Lessons Learned
1. Know local weather, what brings useable and unuseable wind. SW winds frequently are gusty due to nearby land wind shadow and are accompanied by squalls at this launch. This is common knowledge supported by many other accidents and incidents here. Checking wind records for the prior ten days would have shown similar wind spikes
ten times. It was a daily happening with little mystery. People think they can manage through but in fact sometimes do not. This is the offwind season for this area, no wind to too much is a normal pattern. In short, DO PROPER WEATHER PLANNING AND MONITORING, ALWAYS!
2. The squall showed up on color radar moving from the center of the state as had been repeated for days. Kites should have been secured long before the squall approached. Some kiters routinely ride through squalls, some get messed up periodically as a result.
3. Listen, don't ignore good advice. A number of deceased and injured kiters were first warned, they elected not to take the suggestion. If you are unfamiliar with local conditions ask, learn and ride very conservatively as you gain the lay of the land.
4. DON'T RIG TOO BIG for ACTUAL conditions, shoot for the lower to mid wind range of the design envelop for your kite. ALL KITERS should know what that is from manufacturer provided information. Use it, don't risk losing it!
5. If you screw up and don't secure your kite before the squall looms in, emergency depower your kite immediately. With traditional C kites this was easy, with flat kites less so. As they have some rigidity, they don't flag out as nicely as the old C kites, may power back up, relaunch and spin. Many say, 1. Disconnect your leash as long as there is no one vulnerable downwind (if there is someone, why did you put yourself in this situation?). 2. Drop your kite to the side of the wind window be prepared to push the bar all the way out and force the wing tip into the water. 3. Be prepared to completely release your kite (see #1) if it powers up and/or starts spinning. EMERGENCY DEPOWER by whatever means YOU KNOW works best for the kite you are using, approaches vary. Know this in advance. DO NOT JUST STAND THERE HESITATING! Too many have done this in the past, not all are still with us either.
6. If you really, really screw up and are lofted and aren't too high yet, Emergency Depower. This incident and a few others suggest, this may not always be possible. If you are too high by the time realization dawns, a frequent occurrence, FLY THE KITE stably with minor control inputs. Try to steer towards something less threatening if it exists. arching back towards the water is great, if you can pull it off. Wearing reasonable safety gear like a good helmet and impact vest may make all the difference or not depending on how you hit. Guys have survived by hitting trees and even water but there are no sure things at this point. You surrendered those options by placing yourself in this situation.
7. IF THE WIND DIES and there are threatening clouds moving in, DON'T LAUNCH, RIG BIGGER or otherwise try to get yourself hurt. This is a common occurrence, "the calm before the storm" Lots of guys have missed this to their detriment.
" **CALM BEFORE THE STORM"
You have likely heard the expression the calm or lull before the storm. Imagine an enormous thundercloud approaching, like a huge vacuum cleaner, sucking up huge amounts of warm and moist air at the surface from all directions. Pre-existing winds, those not created by the storm, are relatively light, converging or coming together near the surface from different directions. Air at and near the surface moves upward, causing a pressure imbalance near the surface. This pressure imbalance pulls more air into the towering thunderstorm. Whereas the surface winds under these severe updrafts are lulled into an artificial calm with the air moving up, the updrafts well above the surface gain incredible speed, sometimes exceeding 100 km/h or more. Then comes the nasty part of the storm right behind the updrafts - heavy rain and maybe hail, lightning and thunder, powerful downdrafts that hit the ground, strong gusty winds - all quite turbulent compared to the relative tranquility ahead of the storm itself.
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