It's been a crazy couple of weeks on the Costa del Geriatica with a series of storms rattling through with wind's gusting 50mph and kicking up some big seas.
The only trouble that as often happens as the Low-pressure tracks with associated fronts and rain bands the wind can have a nasty habit of either easing or in front of the rain strong squalls develop.
So sometimes it's real survival mode, not so much out at sea as that's often the safest place, but just launching and landing your kite!
This morning I opted for an early session as I'm out most of the day, launching from an anchor (you set up a carabiner on a leash) on the groyne in front of where I live, and the associated "faff" of setting it up and checking kite and line takes about 20mins, I knew from looking at the rain radar that a few light showers were possible, but they'd last only about 5mins, so was none too bothered at the conditions I saw coming my way from the West, should also add that I wanted to get out before the beach closed out too much with big sets of waves rolling in.
As I launched the kite and walked down all of 15-20m to the water's edge with the kite now aloft the wind kicked in and I just thought time to abort so I had to walk backwards with the kite more over the sea than towards the beach as I was getting lifted and that's not a good sign so if I had to do an emergency release then kite would go towards the sea and not up the beach and maybe get caught on a groyne and power up again.
Once I managed to hook myself back into the carabiner I was very relieved.
Back inside our kiting WhatsApp group was going off with people getting enthusiastic about the prospects of a good afternoon as the forecast was way better than this morning, then another mate (they're all much younger than me) posted how he'd had a really insane session this morning on his 9m kite (I aborted with a 6m) 5km further down the Coast, and then this video was posted by my mate.
It's our local Kitesurf Rock-Star, he who jumped Worthing and Brighton piers, who was also out and pulling off this insane Mega Loop, so that's when you jump, and then not content with the height of the jump, you loop the kite so you get more power in the kite and that then accelerates you 100m or so down-wind.
As you can see no-one else out so I don't feel too bad about not getting out, though at times I do feel I'm getting too olde for this shite* and I'm actually looking forward to the High Pressure and some time off the water Wednesday onwards.
* should add that I DO NOT DO anything remotely involving airtime when I kite as I ride a surfboard opting to ride the swell n'waves though still have to battle your way out!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Was he in Brighton? If so I saw him! Was incredible to watch - I tried to get a photo and managed one of him pretty much upside down.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Awesome! It was seriously windy out there today, I even stopped my walk along the front so this guy is insane!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@ElzP, no it was Lancing.
And this was Nik Baker Ex PWA Windsurfing World Champ yesterday at Worthing showing how he can still rip.
And @rogg, yes kite-surfing can be very dangerous, I had a very close call back in the Summer and nigh on 4 months later I still have a few muscular-skeletal issues as well as mental ones.
But perhaps this story just shows how it can go so wrong so quickly.
Hi Everyone: I'm posting on behalf of a friend following a terrible experience he had today at Lancing. This is designed to remind people of the dangers of our sport.
Over to him:
By way of introduction I have been kiting for 15 years (I would like to think I am pretty good) and my son started this year. I was on a new 10 he was on a 5. We were not overpowered, we have kited in these winds many a time.
He became separated from his board and I noticed he was getting tired so I said I would get the board and we would go in.
When returning the board, as I have done hundreds of times for people, as I threw the board onto the water to go downwind of him the handle or strap knocked my quick release.
His kite was near the water to allow plenty of space for me to pass over his but given the situation, my lines gradually drifted into his. My bar then wrapped around his lines. We had a seconds to react.
He pulled his safety but it was too late we had our bars and lines tangled killing any depower and the kites were starting to power up. I focused on getting to my kite as fast as possible via a single line as I knew we had to avoid getting power in the kites but my son did not get to his 5 quickly enough.
We were roughly 10m from his kite when the death loops started. His lines wrapped around his legs, my board & my legs. Before people say ‘you should wrap your lines’ we did not have time.
We both clung onto my 10 he as we shot off downwind. At one point we were literally drowning, his screams of fear will be with me for a long time. I managed to wedge my board in the water to slow us down and stopping us drowning. I then slowly untangle my feet by undoing my boot bindings.
My son also managed to get his legs out of the lines meaning he was free of everything BUT I did not want him to be floating in the sea so I just shouted cling on the the 10. I could not get to the looping 5 as it was too far downwind and despite trying to work my way up the lines I just could not do it with one arm holding my son and kite.
I reached for my knife BUT I had changed my bar on my harness that morning and i did not check for a knife. I have never needed one before but I did need one today. The net result was that could have saved us a time of stress / trauma. I have no idea if my son will ever kite again he is so distressed.
The death loops started at the Lancing sailing club and a windsurfer jumped on the offending kite at Shoreham (thank you I wish I got his name) and towed my son to the beach. I was picked up by a lovely bloke who offered to end his session give us a cup of tea, before taking us back to Lancing is his van. I never managed to take him up on his offer as the coast guard turned up when I was on the beach. They were amazing as ever (thanks to the lovely couple at shoreham who contacted the coast guard).
This is the second kite incident I have had in a couple of month the previous one involved the the safety snapping and my kite drifting off down wind only to be returned with a million rips. Today was 100 times worse but just shows that this is an extreme sport.
