Sad Day In Wisconsin

[oldschool]

hey all

bad news - we lost one of our brothers in WI - kiter died in a small inland lake - water temp was low 40s or high 30s and air temp was 45

they are still speculating on what happened

he leaves a wife - I don't believe any kids

as things cool down here we should all ride with buds and be diligent

os/sarasota

ps: here is the link - he was originally mis-identified as a windsurfer




The windsurfer that died on Lake Koshkonong on Monday was Jefferrey S Meissner of Huntley Il. 40 years old.
The story is in the Daily Jefferson County Union. http://dailyunion.com/news/news.html

[BigR]

My condolences to his family and friends.

My initial reaction ( having lived on WS and MN for 7 years ) is that the lakes are not a good place to kitesurf without support after temps go below 45 deg in Nov

water temps here in tampa will never go below 65 degs except momentarily during cold front passages in shallow water and never in deeper water ( the air tho' can get below 50 easy )


still, hypothermia can happen below 70 deg if not protected

I agree, colder temps should always be kiting in groups , not alone


BUT, NOBODY EVER WANTS TO GO OUT WHEN IT IS FREEZING



So I guess I have to do solo dawn patrols next few months

There is currently a thread on KF of which Rick is a part discussing cold weather and kiting.
It might seem silly to talk about hypothermia in Florida, but it's not silly at all. Most of us have only wetsuits, and many of them are just so-so.
I have noticed from personal experience and in watching others that when the air temperature is at or below 45 degrees and it's windy, most people can't handle the cold and decide not to ride. It's just too cold for them and not fun. Most can't handle the pain in their hands and have no coordination in their hands unless they are wearing some awesome gloves.
At 40 degrees, if you don't have a dry suit and a great pair of gloves, don't even try, has been my observation. You will just come back in with brain freeze and exceptionally painful hands. More than 50% of local riders don't even consider riding in less than 50 degrees. They show up, feel how cold it is, and then leave (probably wise).

The ideas being talked about on KF in more detail about cold weather kiting are that you should realize how limited your coordination and endurance are in cold weather, especially if you end up in the water for extended periods. I can attest to this. Never understatement how much danger you are placing yourself in if you are riding a half mile offshore in nuking cold front winds and you have an equipment failure in which you are basically guaranteed to be in the water for a half hour. It amazes me how fast both mental faculty and physical stamina can be zapped from your body (no matter how fit) in these conditions.
Even though the Gulf in our area rarely goes below 60 degrees, it's cold enough to zap your energy pretty quickly when submersed and exerting energy.

About 7 years ago I used to surf all year without a wetsuit. I even surfed when the water was 55 degrees. I would last about 30 minutes at the most, and I'd come back blue and barely able to walk.

These days I'm smarter... I won't even kite surf in water that cold with a wetsuit. You can always swim in if you're too cold on a surf board, but when you're swimming in from 300 yards out because of a broken line, hypothermia can set in and you can pass out before you ever make it to shore.

I suspect this is what happened. In 30 degree water you can't expect to last longer than 15 minutes, 30 minutes is sure death. With a wetsuit you will last longer, but not a lot longer. I'm sure this guy was wearing a drysuit but entanglement could have made this a long long swim. Wonder what really happened?