Even with lessons all everyone wants is to get out there. Fly the kite and trim the board.
When I had my 3 lessons it wasn't given much importance the instructor said this is how its done but I've never had too, so dont worry.
Bull **** it's important and the more you talk to many seasoned experienced they have all had tricky situations and have called on these self rescue skills.
The thing that cant be taught is when to call it time and begin the roll up of lines.
Many thanks to the experinced kiters here in the west who share their skills and offer to help. We're very lucky if a situation develops on the water now a skilled kiter appears and helps, rescue a kite, rescue a board, rescue a kiter.
10 years ago we wouldn't have been so lucky get in trouble and no one would be about to help.
Being self reliant is a skill higher in importance than a back roll. Thanks again.

Hi Greame,

Most newish instructors get a buzz when their student progresses and achieves milestones quickly. They vicariously thrive on the student's lesson. They tend not to spend time on relaunch and self rescue because it isn't an adrenaline exercise. Often it is slow, a little dangerous, and the lines get in a mess. It also puts the student in a position of duress that they have to deal with. Just like in the real thing

The instructor simply has the wrong perspective. The buzz should come from seeing the confidence a student develops rapidly after their first, "full on, real conditions", self rescue. The confidence allows the student to relax in the ensuing part of the learning and they then learn faster without the mental block of the potential trauma and the fear of the unknown which keeps them in fear of progressing too far.

I get a better buzz from a student who, without outside assistance, gets themselves and all of their gear back to the beach in quick time and in one piece in their first lesson.

Instructors who crow on about how fast they get riders up and riding are amateurs and need more experience teaching. Some will learn in time by asking themselves, "What went well in that lesson that I can re-create for others?" and "What didn't go so well, and why?", and more importantly, "How can I improve that lesson for the next student?" Some many instructors just reckon they rock and need little improving.

To all the instructors out there teaching. Accept the stone cold fact that you don't know everything ..... and never will, and that there is always room for improvement, and then you will likely, always improve

DM

dave...... said...

Today I refused to sell a second hand board to a beginner that thinks he can teach himself. $500 to get a beach banned......... Screw that

Credit to you mate! I know I'll be doing the same in the future too, kites or boards.

^ I read a book once but can't remember what happened and the finer details.

But I remember things i did as a child many years earlier than that, people remember more from doing than just being told or reading about it.

#1 wrap lines up fly like a sail.
#2 wrap lines up roll up kite and use as float whilst swimming to beach ( good reason to click over strut clips)
#3 what's the third way? swim in without gear?

I think self rescue probably dependson the conditions at the time.

From what I have "learnt", there seems to be two schools of thought:

1. Do the line-wrap working your way up to the kite (making sure to wrap one of the front lines a good way in FIRST!)

2. Stuff the line wrap and swim to the kite, pulling in the lines when you're at the kite.

Obviously pros n cons to both. I think the 2nd option is probably quicker but obv messier. You have to be v careful no tto get fowled-up in the drifting lines when you swim, and you end up with an awful mess of lines once your on land.

The "tidy", line wrap probably takes longer, and I guess there is a chance if you don't tie-off one of the front lines first, the kite could power-up.

I've only had to do once in my fairly short life in kiting, and I opted for the latter...

I recommend wrapping the lines on the bar ( one front line first for a few wraps ) ....

just swimming to the kite can be very dangerous ...as the above poster mentioned it is very easy to get a leg or foot wrapped in a line if the kite powers up the lines will cut through your skin like butter.

I have also found that rather than wrap up the kite you can often lay on your kite ( towards a wingtip ) then grab either a line or bridal from the opposite wingtip and use the kite as a sail..... obviously you wont be able to go upwind but more about 30degrees off the wind so it can be slow ......... but still quicker and far less physical than paddling in a kite saussage.

You can sail fairly close to cross wind and even a bit upwind. You can leave your board over the edge of the kite and lean on it to make a fin.

I think very few modern kites have self-rescue handles. It works better to grab the bridle and wrap it round your harness hook and trim the wing tip to get the best effect.

Nobody is going to teach you this stuff. You sort it out when you're in the water getting yourself back to the beach.

Hi all,

Self rescue should be taught BEFORE the first powered body drag. Since doing this we have not had to launch the rescue boat in nearly two years for one of our students.

Winding the lines is dangerous and takes a long time. In the time it takes to roll the lines, you can be back on the beach and sorting out the mess without fear of losing fingers and worrying about the kite powering up. Just follow the safety flag out line to the kite and grab the leading edge, roll it over and creat the sail to bring yourself back in. It's quick, simple, safe and effective. We've been teaching this method for many years now and have never had an issue.

Short lines are a must in teaching this. Using long lines ends in a clusterf#$k. Have a spare bar handy in case it gets too nasty and sort it out after the lesson. Students are often willing to stay back and assist. It only takes 10 minutes when two people who know what they are doing help untangle.

NEVER fully deflate a kite in an emergency, keep at the very least, the struts inflated. Practical Self rescue should take no more than 30 minutes from the beginning of the theoretical explanation, to the time the student is back on the beach. Is this a waste of valuable time? Of course not, this is the stuff you need to know, not water starts.

Get real when you're teaching, teach em to stay safe and not rely on help and be self sufficient, the sport isn't hard to self learn provided you know how to recover from a stuff up safely.

DM

Actually, come to think of it, self rescue is an almost pointless thing to focus on.

Long before you self rescue you choose the place and conditions to ride in. Will the wind and waves blow you to shore if you stuff up? Is there somewhere safe to land downwind? Am I prepared to swim in from where I am riding? If things go totally pear shaped am I prepared to discard my gear and save myself?

In the vast majority of cases you just sit in the water and eventually wash up on the beach. Very occasionally you just swim in towing your kite at the end of the leash.

Once in 12 years have I had to self rescue when the wind dropped out and turned near offshore. I started on non-relaunchable ram air foils. I spent a lot of time getting blown up on the beach where I poured the water and sand out of my kite then charged off again.

I was on my way out to board a ship - to pilot it into Adelaide - last year, when 3 miles out to sea I spotted a kite heading west on the water. Needless to say the owner was pretty amazed when he got his kite back undamaged.

DM - maybe I need to be piloting off the WA coast... I could double as the lost kite patrol:-)