VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Hi all, my real name is Sasha. I've been flying (steerable) kites now for a couple years. I got my first OR 1.8 last fall. I got my next one (Wipika 6.5) very soon after. I chose to not take lessons for a few reasons.
1. Money(dumb)
2. I learn very quickly on my own.(So what)
3. ego(dumb)
4. other dumb reasons
So I figured I'd just pick things up as I progressed like you can do in almost everything else in life. Not taking into account that when things go bad in this sport. They can GO BAD!
I spent alot of time on land with my 1.8 and I mean alot. even some time in the water with it. Which was invaluble. This kite was my #1 learning tool. And lots of fun too.
With the 1.8 and the 6.5 I practiced everything, from launching with/or without help in and out of the water, I practiced self rescue techniques. I practice letting go of the bar, for real and in my head. I practice pulling the safety's for real and in my head all the time.
I am a very strong swimmer as well.
Now, hindsight is 20/20 right? well even though I learned almost everything on my own. I know now there are instructors teaching this sport for a reason! Your not going to pick up everything, you can't. You can practice till your blue in the face, but its the little things.
Little things like what happened yesterday.

Ok, like other stories like this, I've read. I've had a lot on my plate lately, "clue one" Slow down!
When you are going to get out on the water, especially I think, when your new. You are all pumped up, adreniline is pumping, your mind is racing a mile a minute, and your trying to remember everything.
This peticular time I thought I had slowed down enough, I got there drove the lenth of the beach looking for any windpeople, None, so I got out, went down to the beach to check the wind(speed/direction/gustyness), where the tide was, where the ppl were, and where my best launch was.
Then I drove down, got out... took lines down and started to lay them out, done. Then I fill my bar bag for my weight bag, leave it and go pump up the kite, bring kite down. I took extra special care this time to, when conecting lines to kite, as it has a bridle(not a big one, thats not the problem. I acually love it), and I wanted to be doubly sure about the conections, and having it "free to run" as this was a new kite to me.

This was the second time on the water with it. That wasn't the problem either, I feel very good about my ability with this kite. Which is a Wipika Airblast 10(13.6) by the way.

Anyway after I secured it on the beach, then I went back to suit up. I've learned to leave that for last or first, preferably last - so I do one thing at a time, and not get ahead of myself or too wound up, cause that's when I forget things. eg/helmet, not doing up my harness properly, Not this time though. Now it took me a while of going through all of this in my head over and over. To figure out what I did wrong, but anyway I self launched, again I feel, and felt good about self launching. That's one of the things I practiced ALOT with the 1.8 that and self landing, which I think I pretty good at.
Got out, got up a couple of times, fell down a couple of times. I even had my first real big lift off the water, holy crap thats cool.
When I landed, I crashed... but again thats not the problem, I relaunched with the help of the bridle with no problem.
It was the next crash that things went bad, I had fallen over again. And the wind was doin sqirlly things. while I was laying in the water, the kite lost air, and started one of those dives that you know you might be able to pull out of, but it'll probobly catch directly in the middle of or making a pass through the power zone. It didn't, it just came out of the sky and into the water. Then the wind picked up again, and of course started pulling me downwind. To use the relaunch bridle you have to be hooked in, and because of where my harness is. It wants to pull me from under the water. Which causes alot of water to rush past my face. So this time No matter what I tried, everytime I tried to relaunch, it would come crashing down, I'm now taking on water... gulp here, gulp there, I'm getting nervous... I couldn't figure it out, and with everything happening at once, adrenalin, I started looking around and realized the wind had changed a little and I was going out away from the beach.. more nervous...
So after fighting to long, (another mistake) and having swallowed alot of seawater, I started thinking OK get this thing off me. So my first reaction without thinking was to pull the safety release. Which I did.
But no matter how hard I pulled I couldn't break it free(partly new velcro, partly lack of strenth, because of fighting to long) then I tried to just unhook, which happened easily. Then I had to make the decision to let go again so I did, but when I did the bar didn't go up the lines. So I think it just got a little tangle, so after fighting some more to get the bar back, I undid the loop that was stopping it and let go again.
Now I'm waaaayyy out, exausted, and the kite is still pulling on me, not much but still a little.

