Accident in alameda 5/12

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by maxsteamer » Sat May 13, 2017 2:18 pm

Hey Guys...I got a call this morning from a fellow kiteboarder " Dr. Fred M. the Neurosurgeon at Highland Hospital he was on duty in the ER when they brought him in.. he was still alive at the time but died from internal injuries before dr. Fred could preform brain trauma surgery on him .. My condolences to his family.. Please remember the buddy system when kiting ..Max & Pam
http://www.cautionkites.com

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by MehYam » Sat May 13, 2017 3:17 pm

This is incredibly sad, condolences to his friends and family.

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by aquaman55 » Sat May 13, 2017 8:15 pm

I watched it unfold as well. When his kite went up it was fluttering and unstable. He tried to save the launch and was pulled into a photographer just NW of the bushes. The photographer had a cut on his head. The kite looped, pulled the kiter over the bushes and he smashed into the power box. The whole event took maybe 2 -3 seconds. So sad. Kudos to the kiters administrating CPR.

"When in doubt, punch out."

I'm going to say that to myself every time I launch.

RIP Brett

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by RAkite » Sat May 13, 2017 8:53 pm

So sad to hear this - this is so unnecessary. My thoughts go to the poor guys family and friends _>:<

I've only lived in CA for 5 months. Can someone tell me why it is insisted that newbies launch on the lawn next to the shed? Even the kiteschool seems to teach this.


In DK where I am from, a newbie would ALWAYS launch in the water. If anything happens chances are that you get washed over - but when you are on land it just ends badly - especially in a place like alameda where space is crowed.

It of course requires that people are willing to walk the extra 50 feet with the newbie to the water, but that is a small price to pay compared the alternative. But I've been surfing at alameda 4 times now, and I've seen dangerous situations every time - IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT!!!!

I LOVE kitesurfing, the surf, the adrenaline, the scenery - everything. But I get so sad every time I hear of something like this.

For me rule no 1 has always been - stay safe. Let's all try to help the beginners learning this. So please - so send them to the water next time.


Have fun - be safe

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by OliverG » Sat May 13, 2017 9:19 pm

So sorry to hear of this incident, sincere condolences to his family, I can't imagine, this si so sad. :(

Over the years we saw so many launch mishaps, mostly with no injuries, some with injuries and some with more serious injuries, but not this.

;(

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by sflinux » Sun May 14, 2017 7:17 am

friggin old guy wrote:Conditions were right for people to get overpowered....gusty. I was feeling op'd on my 8 even though the sensors were only showing low 20's with gusts close to 30.....lots of folks rigged too big I think.
Very sad. I hope in the future kite manufactures will design kites where launching unhooked is the norm, so you can simply let go of the bar if the launch goes wrong.
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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by Rakky » Sun May 14, 2017 8:00 am

At Alameda, seems that kiters launch with the kite towards the beach/road.
Even if you stand in the water with the kite on the beach, you can still get dragged onto land, or if an accidental kite loop will throw you onto the beach and drag you on land.
Why not launch towards the water, and make that a rule - as any mishaps will drag you into the water

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by jana » Sun May 14, 2017 9:07 am

I believe you should always launch towards the water whenever possible. Launching from the water seems safer only if you walk far enough into the water which I have never seen anybody doing. At Alameda I frequently see sketchy launches (basically every time I am there), close to the shack and the antenna and trees. On Friday shortly after this fatal accident another guy was launching "from the water", crashed his kite dangerously twice on people. One of the problem I guess is the beach is so crowded. In these cases it might be better to walk a bit downwind towards the shell gate and launch from there.

Here are my tips for safe launching/landing:

1. always launch towards the water if possible (being thrown in the water is better than being thrown on trees/rocks) - Also refuse to launch other people towards the land when you are asked to and explain the danger
2. depower your kite when launching
3. minimize the amount of time spent on the beach flying the kite (certainly no jumping on the beach)
4. do not launch while somebody else is launching/landing near you
5. always watch out when standing on the beach (do not let somebody crash a kite on you, and lend the incoming kiters)
6. hold the kite straight and firmly by the leading edge when launching somebody
7. do not let go of kite before getting the sign to do so
8. make sure the lines are tight with no slack, do not throw the kite in the air if there is slack in lines
9. launch/land with enough space around you on flat surface. Do not step on other kites etc. Move if you do not have enough space. This counts for both people involved in the process.
10. Let go of the bar if in danger.
11. Release the kite completely if letting of the bar does not help and you are overpowered.
12. check you gear before going out, make sure the safety mechanisms work.
13. Always wash your bar in fresh water after the session because the salt tends to make everything sticky and destroy the metal parts (swivel, chicken loop, safety release). Also, it is much easier to rig the lines when they are clean.

Another tip I heard yesterday:
"If you see something wrong with your kite before launching, do not signal thumbs down. Instead simply unhook and walk towards the kite. I've seen kitemares where the launcher has misread thumbs down and instead launched the kite resulting in an accident."

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by BoM » Sun May 14, 2017 9:26 am

For those that did not know Brett, please allow me to fill in a few blanks. Brett was a very gentle, very sweet, very kind person from Marin. The world needed more of him, not less of him, but we are grateful we had him in our lives, even if we only just met him. Brett is survived by his loving wife, Carla, and his two sons, both in their twenties. His family is headed for some painful times, and we all feel deeply for them, even from a distance.
As has been established, Brett was new to the sport. We have all made mistakes and been through kitemares that could have gone worse, and his did. It is sobering, to say the least. A heartfelt thanks to those that tried to help Brett both before and after the accident. Lets all remember to keep your eyes out for the new people in the sport, and be assertive about making sure they are ok and safe. We lost a really good guy, and it hurts, but lets learn from it. Hopefully small steps of help will make a big difference for someone else in the future.

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by mezh » Sun May 14, 2017 10:19 am

Terrible news. I was pretty close, but didn't see launch moment. My friend was helping him. He said angle was not ideal, but not too bad. I saw him running towards the bush following kite. Hands on the bar. My friend tried to grab him by the harness but missed few inches. Then he collided with some stuburn photographer, who was busy setting up his equipment for some kind of shoot on the side of the launch area. Bad location choice for sure. He kind of brushed the photograper a little bit on the head and it took an extra second because he was trying to avoid collision and change his course.
I didn't see the actual crash. My view was blocked by the bush. My friend said his ropes wrapped around the pole giving him additional acceleration perhaps. I didn't​ see him flying high. Few kiters on the other side saw actual crash. I talk to one guy after. He said he was hit twice - first by the round metal structure (about 4" tall) and then second time by metal utility box. This is where I saw him when I rushed in. He was unconscious. Pulse was present. He was not attached to the kite. Not sure if someone already unclip him. I removed his harness, but few people were around already. One guy who knew how to do CPR started to help immediately. Emergency kit was brought in pretty fast. I think from the shack. But is was useless. No scissors. No mouse piece for CPR. He did mouth to mouth. Guy started to breeze, but was still unconscious. He got pretty deep cut on his shin. It was blending. Not too bad. Clearly main injury was somewhere at his head. Didn't see exactly where. He was wearing helmet but it was not on him when I got there.

Eventually wetsuite get cut and ambulance arrived. They intubated right away and took him out reasonably fast.

I knew it doesn't look promising when county investigators showed up to take pictures and yellow taped the area. They said no news yet. Now we know ... Very sad.

I see few things we can improve there:
- pitch in money for modern first aid kit
- poster with clear instructions how to launch properly


... and please - IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG DURING THE LAUNCH - UNPLUG IMMEDIATELY!!! Don't think twice.

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