Hey Calbs,

Great first post!

A most poignant point to make at this time of year. Autumn is the time when the winds shut down earlier than usual in the afternoon and tend to go offshore. Self Rescue is a basic skill required by EVERY kiter in their FIRST lesson, however, it is still overlooked by many schools completely or taught as a theory only subject, or brought in as a second or third lesson topic.

If you are a newb, ask your instructor to teach you self rescue on the first day and rather than just explain or even demonstrate it, ask to be allowed to learn it in a practical example.

We started including it in a practical real world scenario (student cannot touch bottom, heavy choppy water and tangled lines) exercise a few years ago and since then have not had to rescue our own students unless in extreme circumstances.

This is an essential skill everyone must be taught. For schools that teach in shallow waters where students can always just stand up, make sure they can handle a water relaunch and self rescue when they cannot touch bottom. Your assumption that they will come back for another lesson to learn these skills later may be grossly incorrect setting the student up with the skills to get themselves into trouble, but not out of it.

Good on you Calbs!

DM

I agree,

While working for Windswell in Port Douglas last year self-rescue was an essential part of lesson 1.

Demonstrated during the lesson and the student had to perform one at the conclusion of the lesson.

Not all schools have safe enough conditions to perform a self rescue during a lesson, but the skill can and must be demonstrated on the beach at the minimum.

It is also up to the student to include self rescue in their practice regime between lessons and after graduating.

I totally agree.

Alas for those schools who have to teach in the ocean or in areas of strong tidal currents. Then it can be negligent to let them try a self rescue on the first lesson!!!

Good on you AKSonline. I applaud you for teaching practical self rescue. I was never taught this way and it has always played on my mind. I have watched videos so know the theory but I wish I had been taught like you do.

What is board recovery? Do you actually teach students how to recover someone else's board? I didn't know this was taught. Is there any videos showing this? I just cruise past and grab the handle while flying the kite with one hand. Is there a more formal method?

East Coast = surf beaches

Unless there is an estuary the ocean bashes on the sand over here.

Some locations have no choice.

Lucky I don't have to teach anymore

I should of reread that before posting, just to clarify I was tought the self rescue which they call deep water pact In my lesson I just forgot it all, think more time maybe should of been dedicated to it, and I meant to say lengthy session not lesson lol. I know how dumb it was to be on someone elses kite especially when I'm still learning and clearly not experienced enough to just know another persons kite. I have learnt my lesson!

Thanks Todd, i know it was pure stupidity to use anothers kite and i wont do it again until i am experienced. as i said more pissed at myself for not remaining calm but i think because it was someone elses kite i really didnt want things to go pear shaped. Lesson learnt and my next few sessions will be practising self rescue over and over and over again in deeper water.

toddws said...

Chelles
You have experienced the major disadvantage of a shallow water learning location.
Out in the ocean you rarely have the ability to stand up and put tension on your lines and "force" a relaunch.

You need to work on relaunch technique without putting your feet on the bottom.

Don't use someones gear without being proficient enough to use it, smart enough to fiqure out how to ditch it if it really goes t!ts up, or rich enough to replace it.

Ditching everything is really the last resort, making your way to the kite and using it as a sail to self rescue to shore, is the quickest and safest way to get back in.
But it requires a few things

1 - A Plan
2 - Practice
3 - Calm deep breaths
4 - An ability not to panic

you can only do the last 2 by having the first 2!

The best suggestion would be practice self rescue a few times, until you feel confident. Remember the tidier you are at wrapping your bar and lines, the quicker you are at getting the kite set back up again.

p.s. Unless the kite is leaking, its the best pool floaty/life preserver you have.

Hi Newbies,

There is a difference between being shown self rescue or even doing a dry run on the beach, and actually doing it in real world conditions where the water is deep and choppy. No point in learning it when you can stand on the bottom, it leads to a false sense of security which is quickly eroded when panic sets in.

There is usually no need to do a full roll the lines pack down as most the time you can let them trail in the water. It needs to be taught but not under real life conditions as it is seldom used and is dangerous to body parts in strong winds.

Just follow one line to the kite and use it to sail back in. This does two things; a) it gets you back in fast and b) it shows others on the beach that you have matters under control so we don't need to get authorities in to help.

If your instructor doesn't teach this properly, demand that they do as they are cheating you out of the most essential skill in kiteboarding - How to save your own arse.

Cheers,

DM

Adventure Sports Noosa said...

Hi guys we always teach self rescue and most schools do, the problem is very few people practice it .

Unfortunately most schools dont.

I raised this issue a while ago and AKS was the only one at the time who made note here on the forum that they do teach self rescue. Sure there are other schools who probably teach it as well but they are few and far between.

ie:

I have never ever seen any kite school practice water packdowns and self rescue at St KIlda Vic in the last 6 years and there are at least 3-4 schools operating there.
Theory for this skill is not an adequate way to cover it. It must be physically practised.....

