View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
cvalk
Joined: 28 Apr 1999 Posts: 5
|
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:32 am Post subject: Kitemare at Sherman Island yesterday |
|
|
I saw a man in the water 20' off shore between the two launch pads by the Sign. He was yelling and while there were 6-8 people at one launch no one could really hear him. I ran to a closer spot and he said he needed help now. I grabbed a board and ran up stream as there was a very high current flowing, and paddled out to him. He had only his head above water and had line around both legs, snarled in the rocks below. He was totally stuck. I yelled for a knife and luckily some one on shore had one, which they brought out and we cut him loose. A good 8 wraps of line around each ankle. The victims knife , typical kitter issue , was too dull to help. He had been in the water for 20 minutes and was very panicked, who wouldn't be? And he was really lucky we weren't out sailing, as the wind had died. And he had on a life jacket that probably saved him as he could not move his feet. A warning to anyone sailing in this area...there is a lethal tangle on line near the bushes between the two launches. I snared my ankle. ........Carol |
|
Back to top |
|
|
MalibuGuru
Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9293
|
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
Am I hearing this correctly? There is kite line (submerged or above water?) that someone left behind? It could be there for years.
CLEAN IT UP! (KITER) |
|
Back to top |
|
|
spanker_jeep
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 Posts: 404 Location: Outer Richmond District.
|
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
That was truly heroic. The definition of a kite-mare. Don't hate kiters, work with them. If kiting were never invented they would just be another swinging dick on a sailboard. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
clifton
Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 2
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:30 am Post subject: Braided Fishing Line |
|
|
In that location the line is more likely braided fishing line 50+ lb test used for sturgeon looks like kite line. Sad to see how adversarial kiters and windsurfers can be. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
human_catapult
Joined: 20 Nov 2007 Posts: 374
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
I had to help a kiter retrieve his board near the sandbags at the access yesterday. I guess he couldn't body drag upwind given the flood. When I delivered his board he couldn't manage to get it when it was 2 feet away from him. When he started having trouble he started heading toward the rocks and the sandbags and I started envisioning something terrible happening to him.
I saw an awful lot of kiters out there who didn't seem to have it all together this weekend. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:22 am Post subject: |
|
|
Every time some "civilian" who knows I WS asks me , "I want to try them kite thingies. How are they?", my short answer is "Deadly. They can kill and maim people, whereas in WS we can just let go." I know they're getting safer, but every time I consider saying, "They're great. Go get one", I see or hear of another idiot doing something stupid on one. Anyone who treats them like toys is heading for a harsh lesson in reality.
Mike \m/ |
|
Back to top |
|
|
tsokat
Joined: 15 May 1997 Posts: 326
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Carol, my hat is off to you and the others that helped save the life of another human being and fellow water sport enthusiast Bravo, that truly was heroic! I personally decided long ago that I am not detail oriented enough regarding the type of gear used in the sport to take up kiteboarding, so I am firmly committed for the duration to the sport of windsurfing that has brought me so much joy for 20+ years. The line wrap scenario can be deadly (a kiteboarder, who was a husband and father, was killed on South Padre this year in waist deep water from a line wrap and being dragged underwater-it over for him in minutes). Kiting is not for everyone and more folks need to ask themselves if they are detail oriented and focussed enough to take up that particular water sport. Some of us are and some of us are not. It is not a matter of judgment, and we are just all out there trying to enjoy the wind and water. My best friend is an expert kiter and, unlike me, is very detail oriented regarding gear, so kiting is an appropriate sport for him and others like him.
If that line is still there and you think it can be cleared out, I would be glad to bring a paddle craft over on a calm day and try to help retrieve as much of it as possible. The area you described is an area where a lot of sailors wade, waterstart and rest. But knowing the nature of the friendly and helpful regular crew over there, and their spirit of volunteerism, I wouldn't be surprised if it has not already been taken care of. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
tsokat wrote: | Kiting is not for everyone and more folks need to ask themselves if they are detail oriented and focussed enough to take up that particular water sport. Some of us are and some of us are not. It is not a matter of judgment, and we are just all out there trying to enjoy the wind and water. My best friend is an expert kiter and, unlike me, is very detail oriented regarding gear, so kiting is an appropriate sport for him and others like him. . |
A bud who added kites to his WSing gear shakes his head in amazement when he sees people toss their kite $#!+ on the ground, strap on their Batbelt, and hit the water without performing a thorough preflight examination from bladder to fins. In his previous life he flew fighter jets and dissected and analyzed many crashes, and never got near a cockpit until he examined a plane from pitot tubes to thruster nozzle and wingtip to wingtip. He treats kites the same way for the same reason: both can kill if taken for granted.
A superior pilot is a pilot who uses his superior judgment to avoid situations that might require his superior skills.
Mike \m/ |
|
Back to top |
|
|
davidllyon
Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 26
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm a kiter, and glad to sign up to try to help with this. I cross posted this in bayareakiteboarding.
I scuba dive, and if I know where the snag is, could try to cut more of it out. Getting entangled on scuba gear is a great big deal, so I would want to go over the area without it first.
I've gotten caught up in braided fish line in Alameda, scared me, can not break that stuff, but I got a brand new rod and reel by cleaning it up!! In that case, someone probably hooked a batray, and it took off with his gear. Those suckers are amazingly strong for their size.
- David pm me if you know more |
|
Back to top |
|
|
mustard
Joined: 12 Jul 2009 Posts: 19
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Sensitivity aside, clifton may be right. A clean up effort sounds great, but let's be careful of hidden hooks and further entanglement if it is fishing gear.
That sounded like a nasty situation and the responders are certainly due thanks over and over again. I stopped to help someone push a stalled car to the side of the road yesterday. There is no telling how many people drove past before I stopped, but I watched at least five go by in front of me.
in the water delay could mean death, and that is unacceptable.
Thanks again to those who helped. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You can attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum
|
|
|