Of course next thought is self rescue, I started to try to get back to my bar, but I had no energy left, and felt like the waves were going over my head more than before and I knew the longer I thought and fought the farther out I'd be. I now new I had to start thinking about totally letting go of my kite.
I thought for what seemed to be an eternity about it, desperatly not wanting to let go. But I finally undid the wrist leash and let go. Now I'm just treading water, my mind is racing, and I'm sooo tired.
Then I see Windsurf 247 way downwind of me, and I yell out to him, soon realizing that I'm to far from anyone to hear me in the wind. He thought I was still attached to my kite and couldn't get upwind if he wanted to.
So now I'm starting to panic a little which I got undercontrol pretty quickly, all it took was one flash thought of my 10 year old son, and it snapped me out of it. But it still took me a sec to remember that I had my board trailing behind me on me board leash. Not floaty enough to lay on or put all my weight on I just put it out in front arms streached out.
That allowed me to rest. Thank god! Then I was able to watch my kite blowing away. first it was going out to sea, then it changed direction to heading strait for the light house.
Windsurf247 had gone back to change his board to come out and help, cause he'd realized something was wrong. But when he got there I was gone.
Me I just had a long, long, long swim back to the beach, when I got close to shore some woman saw me and I could see from the water that she was confused.. when I got to shore dead tired by now, she came up to me and asked where I'd come from. But there was others that new I was out there and had called 911 I guess, so when I got to the road, down just a ways was a policewoman, smiling at me, she told me that the boat that was going to come out to look for me had been canceled. after finding out everything was fine I said thank you and sorry, and she left.

Now windsurf247's story is still in the begining, but I don't know all of it.
I just know he surfed out along ways and spent the whole time pretty much, that he was there, trying to rescue me and my Kite off the rocks.
He did a great job of wrapping it and the lines up, for never touching a kite before. Then he attached it to his board and sailed it all the way back to where I was standing feeling thankfull, and very embarassed, also having to meet him for the first time, After he saved my kite, and cut up his feet on the barnicles where the kite was.(Sorry!)

So after all that, at home after going through this over and over. It came to me what the problem was out on the water. Like I said at the begining. You can get all wound up, setting up and launching, and forget just one thing.

The depower strap!!!!

I had pulled it in to launch, but this kite is a front line kite, it pulls mostly from the front lines, and for what ever reason I didn't realize, because it flew fine when I pulled back on the bar, its a great turning kite with the bridle.
So anyway thats why I couldn't relaunch it I couldn't steer it, with all the slack, (its a small bar), and it just slammed back into the water face down.
So now after the fact I feel like a real dumbass!!! But for what ever reason I just couldn't figure it out while in the water.
As for my little bit of panicing, the moral of that story is: If I had another floatation device, I would have been fine.
I won't go back out on the water again without something... life jacket, belt, impact vest something, anything.... (dumbass)
And it makes me feel bad to, to think that stupid stuff like this can affect beach access. Sorry.
So if your new and considering weather or not to take lessons. Think Hard!!
Because I chose not to, I have paid alot of money anyways, in kite repairs, A couple of mishaps and shame. And now I have a shreaded kite that I still have to pay for. It can be fixed, but thats more money and more shame. And now I won't be back on the water for a long while. which is torcherous.
Oh yeah... and a girlfriend that's very angry with me.
Thats my story, I learned alot yesterday. I hope sharing helps someone else.
Thanks one more time windsurf247, I would have been screwed with out you there.
And Dave and crew for a place to tell my story, and to learn myself from.
Oh one more thing I am thinking about still taking a lesson I'm not sure I really need one but, just for my own piece of mind, just to know that there isn't any other little things I don't know or don't have so firmly embedded in my brain.. But that'll be after paying for this mess.

Thanks
Sasha

Dude-

You should know that long before there were lessons available, we all had to learn just like you have. And most of us have stories very similar to you. Some people have had the coast guard called on then numerous times...

So, yes, absolutely, lessons are a great idea, and probably save people money in the end.

Thanks for sharing your story, you will probably save others from a similar problem.

Hope you are back on the water soon!

Lessons are good!

