Kiting too close to students/new kiters, can hurt

[ricki]

... that is if you notice they are there and take pains to avoid them. Often nothing happens but sometimes, things go wrong.

As accidents go, have to say this was more "accidental" in some respects than some others I write about. Still with better awareness about what is possible, even likely in some cases, it is worth reading over and thinking about. In kiting and life, it is a good practice to try to anticipate and avoid trouble before you are in it.



The experienced kiter was riding well offshore of a popular kiting beach in the Turks & Caicos Islands on a sunny day recently at about the distance shown here. Here is what happened in his own words:

"So... wind is NE 16-18mph. I'm black X. I 2 people standing in the water. I go regular speed trying to pass them upwind. I can't so decide to go downwind. When I pass them I still see their kite on 12. I pass them and boom. Kite hits me in the head. Lines slide over my helmet to my left missing my ear and landing on my neck. I see I'm under the kite. I see LE to my left shoulder, and canopy in front of my face. I drop my kite and my kite is sitting in the water pulling me downwind. I feel something burning on my neck. I realize those are lines. I grab those lines with my right hand and push them over my head. My kite pulls me a bit and I'm able to stand up. Water is waist high. I put my hand on my neck trying to see if I'm bleeding. I take a minute to realize what happened. I hear a girls voice, are you OK. I say Im ok. I body drag to get my board and kite back to the beach."



The rider prepared this nice diagram to help explain things further. Being nailed by a kite from behind is no fun.



This is what resulted which could have been far worse but fortunately was not. A shallow cut to the side of the neck can go from bad to grim in about 15 minutes. It is well worth taking pains on everyone's part to help assure this never happens.



His wetsuit offered some minor protection and his helmet perhaps even more so. The rider attributes his helmet for protecting his ears perhaps from even been sliced off. I had never thought about that aspects of helmet protection before but it makes sense. For doubters particularly experienced kiters, sadly yes, serious ear injuries have been reported in the past. So watch your lines and maintain a good downwind buffer! It isn't that hard to lose control doing tricks or wave riding, downloop your kite with a lot of power. Hotdogging near other people is a bad idea as sometimes the unexpected will happen.

So, what lessons come out of this one?

1. Keep your distance from student kiters and those with apparent poor control, even if it means making multiple tacks to ride upwind or running well beyond kite distance downwind of them. Most of us have seen them suddenly slam their kites into the water with minimal warning. It may not happen often that a student might slice you or potentially worse, tangle kites but it is always a possibility, so work to keep a safe distance. Not everyone will think of this, hence this writeup. Also to avoid student kiters you have to notice that they are there. Some will do this, others not, work to be aware of your surroundings.

2. Wearing reasonable safety gear can help particularly with the unexpected. This rider was able to deal with things, after getting cut, with his hands. Others have needed to cut out, like Pete in big waves off Jupiter back in the day. More about that at: http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=543 If you don't have a knife, you have denied yourself the option of cutting 500 lb. working load line. It is good to preserve options even those that may be both remote and difficult depending on context. The rider said that without his helmet, his ears might have been cut, even amputated. So, in addition to impact and abrasion protection, a lid might save your ears from being lopped.

3. These students seem to have been far offshore, further than most. Still, fitting them out with a bright color-coded vest as is done in some areas to make them more obvious would be a good thing. Also, holding lessons well away from other riders would be a nice idea but in practice may not happen in all areas. Think Cabarete? An observant, experienced kiter should be able to detect students with instructors in the distance if they are paying attention, a solitary student possibly less so depending upon activity. So, it is up to the kiter ultimately to ride defensively, ponder what if and keep well away from what may be random accidents, students and concentrations of kiters given the option.