VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Hopefully a few lessons were learned today at Gordons Beach. Extremely lucky that no one was hurt or killed!

1. Always, always, use a safety release system!!!!! Get an Ocean Rodeo puch-out, or some other system.
2. If launching in an unfamiliar location, ask around (other kiters OR windsurfers) about conditions, hazards etc.
3. Wear a helmet!
4. Pay attention to the wind conditions. Spend some time watching. If the wind looks and feels volatile, maybe unpredictable.....it probably is.
5. At Gordons, launch up by Tugwell Creek where there is more room and a better angle.
6. At Gordons, keep your kite over the water. Do not bring it over the beach, cabins or trees.
7. Bring your kite up SLOWLY.
8. If things go wrong upon launch and you are overpowered, let go of your kite!
9. Do not launch hooked-in (I know some will disagree with this rule under certain circumstances but it could save you)

hey Joe, what happened? Or is it posted somewhere else?

Here is my account of the event: Two kites set up to launch between the boat ramp and the windsurfer’s rigging area. The wind had been pumping along the beach in bursts. The tall flagpole up by Tugwell was flipping from NW to N to limp then NW again, round and round. The higher tide didn’t leave much beach.

The person at the kite walked it out into the water for a better angle (which was good). I think the kiter was hooked in for the launch. Upon launching (a 12M kite I think) the kiter appeared immediately over-powered and did a heel drag down to the water, then into the water. He tried to make some adjustment at his bar while dragging and let the kite come overhead too fast. In a split second he was airborne about 10 or 12 feet from the surface of the water travelling down wind about 40 feet at good speed, right through where all the windsurfers enter and exit the water. The kite lines ended up caught in the fir tree beside the windsurfer rigging area and his kite (which was over the same area, far from the water-side) miraculously lost power and fell into the brush downwind side of the windsurfer rigging area. Fortunately he landed in the water, but I don’t know how! Lots of big trees, fence posts and people in this immediate area. No helmet. I spoke with him afterwards. I believe he understood how luck he was to walk away without an injury.

Joe: these rules or guidelines make a lot of sense. It's a good idea for the kiter community to adopt these rules (or similar) as a code-of-conduct for flying a gordon's. By now, I think safe kiting practices are (or should be) widely understood. There should be few excuses for accidents like this. Maybe someone post a written copy of "the rules" at gordons? Sometimes there are kids playing near the water at the gordon's launch - play safe

sounds like a pretty common launch screw up. Keep that kite low! The good thing is nobody got hurt, and hopefully everyone learned a little bit more. Gordons is a very small beach and should be used with caution, I know I think twice before every launch there. Thanks Joe for posting, if we all learn from eachother's mistakes it should minimize the pain!