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tstizzle · Joined: 05 Jul 2000 Posts: 242

this thread is getting way off topic. back to the point:

koogzah really is a good looking guy.

kirk · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 158

tstizzle · Joined: 05 Jul 2000 Posts: 242

i bet koogzah would pick up a loaded firearm or an IED...

MalibuGuru · Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9300

Most guys down south just carry hook knives to cut the lines out of our way. We then wail on the offending kiter like UFC cage fights.

I have however designed a mushroom cap (pat pending) that fits on the top of your mast. It has 12 micro razor blades with small grooves that only allow something the thickness of a kiteline to enter. When the line hits your sail and slides up.....ZING, you're free.

I can't wait to drop in on a kiter this summer.

koogzah · Joined: 06 Jul 2005 Posts: 530 Location: right here

tpierce · Joined: 06 Aug 1995 Posts: 4

Thanks, faradroka1 for your report. I'm the kiteboarder and wish I could have seen my helitackgonzo 360. And thanks for getting me unhooked. tswei is correct: the tree catching and depowering the kite may well have saved my life.

For the record, I wasn't trying to land at the Lordships launch; I consider it windsurfing only (and wish the Pt Emery windsurfers would launch there - the parking at Pt Emery is precious and it's the only safe kite spot).

I was having a great session, made it past the Lordships rocks in 3 reaches, but I cut it too close. The wind got all fluky (normal) and I was too close to the riprap, no leeway to sail out of there. I was screwed, so I tried to go up the rocks. I slipped, and that's where the sonuvabitch episode started. Any chance you got that on video?

Thanks for braving the catapult potential while helping me get unhooked. And you're right, the blood flowed pretty freely for almost a minute; I really do appreciate your concern. MY main concern at the moment was finding a place to sit out of the wind. Thanks for your 911 call, and I apologize for seeming belligerent as someone else said. I had a lot of bruises that a helper can't see, so on my own was the easiest way up the path.

I did get pretty banged up, lots of very colorful bruises, but not as badly as the BFD's gauze turban seemed to suggest. They took me to my car at Pt Emery, where I changed clothes and drove myself to Summit emergency. I ended up at Highland anyway, the trauma treatment was excellent and prompt and thorough and the doctor who put 3 staples in my leg and 9 stitches in my head was possibly the hottest girl I've ever seen. Then came the dread "we're keeping you overnight" which amounted to getting awakened every 15 minutes for innumerable stupid reasons. Then the morning nurse wouldn't even get me some peroxide so I could nurse my own cuts & scrapes, so after 5 hours of waiting I walked out, went to my regular doc for some Vicodin and I'm going to be ok in a few days.

oh, one last: lol windoggie! maybe you're right about why the kiters wear boardshorts over wetsuits!

gregorvass · Joined: 21 Nov 1996 Posts: 1113 Location: Behind You

I KITE, AKA DINGGLING IS IS JUST SOOOO BLEEDING BORING!!!!!!!!!!! WHEN I STARTED KITING,WE USED TO LUNCH KITES STRAIGHT DOWN WIND GET LIFTED AND HAVE BLEEDING HEADS PRETTY MUCH EVRY TIME. SOME GUY GOT SMASHED BFD! JUST ASK TRAIG AND HIS "DEATH PILLOW" KITES. BESIDES BACK THEN THERE WERE FOUR GUYS KITING NOW THERE ARE 400. kITING IS "GAY". I RATHER "POLE BOARD".

kevinkan · Joined: 07 Jun 2001 Posts: 1661 Location: San Francisco

hey tpierce,

thanks for posting here and letting us know you're ok. nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, and i'm glad somebody was around to help you out when you needed it.

MULLDE102f · Joined: 15 Jun 1997 Posts: 131

And tpierce, thanks for maintaining a sense of humor regarding the sometimes unkind remarks directed at kiters. Good job of keeping the two groups talking politely.

mac · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 10:21 am Post subject:

tpierce--thanks for reporting in, glad you're ok. For you and for the others, SFBA has scheduled its safety day for Saturday, June 12th, from 11 - 2 at the Saint Francis Yacht Club. I think it would be helpful for you to come and lead a discussion about your accident, and what you've learned and what would have helped in terms of assistance from other sailors or safer launch sites.

Safety is an integral element of protecting and enhancing access. Use of sailing sites can be restricted if local governments have legitimate safety concerns, and kites coming down on other people can be a big deal. Educating politicians, showing that we are educating our own members, and looking for safe sites all go together in preserving access, so I hope to see many of you there.

Jim McGrath
San Francisco Boardsailing Association (yes, this includes kites!)