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mchaco1
Joined: 08 Sep 2010
Posts: 645
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 Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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| isobars wrote: | | mchaco1 wrote: | I have no doubt that an experienced kiteboarder could get him out on the water quickly and safely, especially if he studied up on the "ground school" beforehand. I guess Im giving him a beginner kite and an inner tube and letting him loose  |
I have no doubt that's very dangerous and vastly overoptimistic inside a short vacation in the Gorge. I still don't think we (or Kitemares) have impressed on you kiting's high ratio of simple appearance to hidden danger. Proper "ground school" means endless days of flying trainer kites with some qualified instruction, not just any old pro kiter showing him the basics. Anyone who can't do anything and everything with an overpowered or underpowered kite, from sineing for more power to instant luff and total release, in a heartbeat without any conscious thought with his eyes closed, is smart to reach that stage somewhere other than in the Gorge. Even the shallow end of the Bird Island kiddie pool can kill an expert. Just a couple of weeks ago, with a forecast of no wind even for kiting, the winds were at 2 to 3 mph out of the east for hours ... then within 60 seconds, in clear skies, jumped to an AVERAGE of 33 mph from the west and stayed over 27 for the next 5 hours. That's a net instantaneous wind gust of over 40 kts backed up by sustained 25+ knots, and could kill even an expert on new kites, let alone some inexperienced idiot on an old kite. Putting a guy on a trainer kite on an inner tube surrounded by jetties and barges, even as a joke, is a scary thought.
We'd all feel much better if we thought you really understood the risks of letting your brother even consider trying to go kiting on the Columbia in a short trip with anything less than a certified and highly recommended IKO instructor dedicated solely to your brother's every moment near the river ... and with gear no older than 2011. If he considers ANYTHING outside that box,
1. Let us know when and where he will be so we can stay the hell away for our own safety.
2. Buy lots of life insurance on him. It's the best place this side of gold to put any short money in today's economic climate.
3. Buy lots of public liability insurance, 'cause anyone he injures will collect at least 6 figures in court.
4. Show Mom this thread first.
I know very few WSers who have experienced a serious, let alone life-shaking, event. I have yet to talk to a kiter about that topic who has NOT experienced such a moment, and none of them rushed into kiting.
You're kidding about "something like drop him in the hook/sandbar cove and let him float around and pull himself along with the trainer kite. Somewhere he can walk/casually swim back to ground if the kite drops. Or maybe similar idea on my 187L board. Then he can say he "kitesurfed", aren't you? If some idiot beginner tries to fly an kind of kite on the river anywhere upwind of sailors or swimmers, I hope someone calls the Sheriff on him; he'd be yanked off that river as fast as their boat could get to him. Even if you won't consider your brother's safety, you should at least consider ours; the sheriff certainly will. Strings in the hands of hacks are a bad mix with water. |
I think ill just set him up with a $20 used 11m kite and board and hook him up and point him to the channel and tell him to see if he can touch the barge and see if he can jump over the windsurfers |
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jota
Joined: 28 Feb 2001
Posts: 205
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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| mchaco1 wrote: | | I think ill just set him up with a $20 used 11m kite and board and hook him up and point him to the channel and tell him to see if he can touch the barge and see if he can jump over the windsurfers |
Soooooo stoked!!
(That's kite talk ) |
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dangerd
Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 39
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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ha ha ha....AWESOME!!!!!
Don't waste money on a helmet either! |
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mchaco1
Joined: 08 Sep 2010
Posts: 645
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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| dangerd wrote: | ha ha ha....AWESOME!!!!!
Don't waste money on a helmet either! |
Dont need any of that nonsense, his heads plenty hard .He says he can jump the barge on the first try. |
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mchaco1
Joined: 08 Sep 2010
Posts: 645
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:20 pm Post subject: |
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| (In unrelated news, the NW kite guys suggested a company that does an all day intro to board class at jensen beach, just what I was looking for, thanks for the NW kite suggestion) |
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tweeky
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
Posts: 256
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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| isobars wrote: | | Proper "ground school" means endless days of flying trainer kites with some qualified instruction, not just any old pro kiter showing him the basics. Anyone who can't do anything and everything with an overpowered or underpowered kite, from sineing for more power to instant luff and total release, in a heartbeat without any conscious thought with his eyes closed, is smart to reach that stage somewhere other than in the Gorge... |
Mike, just curious... do you kite? You're talking as if you kite, but what you're saying tells me you don't.... |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20936
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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I don't. I've considered it at great length, WS with them and hang among them onshore every windy day, took a lesson, built a long list of pros and cons, and decided against it. I've revisited that decision in light of the newer kites, but reached the same conclusion.
Maybe when I get too old to WS but not so old I'm reduced to golf ...  |
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