Hey Guys

Thought we would share our Kiting horror story which we had yesterday. We wanted to share our story so others could learn from it too.

Mate and I were kiting off Pinaroo point as we have done for some time. All was going well, wind was pretty good, I was out on a 9m rebel my mate had a airush lithium 9m. We talked about going out to the rock outcrop which was well over 1k from the shore.
We decided to go for it and all was well we got there and things spiraled out of control very fast.

Just as my mate was turning I got yanked by a massive gust my kite pulled to the left which is where my mate was just turning. We ended up with the two of our kites tangled.

The situation went downhill in seconds, being well over 1k out to sea and having both of us tangled up in each other???s lines was a worst case scenario. I had my mates lines wrapped around my legs, neck and chest. My kite was still in the air so I was being pulled by the kite and also being pulled by my mates lines.

Mate???s situation was even worse, he instinctively went into the emergency position using the kite as a sail but his kite deflated and split in half, the bladder popped out and he was wrapped in lines + no board!! Plus the big factor sharks.

After about 4 min of us trying to get free of the lines wrapped around us we managed to get free, we kept talking to each other and trying not to panic in the situation. I managed to get free and close enough to my mate he grabbed onto the back off my harness and then the epic body drag to the shore (shark bait on a string). We had to ditch his kite, harness + lines, bar and both of our boards.

It was the longest body drag ever, I was a wreck when we finally made it to shore but we were happy we made it in OK. We rang the marine police soon after to inform them of our lucky escape and to inform them about our gear, we figured if some found a kite with all gear washed up they would probably ring the police.

Got a call last night from the police last night reporting my mates kite has being found, I picked it up and It???s in bits but it???s got the harness and lines. Got a call this morning and my board has being found at Ocean Reef. Fingers crossed my mates board is found (numbers on the boards)



What did we learn:

Get one of those safety knives and always carry it when kiting.

Be super aware of kite space and were the other kites are.

Amazing how quick it can all change, we kept our cool and lived to tell the tale.

wow, lucky man, all the best with the board. kites can be replaced, you cant replace your life!!!!!!!!
I think ill carry 1 of those knifes on my harness aswell

Frrrk! That was horrible. Cannot imagine what I would have done. Panicked and died more like it!

I have a harness by #### (won't mention name) and they all come standard with cutting knife inside the sheath, just under the hook. I would seriously consider guys out there without a suitable cutting implement to get one arranged somehow.

Nicko82 said..

Just wondering if you guys did actually learn how to self rescue in your lessons????

good that you made it back though.

just wondering if you actually learned to read in primary school?

You managed to lose your board twice within 2 months?

Yep its good to be alive.......

Looking back on the situation, I can remember thinking ''have to get back for the sake of my 3 month old daughter'' Plus other mate has his first baby on the way.

Have ordered one of these:

www.kitepower.com.au/collections/kitesurfing/Harnesses

Self rescue: done during training.

If you get in the same situation and lose a kite make sure you ring marine police to let them know. Saves them having to search for missing kite surfer

Mates kite this morning.



We have definitely learnt from the experience, Just thought it would be good to share our experience with you guys.

jeeeez! glad you made it ok

i still gotta find that vid i got somewhere of 2 kiters stuck together being dragged in deathloop ended up being pulled into each other at harness hooks up out of water and almost 100m up the beach before kite getting dragged behind filled with sand and slowed them down - luuucky

waveslave said..

touch107fm said..

My kite was still in the air so I was being pulled by the kite and also being pulled by my mates lines.

After about 4 min of us trying to get free of the lines wrapped around us we managed to get free

Here's my question.

After you got yourselves untangled,

why didn't you first-off bodydrag to recover your board ?

Your mate could have tread water next to his stricken kite while he waited for you to return.

Then you both could have tandemed back to the beach,

one person riding on the board, the other getting dragged behind.

Just a thought.

having tried that style of rescue before..

that schit is virtually near impossible, even in high winds

no way you could do it for over a kay

two person body drag is the way to go

Good on you to share the story.......we all learn something from it. For me going out to sea, i would think about getting one of those Emergency Position Indicating Radio gadgets and maybe a flotation vest of some sort.

In these situations others can be ready to judge but they weren't there. The main thing was you kept your cool and came up with something that worked and survived.......well done and enjoy both getting back in one piece!

Thanks for sharing, always good to learn from other peoples experiences. Tangling into another kite can very quickly turn into a life or death situation, whether you are 1km out or right on the shoreline.

I think you both handled it well, even better for informing the police and telling the kite community. We all need a reminder of potential dangers every now and then. ..

So i might have some info on your board a guy I know found a board washed up down the coast somewhere.....cant remember where. Maybe ocean reef? PM and I will let you know where to get it.....

Hey touch107fm, thanks for sharing and good to hear you made it back safely.

A big thumbs up for alerting the water police to avoid a wasted search and rescue!

Thanks for the share and resulting thread. Have learnt a few tips if I ever get caught in a similar situation.

IMHO self rescue was not the right option for this situation, sounds like the right decisions were made. Especially considering the prevailing cross shore southerly at pinaroo.

This forum is a great place to debate people's horror stories. Please continue to share, better learning from peoples experiences than having to make quick decisions with little context.