Monday 9 Jul @ Lancelin took some family friends kite flying on back beach - SSE side-shore 13-16 knots fairly steady after lunch for more than an hour.
Jealously watched some jetskis towing into seductive 3m waves and decided to go for a spin thinking that if the wind dropped or swung help wouldn't be far away with the jetskis and the family friends on the beach.
Hauled ass upwind and caught some beautiful waves about 350m out and 500m South of Eddie Island then somebody turned the switch - wind dropped and swung! I managed to keep the kite flying and started body dragging back towards the beach - I wasn't going to make it - heading straight for Eddie through a few nasty breaks. I called out and signalled to the jetskis and the beach - even after my kite fell out of the sky but relaunched it 5 or 6 times over the next 30mins there was no help inbound.
Most of the reef North of Eddies is pretty nasty until "Hole in the Wall", especially with a 3m swell running - so that's where I figured the best place to try and get in through the outer reef.
45 mins later I couldn't even keep the kite flying and no help in sight. I wound my lines up but decided to keep my kite inflated to make it easier for people to see me. I started to swim my gear in through "Hole in the Wall". I dragged my gear for about 30 mins and wasn't getting anywhere - the current running out from the gap in the reef and 5 knot offshore wind were taking me out to sea. I was about to pack my kite up to minimize wind resistance when a big set lifted me up and the apparent wind ripped the kite from my grip - I decided I would lose too much ground chasing the kite as the sun was now getting lower and still no sign of help.
I still had my board so I started swimming across the current trying to find a place where the current wasn't pushing me out to sea and the 3m waves weren't going to dump me on shallow reef. At this point I still felt I just wasn't making any ground, I was getting tired and mentally I was preparing myself for a night of drifting clinging to my board.
I didn't want to give up yet, so I battled the current for another 45 min or so until I finally caught a big breaking wave, held my breath and held onto my board as hard as I could ... at last I was through the outer reef in ... and still in one piece!
I started to get leg cramps, the sun was getting lower quickly now, even inside the reef there were currents I was now having troubles swimming against - I could see the jetskis being pulled up onto their trailers on the beach 300m away - the sun was very low directly behind me, they couldn't see me ... I was stuffed. Another 45 mins or so I dragged myself up the beach near the jetty just before the sun set! The friends had eventually called my wife to ask "how long does Ian usually go out for?" The police arrived as I got back to my car - no search had yet been started.
I am one lucky boy - I post this for other's to learn from my stupidity - no matter how good it looks don't go out in an offshore wind unless you have your own safety craft right there with you.

mate, that is one hell-of-a mental commitment to pull through!

I would also crappa my pants from the fish!

Get new "friends" !

Thanks for sharing Ian and good to hear you got back in one piece, did you get your beautiful kite back?

Seems to be an unlucky time of year for some people

I know I would have died out there, funny thing is, I am writing my last will and testament at the moment.

If you had of 'emergancy packed' your kite up straight away, do you think this wouuld of allowed you to make it back to shore more efficiently ?

The client I am working for at the moment has what they call the 'Lifesaving Rules', breaches of which result in instant dismissal from site. Mines are inherently dangerous environments and no matter where you go on them safety is always the highest priority and in the forefront of your mind. There are just 9 of these lifesaving rules, and these are easy to keep in the front of your mind, especially when you know you will get removed from site immediately if you break them.

While it could be comparing apples and pears, I would also call kiteboarding 'inherently dangerous'. I figure that if you don't follow some basic safety rules, you take unacceptable risks. What these rules are, well there's no mining company going to kick you off the water if you don't follow them, so I don't really take any of the published safe kiting guidelines as 'lifesaving rules' in the way I follow them on site.

