fun but can get extremely life threateningly dangerous in a second. it is probably one of the knarliest places i have kited and no matter how good of a kiter you think you might be it will humble you. But in the end its worth it.
Here is one account by a VERY good local rider and how things went wrong for him in a hurry
Quote:
Double hell yes. I've been out this last Sat, Mon and Tue and the fog just keeps getting thicker. Fairly scary and as many of us have been discussing more lately, barely safe even in a group, given the low viz and very strong ebb.
In part to illustrate how f**king serious it is out there, and hopefully to show that we ALL have plenty to learn -- and also to show how important it is to ride with a solid crew, let me run down the little show I put on out there yesterday.
I had a rather dramatic accident yesterday when my release spontaneously did its job, dropping my kite in the water under the S tower. I quickly re-engaged the release and was in the process of relaunching when I realized that the ebb was setting me towards the Red Nun, with me on one side and my kite on the OTHER SIDE of the buoy. Seeing that I was going to fail to get my kite in the air in time, I tried to reel in enough line for the kite to pass on my side of the buoy, but ended up with the kite wrapped on the nun. Believe me, heading towards that 10-foot high beast at that speed as NOT FUN and felt like watching myself slide towards a cliff on a icy road.
Once my kite wrapped, I hung onto my bar and the ebb streamed me out on the W side of the nun and I briefly teabagged in the 5-knot ebb as I hoped my kite would somehow unwrap itself. That didn't happen and I was NOT interested in having my head underwater in that situation so I ditched the kite.
Since I was riding strapless and had been focused on my rig, I had let my board get away from me at this point. I would not have let that happen as easily if I had not already been surrounded by friendly helping hands. Once I ditched and was safely clear of possible entanglement on the buoy, crew member #1 (Stefaans) quickly returned my board to me, which brought my pulse back down to normal. Thanks #1. At that point I was on my board, no kite, outbound 6mph. Crew member #2 (Mark) managed (miraculously) to free my kite from the nun and kept it under control by holding onto the chicken loop. Incredibly, the kite was undamaged and the lines not tangled at all. Thanks #2, and to Ocean Rodeo for building such quality s**t.
As the guy on the biggest kite, Crew member #3 (John) approached me and offered a tow. We tried making for my kite, because it appeared that if I could reach it I could reattach and get riding again. Given the 5 knot ebb and the fact that we were rapidly outbound into a widening funnel, the wind was dropping as we were set outwards and #3's 11m was not enough to give us enough power to make any significant eastbound progress. Thanks #3. Crew #4 (windsurfer, Sigrey???) also attempted a tow but that failed because of the same issue: lack of wind. Thanks #4.
At the start of the whole fiasco Crew #5 (Jeff) had radioed the CG and so now, 10-15 minutes later, they were approaching as we attempted the second tow. I took a rapid and welcome ride home with the CG and thanked them for their efforts. They smiled and did their job like the pros they are. I did take note of the fact that we were 1-1.5 miles outside the gate at the point they picked me up. And that they enjoyed the show everyone put on as they blasted back under the S tower.
Lessons learned:
1) check my release. I'm not sure why mine blew spontaneously. It happens very rarely if at all, but I'd like it to never happen. If the release hadn't blown, no problem.
2) Once the release blew, I should have been more aware of my position with regard to the nun. I should have relaunched even more aggressively (the ebb made it quite tricky), and also moved the kite to the OTHER side from where it went down. If I had relaunched more quickly or ebbed cleanly past the nun, no problem.
3) Once I had ditched the kite and we were trying to tandem-tow back to the kite, it was hard to make progress because I was strapless and creating a lot of drag because I was unable to get on my feet behind the guy towing me. Crew #6 (Andrew) was suggesting that I switch boards with him so I could be towed with a strapped board, if we had done that I think we could have reached my kite again (or the beach) easily enough. Thanks #6.
4) Failing all that, we could have reached Baker beach with a tow one way or another. I did not feel in mortal danger, but we all felt the seriousness of the situation and felt how quickly we were set outwards by the tide, and into the incoming fog. Not to mention the incoming tanker that appeared out of the gloom as I clambered aboard the CG cutter, which would have complicated things if we were all still ducking around in the water.
5) Clearly, riding strapless in those conditions adds another element of risk. Many of us choose prefer to ride without handles, but when things go south, it sure helps not to have to think about staying attached to your board. I'm not sure if I'll ride strapless less, but certainly something to factor in.
In the end no foul no harm no damage, but we were ALL happy to get back to the beach safe and had a bit of a talk (well, a grunt) about how dangerous it is outside on a very foggy, strong ebb day, and that we should give even more weight to that as we set out.
Nothing beats a strong ebb day and riding in the fog is way more fun than terrifying -- but it is terrifying and for GOOD REASONS. Thanks Crissy crew & see you in a few.
eag wrote:
sometimes when the fog pushes far in it does shut down. For there to be wind you need to be somewhat near the line. Also, these last days the fog has been VERY THICK, but also low.
When riding in the fog (ESPECIALLY ON AN EBB) always ride with people you know and who HAVE YOUR BACK. We ride in a group and we know who is out there and account for them. One idiot yesterday stayed out when we all went in and there was NO WAY to see him from any point on land. If he broke a line he would be suddenly moving out to sea at OVER 5MPH, with no one to call the USCG for him. He came in out of the fog and went into a hole and dropped his kite. He was lucky to be just in sight and in the eddy at that point, but if he was 100 yards further off shore - goodbye.
We all waited till almost dark to make sure he came in on the beach, but there is no guarantee that anyone will look out for you.
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Click here for my Photography => http://www.Loscocco.com
Kites:Ocean Rodeo: Razors 6m,8m & 10m
Boards:Spotz Foilboard, Mako 140cm, Naish 5'4"
Wetsuit:Hyperflex: AMP 4/3MM Fullsuit
Harness:Ocean Rodeo: Sessions2
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09-21-2009, 03:01 AM
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