Accident in alameda 5/12

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cncor
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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by cncor » Sun May 14, 2017 11:06 am

1)Has anyone considered a fundraiser for his family?
2)What are we as a community going to do to avoid this from happening again?
3)Padding for the electrical box (like the poles at the ski lifts in Tahoe)?
I was there down the beach in the water I saw the crowd. I pumped up my 10m next to a smaller guy pumping up his 12m. I launched and showed the guy the power that I had with my 10 and hinted that his 12m was too big . He shrugged his shoulders and about 20 min later he was out of control on the water overpowered.
Yesterday I saw a guy launch a 14m when it is 9to11m conditions. I don't get it! I am Sad about Brett I am frustrated on the fact that this happened and now I will commit myself to correcting everyone I see that needs help or direction.
I will chip in if there is a fundraiser.
I will also chip in for padding around obstacles.
as a community we need to look out and protect each other from something horrible like this from happening again!

Igor
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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by Igor » Sun May 14, 2017 3:02 pm

I pretty much witnessed the whole thing on Friday and feel terribly sorry for his family.
We need to address safety issues in Alameda to prevent future tragedies.
Self policing as somebody suggested here and like we aggressively do at 3rd ave
can go a long way. I yelled at a guy in Alameda on Saturday who came in after session and landed his kite on the grass with his lines across the paved walkway. The guy was defiant and did not want to promise me he would not do it again. Things like that almost never happen at 3rd because there's a strong community there and people know that it is a no no.
Another issue, doing "tricks" ( or even finishing their tacks) too close to the shore in the area where people normally go out and come in means that you are not just advanced but an advanced asshole or maybe even an asshole pro. And the more people notify you of that the less likely you keep doing it.
There are many good suggestions in previous posts but I want to address one misconception.
It is not always safer to launch towards the water. Look at the Google Earth pic of the shack
and surroundings. If you are launching while standing in front of the shack entrance and your kite lies closer to the water and the wind is W, where is the power zone? That's right, it is exactly where those hard objects are. Now if the kite is in the same place but you are in the water and you have a bad launch an the kite gets dragged into the power zone you'll get dragged on the sand long enough to punch out and save your life.

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by knyfe » Sun May 14, 2017 9:51 pm

So saddened to hear. RIP my friend. G

windstoked
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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by windstoked » Sun May 14, 2017 9:59 pm

This is a sad day indeed for kiteboarders and especially enthusiasts here in Northern california that want to promote the sport and encourage others.
It's also an important reminder that while Northern California has perhaps the best combination of kiteable waters and consistent winds in North America, we have some of the sketchiest sites, particularly with regards to launches, and we mustn't fail to warn beginners of this unfortunate reality.
Alameda is promoted as a great beginner location, and though perhaps the on-water conditions are good for beginners, looking at the launch area reveals that whether launching over the water or over the beach, there is very little room (and time) for bailout if a launch goes sour considering the side/onshore wind direction (this is looking into the prevailing wind).
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NorCalNomad
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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by NorCalNomad » Mon May 15, 2017 8:39 am

Igor wrote: I yelled at a guy in Alameda on Saturday who came in after session and landed his kite on the grass with his lines across the paved walkway. The guy was defiant and did not want to promise me he would not do it again. Things like that almost never happen at 3rd because there's a strong community there and people know that it is a no no.
Another issue, doing "tricks" ( or even finishing their tacks) too close to the shore in the area where people normally go out and come in means that you are not just advanced but an advanced asshole or maybe even an asshole pro. And the more people notify you of that the less likely you keep doing it.
AMEN

The self policing of safety policy or even just beach ediquite is super important at Alameda
RAkite wrote:
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.
Tide doesn't always allow for this. Launching towards the water and not putting your kite at 12 are the best practices
Last edited by NorCalNomad on Tue May 16, 2017 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Listing gear is bad, and you should feel bad.

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ozreiuosn
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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by ozreiuosn » Mon May 15, 2017 11:04 am

Has there been any official news story on this yet? I can't find anything online.

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by attila » Mon May 15, 2017 12:23 pm

I'm still replaying this in my head - I was on the beach side, maybe 15 feet away, just in from the water. Saw him hop - skid by with both hands wrestling the bar until he disappeared behind the bush. I was too frozen to try to move to grab, or even to yell "eject". Mind completely blank.

I'm incredibly saddened for his family and friends.

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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by windstoked » Mon May 15, 2017 6:09 pm

Here is a video demonstrating by far the safest way to launch a kite, whether assisted or self-launched.
The reason is that the kiter can't get yarded while bringing the kite up to 11 o'clock after initial launch, as that is when the kite hits stronger wind higher up, and if overpowered, that's when it's the greatest. In addition, beginners sometimes bring the kite up too fast, and that adds much more pull from the kite than bringing it up very gradually. After bringing the kite up and hooking in, the kiter can test how it feels while the kite is still being backed up from lifting them up.
Every sketchy launch (which includes almost all of them here in Northern California) should have at least one of these installed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwyfZxu1Qgk[/video]


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Re: Accident in alameda 5/12

Post by cleepa » Tue May 16, 2017 10:37 am

windstoked wrote:Alameda is promoted as a great beginner location, and though perhaps the on-water conditions are good for beginners, looking at the launch area reveals that whether launching over the water or over the beach, there is very little room (and time) for bailout if a launch goes sour considering the side/onshore wind direction (this is looking into the prevailing wind).
Alameda is a great location for beginners. However, the launch at the shack is not the safest place to launch. Downwind just a little bit is a lot safer. There are fewer/no objects downwind. The sandbank is smaller, so the kiter can better see their kite. The wind blows parallel to the beach. There's a lot more space for rigging, launching and landing. There's a lot of people down there who are extremely helpful and will happily spend time with you to help you learn. I can't think of any advantage to launching at the shack.

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