Saturday 10/3 - CAUTION - extremely gusty

[mcfly777]

I thought this should be posted to the community given its implications on safety.

Tomorrow, Saturday 10/3/15 will be extremely gusty. Mike Godsey from windalert issued a kite launch alert. This is only the 4th time he issued this alert in 10 years....and it comes with a disturbing statistic: every time he issue this alert there's been a death or major injury. If you'd like to read the specifics about this weather event: http://blog.weatherflow.com/west-coast- ... -bay-area/

Let's break this statistic tomorrow by following very simple, common sense steps
- if you're a beginner, don't go.
- If you think the conditions may be too much for you, they probably are.
- Choose your kite size appropriately --> rig for the gusts
- Check your safety gear. Are your releases working ok?
- When launching, ask someone to hold you by the harness.
- if something goes wrong, eject immediately. You only have one chance to eject. Don't try to save a bad launch

It's time to be proactive, if you see something you think is not safe, please let the person know.

I know this all sounds obvious and common sense and has been discussed ad nauseum, but if we just think a bit more about this in a day when the winds may be dangerous, we may avoid a bad accident.

Thanks and stay safe
Leo

[Tony Soprano]

Warning , live 2 kite another day and sit this out.

[jethrozimm]

Did anyone kite at OB yesterday?

[Batshitcrazy]

I went out from Kelly's Cove around 5 PM when the breeze had settled into a steady 30Knts or so. Pretty manageable on an 8m ocean rodeo and a 7' craig young surfboard.

There were a few kiters there and the sea state was wild! Really nice swell though, especially towards the South End of the beach. I would wager there were double overhead waves breaking outside at Noriega, making for some exciting drops!

[mighty]

Did anyone kite at OB yesterday?

Out on a de-powered 7M for a couple hours - onshore, lots of swell, tougher to get outside, etc. Not much fun :(

[turbinedude]

I wish I could read wind like Mike.