G'day guys,

There's been a bit of 'talk' lately about self rescue, which begs the question, whats the best way to do it?
I had a handful of lessons a few years ago, you know, flying heaps of different size kites on the beach before getting out and body dragging (in the surf!!!) and then getting up on the board. I've had 18 months off but I'm back into it in a big way.
Thing is..I've never had to self rescue, I wouldn't know how. Where do you go (or who do you go to) to work on these types of things?
I've never been out by myself, but the day will come when I will be by myself and I'll have to self rescue.
I should point out, I've been to a couple of instructors and asked, but their response has been to do their 'full' program.
I practice flying my kite in my own time already, I don't want to have to pay someone for a couple of hours just to fly their trainer kite so I can then learn the things I need.
Is there anyone in Melbourne who does (or will do) the sort of training I need? After all, I just want to be safe out there, and not be a burden to anyone.

Yeah i got to say the Waroo manual is kinda lacking on a true and detailed explanation. I won't add anything regarding how to self rescue here, because i have no knowledge of it, but it would be really helpful if some1 posted a HOW to guide on self rescue for the general kiting community, not only for people that don't no how to do it, but also for people who have done it might also find some little trick or something to benefit them too. Would be a great Help

Adi

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll have to get down to the beach and practice. As always, your a great source of information Kitehard, cheers.

DaveSpruce said...
That's easy enough to do on the beach but I have never atually seen anyone use it or pull it off in the water to succesfully get him/herself back to the beach. Also I doubt that it would work at an offshore spot lite woodies

I've had to do it and it turned out to be pretty easy. The ugly bit is winding the lines in. I swam towards the kite to do this and kept having to unhook myself from stray loops of line. Next time I will try the fishing pole method described in Kitehard's notes.

Once you've got the flagging line knotted off on your bar you can unclip your leash and attach it one of the footstraps on your board before winding your lines. It would probably also be useful to put a mark a wingspans-width up each flagging line so you don't guess where to knot it off.

Obviously if the breeze is completely offshore you're stuffed. But you can use this technique to go slighly upwind, which surprised me. The trick is to lie on the leading edge of the downwind tip rather than dragging behind. The LE then acts as a sort of keel. You steer upwind by moving the upper tip downwind and vice versa.

sunseeker said...
You can also use a stopper ball on your flagging line at a wingspan length up the kite which will also stop your bar from running all the way up to the kite.

Yeah, my bar sometimes shoots nearly all the way to my kite when I drop it on the leash, which seems to increase the chances of getting caught up in loops of loose line. Someone suggested putting stopper balls on my flagging lines, but another very experienced person told me that putting stopper balls on your flagging lines can cause them to tangle when you twist your lines.

"I practice flying my kite in my own time already, I don't want to have to pay someone for a couple of hours just to fly their trainer kite so I can then learn the things I need".

Hi mate,

Just a note, I find it advantageous for my students to gain trainer kite flying skills before we venture out.
Developing a basic skill set, I find from experience maximises the productivity in the lesson.
I think you'll find that IKO instructors will always use kites that are suited to the conditions for 'kite boarding' not just practicing as you put it on a trainer, unless you specify that is what you require.
We do down winder lessons in Botany Bay that allows the student to ride non-stop. This is a benefit to all levels as you'd gain mileage and get coaching through a radio helmet. This is of course done after all safety is covered including the self rescue.
My point being that your quote above is a very loose and I think that you would perhaps benefit more than you think from taking a lesson.
If your ever around the bay in Sydney I would be more than happy to show you the self rescue.

Good winds and good luck

T