here here bondo... body dragging should be one of the first things you learn with or without an instructor. riders that dont learn the basics these days go a long way to causing problems between codes.

those of you that still think board leashes are safe or can't see the point or don't understand the dangers please use the search and do some reading

I posted earlier on about the cable tie idea someone had mentioned in an a past post.
I would not use a standard board leash for risk of injury.The leash has to have flex to account for the load which may be put on the board,which,with no flex,could break your ankle and because it has flex,it results in a recoil.From my reading on the subject,it's this recoil that can cause injury,and even death.
Having stated the above,if you used a leash with a ie:cable tie,that would snap under modest presure,you could use a leash with less flex,resulting in less recoil.

If I'm missing something,can someone please explain.I'm not talking about the standard leash set up.I can body drag upwind to retrieve my board almost all of the time ,but,I've only got up on the board recently and at times at some locations,due to tide ect,would rather utilize the time on the board.

What might be some of the pitfalls in this concept that I may be over looking?

People, please please take the advice from those of us that have been riding for what seems like for ever...

Kitehard speaks the truth, back in the early days I have had the board tombstoning behind me while being super powered up and it's a scary position to be in, only happend once !

All the guys on here that will never defend or advocate the use of a leash on your board are not saying it because it looks cool, it's just bloody stupid. You guys that use them are a statistic just waiting to happen, a statistic just to get the sport a bad name, a statistic just to get beaches closed.

I couldnt give a phuk if you get the board in the back of your head and become a cripple or better die. I give a phuk when some dumb ass twat comes on here and starts a thread asking for charity for Joe Schmo's family because Joe was a top bloke but was killed the other day by his board hitting him in the head cause he had a board leash.

Notice how none of the board companies advocate the use or sell board leashes ?

Oh and when your sitting in your wheel chair, I'll be the one on the water...

Hey Steve,

The wheelchair thing is a worse case scenario, one which I hope to never witness or read about. Helmets and impact vests do not protect you from a hit in the back of the neck just above the shoulders. A serious hit here could in fact crush your spinal chord leaving you Quad.

The list of persons having stitches from flying boards is long and prestigious. You may recall a certain postie was almost killed in Botany Bay due to a leash by landing on his board and the surf style fins cutting deep into his inner thigh missing his femoral artery by a 1/4 inch. He would have bled to death long before making it to the beach.

There is no need for leashes. As a kiteshop that sell reel leashes, I respect your right to defend their use with a suitable "fused" link, and accept that the danger is significantly reduced but not eliminated. However, I reserve my right to champion an even safer approach - NO Leash.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.


Good winds to all,

I promised not to get anymore involved in this debate, however….
Wearing a leash should be a personal choice, according with personal experience, style of kitesurfing and a lot of other considerations.
I, personally, wear both kite and board leash, I find both of them very useful.
I am cruising, often very far in the bay (5 - 7 Km away) so it is very important for me to be able to retrieve the board in seconds and get moving again.
In 6 years of kitesurfing, I never got heat by the board, as in most occasions when I get off the board, I de-power the kite instantly, and the drag was minimal.
Another think is where the leash is attached to the board
Most of the cases the leash is attached to the handle, which is in the middle of the board and this attachment point makes the board to dive or stand up in the water, making it an "anchor", and when it releases from the water, may act as a projectile!!
However if the leash is attached as close as possible to one of the tips of the board, than the board will just follow the boarder.
When jumping, this is a totally different case, I totally agree that a leash may cause some upsets, especially that most of the "jumpers" will not go too far form the beach (what's the point to jump mate, if nobody can see you?!
Now I promise I will not get involved anymore in this debate!!!
However remember, in some car accidents, the car bursts in flame, and it was found that the seatbelt was delaying the occupants to leave the car in time , and they got burned, sometimes to death.
We still wear seatbelts, don’t we?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mr Plow

If you kite 5-7km out then you had better be a damn good swimmer.

That is possibly the most dumb, irresponsible move I have heard of.

Where is your support? What happens if your leading edge deflates/pops?

Yet another hero giving kiting a great rap....seriously mate - its not impressive, just mid numbingly stupid.

---

Mr Plow

I am kitesurfing ALWAYS with:
GPS.
Mobile phone.
Someone knows always where I am going, and when I do expect to come back
If possible in pair with somone else
And don't forget, I am doing this only in the Port Phillip Bay, so, if I cant go back... I always get to a safe shore from where I can be picked up.
Before going to the beach:
Check the latest forcast on Bureau of Meteorology website.
Check the Bay wind Website.
Check the sky!
I wear always:
Helmet
Long wetsuit
PFD/impact vest
Booties
Generaly:
Never jump near the beach
Keep a safe distance from stupids
I rather go 100 m downwind to land my kite, than to land it on a crowded beach
I am a good friend of the Life Saving Club
never kite on a beach I don't know, unless I am getting some advice from the locals.
And the list is longer and longer.
And by the way, yes I am a bloddy good swimmer, and I know very well most of the self rescue techniques.
So before judging, and insulting, get all the facts!!!

And one more think: I will rather loose 30 minutes from my kitesurfing time to help a beginner get safe (or out of trouble) than to seat and look (and laugh) how he will get hurt!!!

quote:

---

Originally posted by robecq

I'm almost sorry I started this thread, It was NOT meant to be a he said she said thread about f'ing leashes. The problem IS that people are losing their boards because they have chosen not to use a leash (fair enough) and can't or wont bodydrag upwind (not good enough) AND the pole boarders keep hitting them as they drift downwind and out of site. I'm sure that the only thing windsurfers want wrap around their poles is a swedish stripper. maybe KBV and the schools need to take a some time to look out for newbies (their students or not) and help them out. Actually that goes for the rest of us too. an adopt a newbie aproach - (I'll take the swedish strippers)

---

Bring on the Swedes...

