Hi All,

I realise this has been posted on various other threads, but this event is permanently burnt into my brain, I want to Kite = I MUST be proficient in Self Rescue.

After the southerly came in today, headed down to Dolls Point to see the action in Sydney, had the opportunity to me and briefly chat with some awesome kiters at Dolls Point and witness them in full flight. Thanks guys, really appreciated your time and how awesome you all were. Even letting me assist with launches and landings, really starting to learn how huge the kites are up and personal.

Not being a kiter but someone who's super keen for spring to come around get lessons, get out there and into it, thought I'd like to share something that may be worth comment, "Self Rescue".

Whilst chatting with one of the kiters, noticed a guy head round the northern side of the groin at Dolls Point. Kept an eye on him as he was the only person kiting down wind into the wind shadow from the South Westerly. The kiter went into a soft patch and down came the kite. He relaunch and looked to be body dragging back to the closest shore then in a lull the kite dropped leading edge down. He was drifting NE away from the point towards.... The no go zone, whilst a long way away, still drifting away from shore. Asked the kiter I was speaking with whether the guy would be okay. He said he would go and help him out.

Short version without mentioning names, all I can say is huge congrats to the commitment, calm head and experience of the kiter I was talking to who went to the other guys aid. The rescuer attempted to drag him towards (upwind) shore, but the wind died and his kite dropped. The rescuer then self rescued and eventually made it back to shore safely.

The other guy who was still drifting away from shore in NE direction in SW breeze was apparently picked up by the WP who attended to assist, he had dumped his kite and started swimming back to shore, apparently according to police he was okay.

Okay, poor quality pic but hope this sets the scene:



In short, when I get lessons in spring, I'm definitely going to get extra lessons on self rescue and safety systems.

First lesson of self rescue, try not to get in a position that needs it....kiteing in offshore conditions is the first no no unless you have a boat handy.
If it looked fickle and offshore...you have to ask yourself...am I in the right spot for today, go around the corner towards the bridge where it is cross shore, or go to boat harbor.
Yep, sometimes there's a change in weather, however if you know there's a front on the way, try not to put yourself in that position..
Touch wood, in 7-8 years of kiteing, my only self rescues are from equipment failure, and only a handful at best. Their not bad odds, however some others seem to practice SR frequently....not necessary from intent..

Dolls is cross shore in a SWer except when you get down near the rock groyne, then things can go pear shaped pretty quick when you hit the wind shaddow. Local knowledge goes a long way. I wouldn't recommend kiting here if the tide is running out in a SWer or you are relatively inexperienced.

Jasonlk321 said..

I was down at Dolls yesterday because it was quite crowded down at the end of Clareville Ave, which is good spot in SW but for experienced kiters only. This incident happened about 4.30 when the wind had dropped under 20 Knts. Although it was mid 20's & 30's most of the day. You have to really launch south of the point just to give you a chance to get back to shore if something goes pear shaped. It was very gusty & patchy. I think this kiter launched from the middle of the point when the wind dropped a bit , headed down wind to get some speed up, then maybe hit a dead patch & stalled. Although the kite was in the air he couldn't seem to be able to relaunch or body drag back in. Once he drifted past the groin you're pretty much stuffed & in the wind shadow, its also gone from a 50mtr swim to 300mtr. It's was a very experienced Botany Bay kiter called Chris who attempted to rescue him on a race board. I believe he was the only one capable of evening attempting a rescue. He managed to get to him & tried body dragging the kiter back to shore but the more into the wind shadow there was zero power. From what I could see I thought the guy in trouble ditched his kite & swam in with Chris on his kite & hopefully his racing board. I think he deserves more than a case of beer for helping out.

Thanks Jasonlk321, yes it was Chris who went to try to help the guy out, but he borrowed a mates larger twin tip to get him as he didn't want to risk injury with the race board fins. The sun went down about 4.55 and there was low cloud with light rain coming in. It was dark when the BB WP vessel fished him out off Hollywoods.

What raised the point of the rescue attempt was that, his mate who was on the beach said the guy in trouble had previously needed to be rescued by the BB WP in similar conditions. All I can say is that Chris definitely deserves at least a case for the effort he put in to help the guy.