VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Good points, Juan. Where is the best body location for a hook knife?

Hook knife location: personally I think best spot is right at upper chest / neck level. I sewed in a pocket on inside of my impact vest. [Ask TK about his experience getting tied up in his lines, pulled feet first, but unable reach hook knife on back on harness...yikes]

abetanzo wrote:everyone should have binocs... AND maybe a VHF radio??

could help to establish a 'beach comm centre' for S&R... just a thought

have carried both for years, yes, *16 on the cell works in coverage areas and gets you Victoria Rescue Center or use non-emerg *727.

I've used my waterproof, floating VHF at JR, great weather radio too, for the Nat etc. and for a decent CB like com device between RV's.....not that I do that ($170 all in, wanna plug the shop across from Can Tire in Vic off Douglas, very good service and info! reasonable cost)

I carry hookknives on the bar (Dakine bars come with it) as well as the side of the harness (on back seems super stupid?) but I would probably drop both if I really needed them and was getting yarded, not a big enough tab.....scary stories

thought today was a good day to bring this topic up again..

for all those Kooks riding at Cook St lately... these storms can be way over your head and a good sailor always assesses their skills and the conditions they'll be riding in from the beach before riding!

hope to get an Island View session soon...

P.S. Kooks stay away from Willows on a SE.

Not exactly sailing but same common sense applies to surfing. Today some older guy on a long board had to be towed in from the outside at Muir Creek. By the time he got in he was white faced, cold and probably in shock. He was wearing a non hooded cheap wetsuit from the looks of it and clearly not in surfing shape. He got lucky someone noticed him because he seemed unable to call for help. I saw something similar happen earlier in the day at JR. Kudos to the rescuer, that was a long paddle even if you weren't towing someone.

So before you rent a board at Coastline and head out on the south island river mouths after 100mm of rain in the last 24 hrs please take note. The south island is not tofino. You will be flushed out to sea if you are cold or out of shape. You look like kelp or a log so no one may see you. 15'@16sec forecasts are not for learning - anywhere. The guys you see out there have spent years and years getting to that level step by step. You are not Keanu Reeves in Point Break, actual surfing is not that easy. Just because a point break is easy to paddle out in does not make it safer than a beach break for a Newb in winter - in fact the opposite. If all else fails for God's sake ask someone about the spot.

Thanks in advance.

Island view shore break is not for beginners! Keep your kite high above the water but enough to pull you through the overhead washout... once through quickly mount the board and go.. today another kook with go Joe attached was smashed... happy you didn't damage your kite or lost a board..

Happy to help but you should know better

Interestingly some more influx of kiters that shouldn't be out at Columbia. Some things you need to work up the experience for, esp in winter....at times it means a better suit, a buddy, and swallowing your pride and NOT go I'm there now with a big Oregon Coast day....not all are sailable

I warned the kiter (before i left) who crashed in the shore pound yesterday, that it was a poor day to be learning. I mentioned that he should just watch and learn, land some kites and observe what people are doing. Its too bad someone who has a bit of experience that saw him launch with a go-jo, didn't set him right. I feel the more experienced kiters need to step it up educate the newbies, especially since there are more and more. Most of them fresh off of Teetinat without a clue of the hazards, to them and others.

Ha. No way. Someone launched a 7m day at IV with a GoJoe! Now I've seen everything.

Well... I would argue a GoJoe is not "only for beginners". I get the humour, but it can be the difference between losing your board in extreme conditions and being able to spot it (is my guess - not having been out in extreme conditions on a kite).

I am an intermediate kiter, I guess, and ride my Mako Duke strapless, but still like to use the GoJoe on the twintip for visibility purposes.

As a windsurfer, I wish all twintips had GoJoe's on them. An upside down board can be invisible and damage my board when I hit it as well.

My vote is not to ridicule GoJoe's, in the same way we don't or shouldn't ridicule helmets.

My 2 cents.

In 40 knots at IV or CB you are doing all you can to not eat it walking to the beach with a 7m. With a GoJoe the windage on the board would make it that much harder to control, let alone when you get on the water. No one is suggesting a GoJoe is not a good tool, but if you feel you still need one you probably shouldn't be out at IV or CB when it's 7m.

Good point about the wind / wing / sail effect.

This thread is more about being prepared... and yes a Go-Joe can help but in 30 plus knots it can be more of a problem as Tony said.

One thing for Kooks to learn is where they can push their own limits.. Island View is a good place to start but in conditions with shore pound and rip tide it's very difficult.

How do you get better without trying out that 7m on a gnarly day? you prepare... you get your buddy to help walk the beach and watch and if shit hits the fan you're prepared for dealing with the situation.

Adrian, you're bringing up very good points and I agree with you.


"Kook" is a term that no one really ever self identifies them as being. A suggestion would be to use the terms intermediate kiters or newer kiters instead to better reach your audience.

Be nice to kooks.
-- we were all kooks once
-- some more recently than others
-- some still are, but don't realize it
-- some always will be, no matter how hard they try