Sasha:GREAT POST..It takes a lot of humility to come clean! Lets review: 1. Check wind, lines & launch site before launch.(remember to keep 100 ft.+ clear DOWN WIND!) 2. Know local conditions (ex. Esq. lagoon tends to turn west & gusts down off the headland) 3. Know your equipment & test your safety eq.(Those of us with 'punch outs' & velcro "pull" releases should be in the habit of FREQUENTLY testing them by operating the release prior to landing on those light days!!) 4. HELP others that are having trouble. 5. Share your experiences with others so we all may learn from them....I would say that you've just had a great lesson!!!

props to windsurf247 for steppin up [smilie=beer.gif]

Yeah, but if I see Sasha and Jimmy both launching, I'll just call the Coast Guard proactively Good story, couldn't follow the technicals of kite bridles and lines, but got the gist of it. Good on W247, thats a rough way to spend a session. I was towed in 3 times at Nitinat by other windsurfers I got exhausted as a newbie or when something broke, I've always really really appreciated the efforts made on my behalf. Haven't heard of a kiter rescuing a sailboard yet, but I'm sure it will happen. Whats the process of a kite tow? Never seen one done. Also, not knowing much about kites, I've just let the kites in the water blow past me - what are the steps needed to help relaunch from the water if its obvious someone isn't going to get it themselves?

Sasha,
I applaud your humbleness. I (and many of my kiter friends) have been thru the ringer on more than one occasion. Afterwards you sort of feel like a total fool, but I do think you learned a very valuable lesson, and that your post (in such great detail) may safe someone's life.
Of all the things you did, going out alone was probably the biggest mistake.

Early on while I was kiting, I too would go out alone. Did not want to be around many others for the same reasons you went out. Quickly I realised that Kiting is a buddy sport, not only so you can high five and yahoo each other, but if your in big trouble hopefully your buddy will be able to help.

Big trouble being heading out to sea, knocked uncounscious and slowly drowing, having your leg broken in two and bleeding internally, smashing your head on the reef and bleeding like a pig, being dragged along the beach and breaking your wrist and loosing some teeth.... Keep in perspective that this is an extreme sport much like mountain biking, or surfing or windsurfing and accidents DO happen. Most are preventable.

Good luck, and I'll help you launch and land your kite next time on the beach.

Bricktop

Hey Sasha...good for you for turning an ugly embarrassing situation into a learning experience for us all. I know you had to swallow alot of pride to do so. You could've very easily just gone home and forgotten the whole thing.

Here's something else for us all to think about. Although I was happy to see Sasha get his kite back, it really wasn't my intention when I ventured over to him. I thought I was going to help a stranded kiter.

When I arrived, I found just a kite. It was perched precariously on a rocky outcrop that was only acessible by water, but not by boat - too many rocks. My concern at that time was that if the kite managed to launch itself, it would become a danger to someone else. It was filling with wind and was only being held back by the tangled lines on the rocks.

Not being a kiter, I'm not sure if my concerns of it relaunching were justified, but nonetheless, I felt it was hazardous to leave it there. To me, it was like a loaded gun in a playground. Besides, I was the only one able to access it.

Once again, not being a kiter, I don't know how much risk I was putting myself in becoming entangled in this mess of lines, but I must admit I was a little nervous. Standing barefoot on a slippery, barnacle-covered rock, waves splashing over, tangled lines everywhere and a half powered kite ready for liftoff.........not a real soothing experience!

Anyways, we can all learn another valuable lesson from my end of the experience. When we go on the water, we put ourselves as well as other people in danger, especially if it involves a rescue, and especially with a kite. Please don't think that you are 100% self-sufficient. Sometimes shit just happens and other times, it's preventable. In either case, we sometimes need to rely on others to help us. Let's try to reduce the risk of a mishap by being smart.

Just like Sasha said, once the adrenalin is pumping, we often forget about safety. I know I've done it lots of times. And I've also swam to shore lots of times with broken gear because I was too excited to double check things. It should be a ritual for everyone going on the water to double check everything the same way a pilot does. Imagine the disaster if a pilot took off with so much adrenalin that he ignored his safety check.

As for the lessons, what can I say......I'm a windsurfing instructor! No matter how good you think you are, everyone can learn something new. It's worth the $$$.

Thanks again for sharing your story Sasha. I hope everyone who reads it gets something from it.

Rob

That last post was mine - windsurf247.
Cheers

Brick top
I appreciate the cameraderie in saying kiting is a potentially dangerous extreme sport like mountain biking, windsurfing, and surfing. Thats true at one level, BUT kiting's actual risk level seems way higher than the other sports you mention. Windsurfing feels risky to do, but really isn't very - injuries are actually few and far between, but now a lot of windsurf schools and racing regattas are having enormous trouble staying in business because they can't get affordable insurance, or ANY insurance in some cases. Why? Because the insurance people have lumped kiting with windsurfing, and are seeing the stats on kiting.