OK... so ppl are loosing boards coz they can't, or won't, do one of two things. Is it that simple? Of course not! In combination with the other factors is "location" and "experience". StKilda isn't great for newbs that are getting up onto boards and riding! It's OK for newbs to the point of riding, at that point it is time to find another "location".

StKilda just isn't good for newb "riders"!

Of course others, esp' with vested interests, might disagree... and the choice of "metro-handy" locations is slim... but ppl at that level are not equiped for riding that far offshore in what is almost always choppy onshore conditions. Period!

quote:

---

Originally posted by silviu

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mr Plow

If you kite 5-7km out then you had better be a damn good swimmer.

That is possibly the most dumb, irresponsible move I have heard of.

Where is your support? What happens if your leading edge deflates/pops?

Yet another hero giving kiting a great rap....seriously mate - its not impressive, just mid numbingly stupid.

---

Mr Plow

I am kitesurfing ALWAYS with:
GPS.
Mobile phone.
Someone knows always where I am going, and when I do expect to come back
If possible in pair with somone else
And don't forget, I am doing this only in the Port Phillip Bay, so, if I cant go back... I always get to a safe shore from where I can be picked up.
Before going to the beach:
Check the latest forcast on Bureau of Meteorology website.
Check the Bay wind Website.
Check the sky!
I wear always:
Helmet
Long wetsuit
PFD/impact vest
Booties
Generaly:
Never jump near the beach
Keep a safe distance from stupids
I rather go 100 m downwind to land my kite, than to land it on a crowded beach
I am a good friend of the Life Saving Club
never kite on a beach I don't know, unless I am getting some advice from the locals.
And the list is longer and longer.
And by the way, yes I am a bloddy good swimmer, and I know very well most of the self rescue techniques.
So before judging, and insulting, get all the facts!!!

---

you forgot the kitchen sink

quote:

---

Originally posted by gruezi

Good on ya silviu.....you do what you feel is right and stick to it, a man of conviction in your own special way.

It must be a buzz being out alone in the middle of Port Phillip Bay, certainly would beat buzzing back and forth in the froth around St. Kilda...and I bet the water is cleaner out there, and the view must be supurb! If I ever come to Melb. again, I'de love to go out there with you...crazy as that may seem.

However, I really do loath the place as I do not find much natural beauty there and feel that all Melbournites are Euro wanabees...sort of like Sydney people are NYC wanabees. I still can't understand how someone who is lucky enough to be able to live in this country would choose Melb.....beats me. There must be millions of good reasons though, but nobody's telling.

---

I'm with him!

It's only saving grace is some of the people I've met. (OK... so most of them are from elsewhere too.)

OK gruezi, you win...

yes there is million$ of reasons, but none enough for me... this summer was nice though, lots of potential, but when it comes to reality "I'd much rather be elsewhere!" [and that's in no way reflective to those people I've kited with this season, rather a judgement on the place in general. If that upsets you then too bad; cities blow!]

Give me an open beach any day.

quote:

---

Originally posted by gruezi

Good on ya silviu.....you do what you feel is right and stick to it, a man of conviction in your own special way.

It must be a buzz being out alone in the middle of Port Phillip Bay, certainly would beat buzzing back and forth in the froth around St. Kilda...and I bet the water is cleaner out there, and the view must be supurb! If I ever come to Melb. again, I'de love to go out there with you...crazy as that may seem.

However, I really do loath the place as I do not find much natural beauty there and feel that all Melbournites are Euro wanabees...sort of like Sydney people are NYC wanabees. I still can't understand how someone who is lucky enough to be able to live in this country would choose Melb.....beats me. There must be millions of good reasons though, but nobody's telling.

---

You will be welcome, and I really look forward to see you here, and show you "the view form the bay".
It is really superb, and as you gou out, the view is starting to "open", like watching through a "fish eye lens": the perspective is wide and beautyfull. And in several occasions I had dolphins "chasing" me.
Regarding the reasons someone will live in Melbourne... in three words: it's the best!!!

If you are going to use a leash then go the Reel Leash.

Call me a blouse but I mainly use it so I can get going again quickly, I hate wasting the time dragging, especially as we have had a few people munched off our local by White pointers.

I have been using one for a couple of years and never had a rebound issue. I still wear a helmet though, mainly because the board is close to you and waves can knock it into you - which is perhaps the biggest risk I have found. I would never use a surfboard leash, a guy at my local use to use one...4 years ago he had an incident where the board recoiled into him and the fins sliced him up shockingly, huge lacerations to his neck and arm and was carted off by an ambulance.... Ironically he is now looking at Reel leash as he lost a thousand bucks worth of board a couple of weeks a go.

Re the breaking strain, the Reel leash clip is rated at 270 pounds, which still seems a little high and I would be interested in the cable tie option.

this thread has really gotten of track.

The original ? who is responsible for damage?
the owner of the Kiteboard.

Any excuse for useing a board leash will sound pretty lame in a coroners court.

And here I was thinking the real problem at St Kilda was gay/bow community.

Not that's there's anything wrong with that