Accident at 3rd Ave Fri 7/1/05

[Greg]

WOW!
The ansure to the question, "Why dont they let go" I beleive is related to the fact that people often freeze under pressure. I think once the fight or flight instince is fully triggered prying the fingers loose would hardly work. Perhaps newbies should be restricted to newbie areas or require assistance to the water with the assistant holding there safty, like a back up. Then hook the safty on them at the waters edge and let them go like handing them a board leash or what ever.
Good luck,
L.M.G.

[elli]

The ansure to the question, "Why dont they let go" I beleive is related to the fact that people often freeze under pressure.

True, and the cure for that is muscle memory. Can tell more stories from this weekend, the short version is that I have seen it happen again. We shouted to the guy what to do and he just did it. Doing it was not the first instinct, like you said he simply froze. Happy ending this time, but close call.

The recon2 has a depower release and total release, so do the ancient Cabrinha bars. Pretty safe to say that recon 1 had it too, though I have never seen one. I don't think that safety skips a generation. Well, I hope it does not.

[dt]

I think Art was in his fixed loop at 3rd. His bar was close to his chest and there was a lot of chicken loop showing above the bar. Also, while getting yanked he never extended his hands.

dt

[Working Man]

I have seen tooo many problems with people not letting go for whatever the reason:
* think can correct the situation
* think can overpower kite and clean problem up
* don't want to trash equipment, etc....

Botton line is:
1. Letting go needs to be a muscle memory thing
2. When learning, teachers and students should cover this area
3. Muslce memory is critical!! Knowing how your QR works is 1 thing. Knowing how to deploy when things are going very wroing is a whole other ballgame.

I regularly, as often as I strech my lines/replace chicken loops (monthly), practice my QR and all safety settings (to make sure they are not sandy and stuck, and that I have the muscle memory to use when things go wrong). When I'm on the water, I let go at the first sign of problems. Anytime I"m close to hard objects, letting go is the first instinct. It needs to be developed and practiced.

Finally, a helmet is a very cheap form of insurance.

I hope Art recovers quickly.

Good winds, Zeev.

[Guest]

Exactly. Train yourself using the safety. Without looking of course.

[Pablito(guest)]

Why is it that the safety on many of the new chicken loops (those that have the leash connected to the loop itself) is so small? I have a Powerlock bar that is a pretty common style, and the depower safety is a tiny little loop that you can only get one finger through (the emergency QR is larger and easier to use, but that's the one that releases the kite completely). Other bars I've seen have similar setups I have considered several times adding some larger type of handle that would be easier to grab and pull without looking. Are they concerned that a larger loop would get hung up on something and release accidently?

I've only had to use the safety once, but I clearly remember having to look at it. I working on the muscle memory, but I still wonder if I got yanked really hard if it wouldn't be hard to find.

The Windwing bars have a foam tube that you grab and push towards your bar. It's a larger object, but it still requires getting your whole hand around it to use it.


Paul

[cje]

I'm a co-worker of Art's and I spoke to him yesterday. He's banged up bad to be sure, but he will be ok. He has a good gash over his eye, he damaged some blood vessels in the concussion, and he has I believe 2 fractured vertebrae....however no spinal chord damage. He should have a full recovery. You can contact me at ce_deltablue@yahoo.com should you have any other inquiries as to Art's condition.

Thanks,
Chris

[Scotty]

You do realize it will only take one incident where someone at a certain spot will get mortally injured and/or killed and that spot will be banned. Especially area that are federally regulated. Not the kiter himself but somebody standing by.
This sport eventually will be treated like paragliding and handgliding....Where there is a certain amount of certification required before you can go out...I am not for regulation....But with the sport gaining popularity and not keeping pace with the amount of sites...It may be unavoidable....Newbies should not be allowed to buy new gear without some sort of training.....period. Accidents that happen with veterans, are a lot more rare than accidents with newbies...

[sflinux]

Scotty,
You are right about the regulation. For now kiting seems to be under the radar. But as popularity grows, we are approaching the cusp of mainstream. And you are right, one accident and it can be a front page story and be in the public spotlight (not unlike what's going on with pitbulls).
As far as regulation, I am glad that we don't have it...yet. Cities like Chicago already have regulations/certifications which are self policed by the kiting community. The reason they do it is because they lost access to their beaches due to a public outcry. And this regulation/certification was the only thing they could do to keep kiting legal.
For now, I hope we all look out for each other and try to concentrate on keeping kiting safe for kiters, as well as, for everyone around us.
-bric

[David (guest)]

I don't know what the big fear of certification is. I took my first lesson with an IKO-certified outfit (Action Sports Maui), and the lesson was all about safety, safety, safety. In a funny way, I felt like I was learning about how to operate the safety features of a kiteboarding rig, and -- oh, yes, actually the kiteboarding, too!
At the end, I got a handbook (Kiteboarder's Workbook) containing all the details of the lessons (and more), and a card showing how much I'd completed in their standard teaching curriculum. In principle, this card would give a shop an indication of whether they'd want to rent equipment to me, and it would give new instructors an idea of where I'm at in my learning.

Is that a bad thing?

cheers,

David