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Old 08-17-2008, 10:46 AM
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That's the point Scott, windsurfing allows a narrow wind range when you're there, that's it. You can't hold the mast and you get catapulted across the water. Of course you might slam and break something against your mast (head, hand, foot) or simply blast through your sail. If you pass out you may well drown. It it is too strong you can't even launch and go very far. If the gust range is too large and you are stuck with one sail up, you go from way underpowered to your arms pulled out of their sockets to being spun at high speed across the water. It is a lot harder to do than kiteboarding. Even putting your gear together in high wind is dangerous, about broke my nose with a sail reversal when I was rigging the sail in 38 mph years back. It is a lot harder to fake it windsurfing, either it will work or it won't.

You can launch a kite into almost anything but if it is too strong immediately or an hour later, if your gear breaks, if you get tangled, if you mis-control things, your lines tangle or any of a few dozen other things you may get burned.

Here's something else to think about, a newer kind of accident with flat and high depower kites. If your kite goes down and you get tangled on your hook, harness, legs, whatever (this is easy in extremely gusty winds) and it relaunches your depowering likely gets disabled as does your primary and secondary quick releases. Essentially you're tied to that high wind wonder machine as it loops with little to no chance of getting free of it as you are dragged and perhaps lofted along at high speed. You might be able to cut your way out but likely you are in for the full ride (usually ends in drowning or heart attack) until your kite rips or enough lines break. So, avoid weather extremes and tangles with a passion.
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