And as a postscript to the above please if you're out walking on the beach and see kites please give them lots of room, if you see a kiter laying out his lines then go no where near them like wise if you see him landing stay well clear and upwind if possible.
My accident occurred with me trying to avoid a load of people who were merrily paddling in the shallows near my anchor point, but they were totally unaware of that so I can't blame them at all.
Almost everyone I've ever met who has done any moderate amount of kitesurfing has a near death/severe trauma/nasty injury tale to tell or at the very least a close call that seemed to be pure luck not to be worse. I know some of it will be tall tale bravado but does the sport have a safety problem - after all you are deliberately choosing to go out in severe weather?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Dave of the Marmottes, yes you're right that most kiters do have a tale to tell, we call them "kitemares".
However, on the whole, it's not the severe weather that is the culprit, as most people kite in 20mph winds.
The issue is the kite and the lines and issues that can occur, even in a gentle breeze that kite has the power to drag you along.
We have two safety's we can pull, one should let the kite flail out and loose the power and the other is the final "oh shite" that you pull and should let the whole lot go.
However as per the story above they do not always work.
The other big issue is how often people loose their boards as they crash out to sea and the board comes off then they can't get back to it, but you then fly the kite to body drag you back in.
And I think @Dave of the Marmottes, you'll love this as I'm the person in deep shite with this kitemare, though as you'll see some of the comments are that it's the funniest thing they've seen
For me when I was learning strong winds and big seas did not bother me as I'd been windsurfing in them for years, it was just my inexperience with the damn kite
Excellent I did enjoy the "c**t" after the sprint up the beach. I'm thinking it must be fairly cheap to get into kitesurfing just hang around the beachfront picking up kites that people have let go and boards they have abandoned on the sand (legit beachcomber booty surely) while chasing said kites.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@Dave of the Marmottes,
That said when you compare kitesurfing to skiing and injuries etc think far more broken bones ACL's occur in skiing as well as fatalities off-piste / avalanches / falling off cliffs etc it's just that the kitemare is a real nightmare (and is often part of the learning process) and tends to affect you mentally as you think what could have happened as a worst-case scenario and for some, they never get back on the horse afterwards.
A lot of people do the lessons and fortunately many do not progress from their lessons, we stay well clear of beginners and to some extent most kiters that we don't know as you never know what they might do.
This is an extreme example (depth of field making it seem worse than it actually is) of kiters in Tarifa, where over a stretch of 2km there's around 10 kite schools teaching!
Needless to say, you don't kite there!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Weathercam wrote:
@Dave of the Marmottes, yes you're right that most kiters do have a tale to tell, we call them "kitemares".
We have two safety's we can pull, one should let the kite flail out and loose the power and the other is the final "oh shite" that you pull and should let the whole lot go.
Have to say, having tried kiteboarding and having friends that still do everyone has a story of it going wrong, you can chalk it up to part of the sport or the learning curve, in the end I opted to go down the path of windsurfing - one could even compare this to skiing and snowboarding, and I will admit there is something far more attractive as a newcomer to the sport about kiteboarding as there is in snowboarding when compared to skiing back in the 90s.
While there are two safetys that can be used for me the issue is when the control bar gets caught under the harness hook and there is no way to depower (unless you know to pull the strings on one side) and like everything alot of people aren't taught this, nor do they practice, and in any disaster situation its the reflex that you need to kick in, especially when youre being dragged face down in water or through waves.
Its a great sport, and will probably give it another go in the future
@extremerob, many a windsurfer who could not master a planing gybe switched to kiting as the progression was far more rapid like you say the difference between snowboarding and skiing.
It also meant than many an idiot was let lose out on the sea without any real idea of what the wind could really do.
All the instructors I know use Bluetooth headphones in helmets to speak to their clients out on the water, it's the KiteSchools like down in Tarifa where one instructor teaches a group of four or more where it goes wrong.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@Weathercam, spot-on - I learnt both in the east med (aka the wild west for water sports) - bluetooth headphones (luxury), helmet (its water) , lifejacket (or even an impact vest) (the body floats), what are those things you're talking about, let alone even having a rescue boat in the water
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I always fancied taking up paragliding myself: (includes skiing)
@BoardieK, one of my all time favorite sport videos
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Weathercam wrote:
@Dave of the Marmottes,
That said when you compare kitesurfing to skiing and injuries etc think far more broken bones ACL's occur in skiing as well as fatalities off-piste / avalanches / falling off cliffs etc it's just that the kitemare is a real nightmare (and is often part of the learning process) and tends to affect you mentally as you think what could have happened as a worst-case scenario and for some, they never get back on the horse afterwards.
A lot of people do the lessons and fortunately many do not progress from their lessons, we stay well clear of beginners and to some extent most kiters that we don't know as you never know what they might do.
This is an extreme example (depth of field making it seem worse than it actually is) of kiters in Tarifa, where over a stretch of 2km there's around 10 kite schools teaching!
Needless to say, you don't kite there!
That's a pretty quiet day in Tarifa to be fair!
Like you say, injuries are way less common teaching kiting than skiing, but I think it's mentally scarier for beginners.
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