My son is a pretty extreme stunt mountain biker, and was asked yesterday how often someone was badly hurt doing the big drops and riding high skinnies. He responded "Define badly?", and the questioner said 'like in a body cast for months or in a wheelchair for life'. He explained that there was a steep learning curve in mountain biking and that very few people would attempt a big drop or really difficult stunt without mastering smaller ones and a whole bunch of skills first, which takes years. Bikers learn their limits by crashing on smaller stuff that generally doesn't result in anything more serious than a bruise or cut or broken collar bone. The guys who do big stuff are expert fallers and wear the right protective gear and get lots of relatively minor injuries, except rare incidents when they are unlucky. He contrasted this to snowboarding, where people are tempted to take big air with only a little experience, since snowboarding is much quicker to learn.

Seems to me that this pretty much describes the differences between kiting and windsurfing too. Kiting is much easier to learn, but bad crashes can happen way too easily and the power of the kite is enormous and doesn't stop just because you let go. A windsurfing catapault seems pretty tame by comparison. A top wave sailor said "this is an extreme sport, but its increadibly safe. I would be dead by now if I'd had so many spectacular crashes doing something like motocross". Top windsurfers seem to break ankles or ribs etc from time to time. I seem to have read a lot of news stories this last year covering expert kiters that were killed or badly hurt.

So lets all have fun on the water and help each other out, but please don't encourage the general public - or newbies- to think that kiting and windsurfing are both extreme sports with a SIMILAR level of risk.

Point well made
I must confess I am not a windsurfer, and can only look in awe at you guys heading out in what i would call insane sea state conditions. I guess it's all in one's perspective of the sport. What makes Kiting dangerous is the height and speed (or combinations of) and landing on hard objects. Put all that into a beginner who is stoked to learn all they can in a few months and you have a potential for some serious injuries.

When we bought our kite gear way way back in the early days of kiting the store would not sell us any gear unless we took lessons first. This was in Maui, and at the time we thought heeeey what a scam. In hind sight I have always looked back and thought wow we probably would have hurt ourselves very badly were it not for those first few hours of instruction.

Now Maui, had gone thru what we are now going thru: lots of accidents, lots of beaches being closed to kiters, and lots of newbies heading out without any experience at all. The retail stores all banded together to save the sport and give it a good name. I wonder why Victoria does not do the same thing?

Peace

Bricktop

Hmmm. With all due respect, while Kitesurfing may be more dangerous than windsurfing, it is nowhere near as dangerous as mountain biking....

There are a lot of reasons that people opt not to take lessons. You are perfectly within your rights to disagree if you like. That's it though. There will always be people who learn from their friends and there will always be a used gear market (especially if you try to put limits on the sale of new gear), etc. I think it is very helpful to get lessons, not absolutely necessary.

I think it is also important to mention that taking lessons may not necessarily have prevented this situation from happening. Sometimes Sh_t Just Happens!!

Just trying to save some from the moral high ground of enforcing the idea of newcomers taking lessons now that they don't have to take them themselves.

I just re-read it, and I guess it does sound a little preachy about taking lessons.
I'm not trying to say that you have to or that people should have to. I'm all about self teaching myself.
And in most things in life I think anyway. You can pick up the pieces of the puzzle, one by one at random. And eventually see "the picture".
But in this sport if your missing just one piece, or you put them together in the wrong order, it's No gooddo!
I was just suggesting that someone who's done it alot would be able to show you how to put it all together safely, all at the same time.


Thanx for the support ppl, it's good to be reminded, others have been here before me.
Sasha

Hey sasha, don't be too hard on yourself, the drop in your wallet fixin stuff and time off the water will be self punishment enought. We all are human and hence sometimes make poor decisions or simply don't realize something and then get in a situation, I am just thankfull you kept enough of your senses to make the decisions you did and make it back and then also have the courage to relflect and share the experience. as others have said, we all can learn from it.

As a comment for the windsurfers who are unaware of how kites operate, the lines I think would be your biggest concern. At no time should you put yourself in a position that could result with you getting tangled up or downwind of them should the kite suddenly move or be lofted (while the kite is free/unattatched or down in the water). The windsurfers and kiters use the same waterways and I would be more than happy to attempt to answer any questions anybody has regarding the sport, and if I don't have a answer or feel that I was not specific enough, gladly suggest where or who to get the information from. It is a very valid point made that many areas are being closed off due to preventable accidents or unawareness of the public.

As for extreme sport, my take is that any sport can be made extreme or tame, it is how hard you want to push the envelope and challenge yourself that begins to define what becomes extreme or not. for instance canoeing on a lake is not extreme, but canoeing down rapids just plain freaks me out.