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?

[ricki]

I don't want to monopolize this discussion, it is a relief to see this subject discussed and with such insight by so many. Wasn't always this way by a long shot. I wanted to repost this from kiteforum and back to you guys.

Originally Posted by RickI

Photo by A. Patterson
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2342449

I don't think it is a good idea to head offshore in response to a squall for kiters. Hitting water can take you out as nearly shown above. That fellow was dragged about 3000 ft. across the water unconscious after being smashed into it in a squall gust in the Great Lakes. Miraculously he lived due to a fluke of the wind dragging him to shore along with some rapid and effective response from his kiting buddies including some amazing CPR. There have been still other cases. How about the fellow lofted 800 ft. in Cabarete and the man in Portugal lofted over 1500 ft. horizontally? There is a much easier, reliable solution.

If you think you are going to get too much wind, Emergency Depower immediately and swim. None of us should ever be in a location from which we can't swim in from unless you're doing something unusual, like racing to another country. If we are, something is wrong and needs to be remedied.

Avoid the high wind emergency. It isn't that hard as a rule.

[robertovillate]

I would respectfully disagree with encouraging anyone from being close to shore, or suggesting that as a safe strategy, when a squall conditions present themselves. These comments are made with the assumption that the squall and winds are already upon you.

When these conditions happen you need LOTS of room to perform a QR deployment...especially if something goes wrong during the process. And sometimes in these situations you need to buy a little time to get ready.

3000 feet seems a long way to be dragged, conscious or unconsciuos...but he is probably lucky he was FAR FROM SHORE so that when he did get lofted he did not get slammed directly into trees/docks, rocks, etc right off the bat. Plus 3000 feet goes by fast when you are getting dragged - ask Tom Ucheuche, or Bill Eastburn, both strong experienced kiters.

I suppose we could include "what if you are unconscious?" into the discussion, but I think for the most part people need to know what to do if they are conscious.

I might only be speaking for myself, but I know one thing - I've been caught in several situations where the wind went from 12 kts to 40 kts with very little warning. The first thought in my mind is GET AWAY FROM SHORE. I will not rely on someone "being there" to catch my kite, and I don't want to release my kite if not necessary into parks, beaches, sidewalks, roadways, etc.

If I decide that I need to get closer to shore I first make sure that I am set up and can QR immediately to an outside leashed line and NOT to my suicide connection or to a centerline system (no matter how "intelligent" it is)...AND I repeat to myself the mantra - if it appears I will be dragged out of the water onto the sand/rocks/trees/grass, etc...I WILL IMMEDIATELY QR to flag the kite...and if that looks bad for even a second or two I will QR the kite leash immediately and save myself.

[ricki]

In my experience very few squalls have been a surprise. There was one after sunset several years ago that blended into a darker gray sky and boosted wind to about 45 mph that was a bit of a surprise. I still had landed prior to that being uneasy about subtle developing conditions. I caught the gusts driving home a couple of miles south.

The best advice I can offer is to do your best to avoid squalls, if you screw up and get caught out anyway, then Emergency Depower EARLY. If this means swimming in, so be it, you should have the skill if you are out there in the first place. Don't wait for someone to catch your kite either. You should have a good enough buffer to do this. Guys have been taken out just waiting for someone to catch their kite. Take the kite's power away to do you harm.

I strongly advise against having a kite in the air when it moves in. Too many guys, dozens have died and likely hundreds have been injured worldwide for many years for making this choice. That is trying to fly through a high wind emergency. Emergency Depower well before the winds get out of control and sort things out after.

[robertovillate]

Originally Posted by RickI

In my experience very few squalls have been a surprise. There was one after sunset several years ago that blended into a darker gray sky and boosted wind to about 45 mph that was a bit of a surprise.

Exactly the point..."surprises" happen, even if only on rare occasion. Whether you are a weather expert monitoring instruments that update every 5 minutes or novice kiteboarder with limited weather knowledge - unexpected wind events happen quite often and can be very localized "microbursts" if you will.

Should people be aware of the conditions developing, local weather knowledge, and take preventative action in advance of severe wind increases and shifts? Of course, absolutely.

But there are times when everyone is caught by surprise. And I think this is what is being addressed here.

E.G. Here's a graph from 16 May on Lake MI. The pattern was our typical high pressure, NW seabreeze, which presents normally a stable, predictable set of conditions, and very recognizable by those of us who ride here regularly...characterized by an afternoon shift from SW to gradually increasing NW with fairly steady velocities and then diminishing gradually after a few hours.

http://www.ikitesurf.com/cgi-bin/new...0&hid=45172604

Many expert kiters riding that day followed the expected pattern, including myself. Riding with a 7m early in the day, switching to a 10m when it went below 20 kts, and almost slogging when the wind spike arrived at 4pm. Many people were out on 12, 14, 16m kites when the spike came in at over 40 kts. Nobody saw it coming, (the sky was crystal clear blue and there were already signifcant whitecaps and waves) and it was a total scramble to land kites in serious side-on wind. I chose to ditch my board close to shore and then ended up going downwind body dragging away from the beach until several hundred yards offshore until I was in a spot where I could comfortably self-emergency land unassisted with plenty of room and no hazards. And I was prepared to kiss the kite goodbye if necessary at any moment.

These surprise conditions, whether an obvious squall or an invisible wind spike, are where having too big of a kite close to shore makes anyone very vulnerable. I've seen many people confused about how to QR, QR-ing their leash instead of their chicken-loop, or totally panicking and doing neither - and then getting worked badly. This is where having a few more moments to think things through can save someone from disaster. Easier and safer to think it through OFF-SHORE, instead of while bouncing over the sand/rocks, etc..