Squall survival techniques...

[ricki]

Unfortunately, a number of folks deliberately ride in squally conditions. Stupid acts are a numbers game. Not everyone will get spanked or killed, just an unacceptable percentage over time. There are those that may have no clue, never asked themselves can that really hurt, do it because other guys are still riding or think skill and technology will always carry the day.

I just finished that article for the German magazine. The day one experienced kiter got killed and another smashed up pretty well getting lofted inland a long way, there were several dozen guys on the water. Maybe more than a hundred, not sure, as a cold front forecast to have wind gusts into 50 mph range moved in fast, all black and ugly. Wonder how many among that hundred would be willing to trade places with the guy that hit the rocks and stayed down permanently or even the 21 year old that flew over the restroom building and broke a bunch of bones? Every single one of them was in fact offering to do just that, their number simply wasn't called up. North Sea storms are different from what we have in Florida. In some ways ours are worse, more sudden, powerful and frequent. The North Sea variety often come with strong, sustained winds unlike ours that can go from 10 to 50 kts. in seconds.

People will do stupid things, we've all done them in our time. Some of us have moved on though and for good reason. Wonder what is holding the rest back? Lack of awareness and appreciation for just what can go wrong and how bad, who knows. Maybe they actually think their kite will depower through most squall winds or that it will work reliably. How many have had kite depower fail or been insufficient in extreme winds or simply react too late or not at all?