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Originally Posted by kabo123
we try to stay away from sombreo (still pretty new at this) and theres so many people. I can usually be found with the grey switchblade cruising back and forth off of the seven mile bridge. Only problem is the bridge cuts the wind down allitle, it shouldn't matter today (25knots).
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Sounds like fun. You might consider being on the down drift side of the bridge depending on the tide. A kiter came close to drowning some years back at Islamorada.
The tidal current carried his downed kite under the bridge, his lines caught on something on the bridge pilings and his was pulled underwater. With no hook knife, he was pulled underwater and held there. Kites can really load up with water force as we know all too well. If a fisherman hadn't noticed what was going on and jumped in with a filet knife and cut him free out rider might have stayed there. This was also before quick releases. He couldn't unhook.
I had parts of this happen, not the drowning part fortunately, when my kite went down in an extended lull over a hard bottom off Virginia Key one time. Underwater line tangles with a loaded up kite by wind or water is not a good situation. The drift is a function of both the wind and the tidal current, which can oppose one another at times further complicating matters.