AKSA's 'CLEAR' is probably the best I've seen, but it leaves a lot to individual interpretation:

CLEAR

Conditions
- Wind strength
- Wind direction
- Always keep downwind area well clear
- Waves, tides & currents
- Consider possible changes

Look
- Before you launch, land, jump, jibe, etc

Equipment
- Always pre-flight check
- Use a kite leash
- Use a quick release on anything you hook into
- Practise using your safety systems regularly so that it becomes instinctive
- Never exceed manufacturers specifications

Attitude
- Always seek and listen to local advice
- Don't exceed your limitations
- Use judgement to prevent situations, not rely on skill to try and get out of it

Respect
- Others - be considerate and courteous to all other water and beach users
- The law
- Fellow kiters - follow right of way rules
- The environment

IKO's Safe Kiting Rules are pretty crap in my opinion:

1. Never kiteboard with on shore wind.
2. Kiteboarders must never launch at less than 60 meters from obstacles.
3. Check weather forecast before every session.
4. Before rigging and launching, kiteboarders must evaluate the force of the wind and use an appropriate kite size.
5. Use functional safety systems.
6. Do a preflight check before each session.
7. Never over estimate your skill level.
8. Always wear a helmet, a life jacket, a harness, and a wet suit.
9. Do not go away from the shore at a further distance than the one you can swim back from.

Though I like that there are 9 of them, like the lifesaving rules.

Anyway, to cut a short story long, I consider the rule:

quote:

---

Originally posted by ianyoung

no matter how good it looks don't go out in an offshore wind unless you have your own safety craft right there with you.

---

one of my own personal 'Lifesaving Rules', and would suggest to anyone who asked my opinion that they do so as well.

My two bob. Glad to hear you made it back Youngy.

Sorry Puppet, I'm going to be burned wrapped in my kite with full gear on, including hat.

Kiter Dan ....."kayak on the beach" ...good idea. I got in the **** last week (Kitesurfing,General,Thanks yesterday Scaborough)but I am lucky to kite with good blokes who bust their arse to help out anyone who is in trouble. It wouldn't hurt to have my Kayak on the roof rack though.

So is there a doona floating around the ocean up for grabs now?
costly exercise Ian.
Scary and costly.
definately makes ya think.

the other thing is the fact that we all go out at scabs in dead onshore gusty crap and the possibility of us ending up on the new beach cricket structure is high.
yet we still do it without thinking.

Scary one Ian. Hate to go against the grain though. If you let the waves wash you in over the reef near Eddies you probably would have been better off. It might be shallow, but I doubt you have been smashed into it. Might have been a better option than swimming against a solid current pulling through the pass.

Not sure if the first bomb on the head would be much fun though.

And to Ry, thats the exact reason I wasnt keen to go out the Island with no Jet Ski in the Easterly.

I'm a little confused ?
You foolishly kitesurfed in offshore wind on an outer reefbreak in big surf without watercraft buddy-backup ?
WRONG.
And your reasoning at the time was.....
If the wind shuts down, it's cool.
Those jetskis (who don't know I exist) will save me.
lol.
The plan was flawed from the start, man.

But you know that now,
and you're big enough to admit it.

I've been in a similiar situation myself (but the wind was cross-on).
I tied all my fag gear to a craypot float and swam an hour to shore.
It's funny,
once you dispose of all the clutter, the solution to the problem is crystal clear.

Get some good mates an dont kite alone in heavy conditions, well done mate on the big swim

its lucky you are fit as 50% of the kiters i see could not swim 100m with out freking out and thats on flat water
winter is a time of training for the summer ahead

I can hook people up with a quicksilver with a 5 horse power I think they are both advertised separate for $800 let me know I'll investigate tomorrow...

Ian,
thats some serious water time
I can imagine the currents, whitewater etc in a 3m swell out the back there even with a balmy offshore. most people would not have made it out of the situation you were in unless they were very fit and very good swimmers. think I would have taken the consequences of going through eddys and getting rinsed over the reef, although thats a pretty heavy inside section there on that size swell. the hole isnt exactly soft either.
good lesson though.

LAGO - late afternoon glass off

im glad its not me posting "near death kiting experiene" this time glad your ok mate. did you get your gear back and what kite did you loose? i wonder if it would be covered under insurrance if you lost it out to sea...