Tuesday Squalls, Pompano Rider Injured

[ricki]

Originally Posted by kitesurferbum

i was 20 feet away from the guy that got lofted 30feet up on the beach...big huge black squall commin from the south...everyone was trying to milk it til the last second...until the wind went from 15knots to 35knots in 2 seconds...the guy was a newbie out less then 15 times on 15m yarga...had the kite at 12' o'clock gust came thru at 35-40....lifted him 30 ft in the air, he panicked in the air, pull the bar to one side and flung him 50 feet across the beach and slammed him down hard onto the sand, bouncin 3 or 4 times....he was insteadly knocked out as soon as he slammed to the ground...then the kite powered up across the window while unconsicous and dragged him another 100 yards thru the sand while limp as a rag doll...it was pretty distrubing to witness....i immediately ran up to grab the kite, but before i could get there a non-kiter eyewitness went up to grab the bar to keep him from being dragged more down the beach and when he grabbed the bar it went across the window again and dragged him another 20 yards....ambulance, fire and ocean rescue showed up a few minutes later....and he remained unconscious for about another 5 minutes the was carried off to the hospital...kiters do not stay out if you see dark clouds close by, big mistake! another 5 minutes of kiting isnt worth your life! live to kite another day!....i'm sure he will be out of commission for months and might be scared to come back to kite at all after that...i'm waiting to hear more details of the extent of his injuries and will update as soon as i hear anything...until then kiters be safe and dont push the limits in squally weather...it went from 15 to 40 knots in a matter of seconds...hes lucky to be alive, he was complaining of neck pain when he left and could only groan and moan not talk...lets hope hes not paralyzed or anything, he would be lucky to have only a few broken bones and was lucky to have missed the obstacles while being dragged down the beach such as beach chairs, cabanas,catamarans, and other people :roll: ...if u get caught in a gust, keep the kite low at the edge of the window,not 12 o'clock!....be safe and good winds

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