going to be a pattern or anything.

Right about 30 minutes before dark, the guy from Michigan tried to drag back to his board near shore after a fall (much like Tom's situation) and got picked up by a gust, dragged up the beach and across the street and the kite once again stalled just before he hit those mangroves at the entrance to the backside of East Beach. The gusts at East Beach are NO JOKE and I, for one am not gonna fool around with ANY chance that I could be next...at the slightest hint of dangerous winds, my ass is OFF of the water!!!
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  #14  
Old 04-03-2006, 12:41 PM
tomstock
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E-Bone
After I pulled the chickenloop QR, the kite actually pulled on my SS bungee so hard that it yanked the ring out my Dakine seat harness.
Glad you survived the big one!
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  #15  
Old 04-03-2006, 12:45 PM
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bryanleighty bryanleighty is offline
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Yo Yo Yo Ebone..

Check this out...

http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/viewtopic.php?t=1707

Caution must be advised.

-B
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  #16  
Old 04-03-2006, 03:50 PM
Skyway Scott
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Ebone. Didn't know til I read your story. Glad you are okay.

I have noticed the tendency of the Bows to do this as well. Therefore, IMO, the launching of these kites is a tad more dangerous than of a C, especially the self launch, due to line "tangle/wrap" issues.

Call me paranoid, but I always launch with my finger within the QR "red circle". If anything goes wrong, my finger will instinctually clam up and pull (not relax) to release the kite. Things have gone wrong approximately ten times out of at least 1,000 launches for me. That's only one percent, but, it only takes one really bad one.

I still believe the launching of a kite is the most dangerous moment in kiting, mainly because you aren't 100% sure that the lines aren't tangled or something. Donna has never launched her own kite if I am around.
I am cautious, and I realize the odds are small, but when I have the ability to make the odds close to zero of getting whacked, I take that opportunity.
Almost all of the really bad kitemares I have seen have been on a launch gone bad. People are caught off guard, kites are hauling ass (usually in a circular manner), and obstacles are close by.... yikes.......not much time to think or grab a moving target.

Glad you are Ok. I too had a sand mole express ride of almost a half mile once... not fun. :shock: (I had been kiting for about 5 months and it was in front of about 15 windsurfers at North Beach during a self launch. Talk about scaring the poleboarders away from kiters!!) Oh, there were no QRs back then, so the next day I bought a snap shackle at West Marine.
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  #17  
Old 04-03-2006, 04:57 PM
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BigR BigR is offline
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That is one reason I always set my kites up with the lines forward now.
Since the lines are coming from in front of the kite instead of from behind,
the bow tips are not able to wrap around the bridles as the kite goes from laying on the ground to a c shape in the air
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  #18  
Old 04-03-2006, 09:02 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Hello Tom,

That was one nasty accident and witnessed by so many other riders too. Do you remember the date and approximate time of the accident? I have a favor to ask, could you rig the QR incorrectly and correctly and take photos of each setup and send them to me? I would like to post the images here.

I am very happy your lofting had a good ending. With something as large as an 18 m up in the face of such winds there is no assurance that someone even will survive. I am reminded of a fatality last year in Okinawa. A rider was out, a squall moved in from a feeder band related to a typhoon (Pacific hurricane) a distance away. He "tried" to get in to land, perhaps to have someone catch his kite instead of immediately totally depowering his kite where he was. Anyway, he never made it that far. He was lofted at high speed out of the shallows landward toward a concrete wall. He hit it and died. Prior to the lofting he was seen to be furiously pulling on his quick release that failed to open.

It was reportedly an OLD side release snapshackle incorporated into his control bar by one of the major manufacturers a few years back.



NO ONE SHOULD BE USING ONE OF THESE SHACKLES FOR KITEBOARDING. They fail to release if they are overloaded, if the release is pulled out of a conical area, if they are fouled ... too many reasons why they won't release. Checkout your gear and that of others you see to make sure they aren't using some of this old, deadly crap.
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  #19  
Old 04-03-2006, 09:51 PM
tomstock
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RickI, another side effect of that shackle: The opening where the pin goes through is larger in diameter than the shackle hook itself. So, when the shack opens, the chicken loop which is pulled tight like a U shape around the shackle, will not slide off the hook. It gets caught on the wider part where the pin goes through. I would have never believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

So, that shackle will still not release the kite even when opened... Scott has been using these for so long it's almost instinctive for him to punch it once to make it slip off. Keep in mind it's only his backup not his primary release. most of us don't even have a backup.
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  #20  
Old 04-03-2006, 10:00 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Hello Tom,

Yes, in the old days we went back and forth, after guys were hurt mind you, "oh you need to use a steel ring of x diameter and y thickness to improve the odds of release. Ultimately, it was a bunch of B.S.. These shackles were never designed to perform under loading such as we can have in an emergency. You are right, they will grab and hold a chickenloop all too well. Not good.

Check your QRs frequently for proper function and ideally under load under controlled circumstances.
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