VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

roughly 56 km, a few years ago

"safety" boat carries the beer

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=13 ... =2&theater

I could not believe that 2 experienced kiters would risk that long of a downwinder with thoughs type of conditions that day. BAD JUDGMENT CALL. Kited that day and the wind was up and down. Almost completely shut off then picked back up. This is when they decided to start there downwinder. Something serious will happen or coastguard being dispatched more often for kite related incidents will bring some major negative attention to the sport.

No one should rely on coastguard as there rescue plan.

http://www.pedderbay.com/boat-rentals-and-guides/

boat rental might be a good for that short notice "lets do it" option

the main tricky and concerning area is Beacher Bay / Race and past Pedder! could be worth it when considering getting a RVYC member to drive a boat all the way to Gordons.

As a fellow kite boarder I do not think anyone should be impressed with the poor choice of attempting a down winder, in such questionable wind, May 21, 2013. This reflects negatively of our sport. Kiters with such experience should use much more forethought into these actions. Sport enthusiasts: kiting, mountaineering, kayaking etc are talented only when they are able and prepared to rely on there own means to get out of a not so planned event. A society relying on spot trackers – cap spot or the Canadian Coast Guard to retrieve them is not acceptable. Please note the local Coast Guard is made up of auxiliary members; therefore, you would be pulling people away from their personal lives to pick you up. I work for the Coast Guard and feel this is a sad miss allocation of time and funds to rescue someone caught doing such a stupid thing. If such a rescue is required I hope a fine is in place; such as, skiers that go out of bounds. ~ Paul

It might be time for some of the inexperienced nay sayers to begin asking questions about the nature of the downwinder, instead of passing judgment on an event they clearly have no understanding of. Presumptions about the safety of this trip and the nature of the wind clearly indicate a lack of understanding about the conditions, skill, experience and the planning that went into this trip (and will also go into much longer kite surfing adventures on this coast). After 23 years as a commercial fisherman/diver on the BC/Alaska coast, with NO COAST GUARD RESCUES (and in fact helping with a rescue on the North Coast when the Coast Guard ran into trouble), 40 years as a white water kayaker (Canadian National Team Member competing at the World Whitewater Championships), multiple long distance unsupported kayak touring adventures (including a 1000 mile unsupported Baja trip) and coming up on 500 posted kite surfing sessions in many disparate and challenging locations/conditions, it might be better if these “fellow kite boarders” would open up a dialogue about their own fears instead of rushing to judgment about the actions of others. I too have grave concerns when watching the actions of others, including watching the nay saying posters, but I have tried my best to assist them in their journey instead of stifling their development and the sport by pronouncements via the internet and from the shore.

Im sorry if I offended anyone. Just speaking the truth. I'm not trying to create conflict or hiding in anyway.

I'm positive that many other, more experienced kiters than myself, will tell you the same thing I stated.

Wade

Prior to taking command of the Titanic the Master had a perfect record An illustrious past does not exempt one from trouble in the future.

Wade, I welcome an open discussion about the trip and your opinions, although stating that you are speaking the truth, both for me and possibly for others, is offending.

I don't understand your statement Phil. p.s. I'm looking forward to seeing your new boards

JL Did you read the preceding post from Wade? Ensuing post seems pretty strait forward. PS Titanic reference seems a little overly dramatic.

I'm confused, but that's not unusual for me. Moving on to positive thoughts re: Juandesooka etc.

Good idea to switch from the confusion of wanting there to be another Titanic to possibly having good thoughts about future trans-Atlantic crossings.

Good idea to bring this forward/towards future trips requirement.

What made me post about the importance of having a safety boat, and more than likely what sparks Paul and Wade post was the following comment (see bold & underline part):

gear essentials:
pfd, vhf, gps, spot tracker (or similar gps/becon/emergency button), cell phone, food/ water...

otherwise having a chase boat ain't a necessity I'd say but having one ready to respond within a half hour would be nice!

That was such a scary statement, we all thought (well I did anyway, im pretty sure Paul and Wade did to):

"Now people think that crossing the strait to go to Port Angeles, or doing Renfrew-Victoria/Ogden-Willows/Gordon-Ogden without safety boats is ok, relying on coast guard in case of trouble??? In less than 4-5 years kiteboarding is going to be ban on Van Island if everyone thinks the same due to 2-3 rescue a year from a bunch of kiteboarders that rely on emergency rescue in case of gear breakdown/wind died down..."

A coast guard call further than a km away from shore will more than likely involve helicopter, could be from Navy/Coast Guard/SAR, multiple ships from different organisations and whatever ships/boats available in the area... And no lies here, if HMCS Victoria (Submarine) happens to be doing the Esquimalt 101 (just regular engineering trials or whatever) they will also answer to the call and be in the obligation of searching/helping. And if they are the first unit to "rescue the kiteboarders", it will be on the national news guaranteed!!! (good publicity for them, very bad for our sport).

Let the past behind us and set some kind of general guidelines towards future possible long downwinder/Kiteboarding-Windsurfing stretch. There are so many people that kiteboard that know boat owners that we could quite easily coordinate boat support, and if not, pay for a boat support.

I am not your dad/boss, so you guys do whatever you want, but I would feel very sad to see someone dying doing this because they didnt have a safety boat with them, or getting the sport ban due to too many rescue far away from shore (yes it may/will take a while but will more than likely happen if more and more people are doing these kind of downwinder without boat support). Remember rescue out there are a whole different story than right by the shore (logistic/number of units called/and $$$).

Cant wait for Nitinaht to start and you 3 having a beer together. Phil the Tank has to come out like he did during September Long 2011

Ian, the original post keeps getting hijacked by a few posters that seem to assume that the only safety option is getting rescued by the coast guard (in lieu of a safety boat). No one has asked about, or considered, what other possibilities there are if things go wrong. It would be great if the questions, queries and presumptions were less fear based/judgmental and more information sharing/gathering.