I have also heard of guys taking a leash out with them so in the event that they need to self rescue they can then leash there board off and have one less thing to worry about.
For obvious reasons the leash is not attached whille riding.
Is there anyone out there who carrys a leash?

I was also not taught how to self rescue but have spent time teaching my self.

I have also heard of guys taking a leash out with them so in the event that they need to self rescue they can then leash there board off and have one less thing to worry about.
For obvious reasons the leash is not attached whille riding.
Is there anyone out there who carrys a leash?

Guilty. I started carrying a leash (an extra kite leash) after a leading edge blowout in deep water. My struts were still inflated, and I knew what to do in terms of self rescue, but I hadn't practiced for this particular scenario. I didn't really want to try holding onto my board while I wound up my lines and dealt with the kite, and I was only a couple of hundred metres from shore, so I just swam for it, though the kite created quite a bit of drag. A couple of guys offered to take my board into shore, but I actually liked having it for a bit of added buoyancy during the long swim.

Now, should this happen again, I am ready. I will take the board off my feet, attach it to the leash and let it trail behind me while I wind up my lines and kite.

And, no, I don't have the leash attached to my board when I'm riding; it's just there if I need it for self rescue.

calbs said...

Hi DM from aki,
When you talk about full pack down are you talking about
when you deflate leading edge & still have struts pumped up and then can pack it so you can lie on it like a board and paddle in.
This is one of ways i was shown when had lessons.
The only way i have used is by safely winding lines around bar once at kite
i then had to lie on it to paddle in ,couldnt use wind to sail in because it
had dropped out and shifted offshore.

Hi Calbs,

Yes I mean rolling the lines in the water and also deflating the leading edge only and rolling the kite up. Never deflate the struts as well, as then you are finished.

It is always an absolute last resort to deflate your leading edge as once you do that, you become invisible to rescuers and witnesses from the beach. An inflated kite is easy to see from the shore and also from Helicopter.

Cheers,

DM

I'm in that :)

Rad Lad said...

Probably the best self rescue video I have seen so far:

Quite a nice video in deed. We used to teach any self rescue by wrapping the safety line around the bar, then wrapping all lines to get to the kite, exactly as shown in this video. For a basic self-rescue (i.e. using the kite as a sail to get back to the shore) there is no need to wrap any lines at all. Simply pulling the kite towards you using the safety line is a much quicker and safer method. The problem with wrapping the lines around the bar is that 1) it takes a lot of time 2) can be quite difficult in heavy winds and choppy water and 3) If you don't wrap the lines properly (i.e.) forget to wrap one or more lines) , the kite could take off and start pulling you (seen that happen a few times). Yes, there can be some tangled lines when choosing not to wrap them, but that's not a major issue and can be avoided by letting the lines slide beside you instead of in front of you when you pull the kite to you.

So basically the only two self rescue techniques I would recommend are as followed:

1) BASIC SELF RESCUE: Releasing the quick release (Q.R.), pulling the safety line to get to the kite (only once the kite is fully depowered i.e. flagged out). Flipping the kite over (if needed) from the wing tip (as shown in the video). Using the steering line and the corresponding center line to create a sail. You can also use the self rescue handles as shown in the video, but I find the lines work better, especially in cross shore winds. If you have lost your board, you can try swimming upwind to it as soon as you have pulled out of the quick release, then once you get to the kite put the board upside down in the kite (to avoid ripping your canopy with the fins!) and self rescue with your sail.

The BASIC self rescue should be the only method to use, unless, in very rare scenarios there is 1) No more wind to create a sail AND you are far away from the shore, 2) wind shifted OFF-SHORE or 3) Leading Edge has deflated!

If you are in any of those scenarios, you really should consider doing a FULL PACK DOWN.

2) FULL PACK DOWN: The full pack down begins exactly as shown in the video, but instead of creating a sail, DEFLATE the leading edge (being careful not to let any water in!) and closing the deflate valve (also to avoid gettin water in the bladder). Hopefully you didn't forget to close all the clips on the tubes connecting from the leading edge to the struts (on any one-pump system kite), otherwise, the whole kite will deflate...
Once you got most of the air out of the leading edge, place the wrapped lines and bar in the middle of the kite and fold the kite in half (wing tip over wing tip) then roll it as best and as tight as you can. You can now eject your leash and use this line to tie a knot around your rolled kite. Don't be affraid to wrap it tight, cause this will be your floatation device for a while. You can simply tie your board to one of the lines hanging in the water, that way you can swim freely with both hands and feet. If a boat come to rescue you it is much easier for them to pick you up with the kite packed down, as a boat rescue with unwrapped lines and inflated kite can be hard to do for anyone who is unexperienced with that.


My advice is to practise both these self-rescue scenarios on the beach first, then in deep water. When there is no wind, why not practise the pack down in deep water, if you ever have to do it for real one day, you'll be thankfull you practised it first!

If all this sounds like chineese, then take a lesson!

Christian