I'm about to go out for a run and all I carry is my house keys, and my driver's licence. The licence is in case I end up unconscious in a hospital and they'll know who I am and who to contact.

It occurred to me that I carry no id when kiting, except my name and phone number on my board.

A friend had a kiting mishap a few years ago and ended up in hospital. From where we were he just disappeared without a trace. We called out search and rescue and had helicopters and 7 divvy vans of cops looking for him. When he came out of surgery they called his family, but not until well after dark (He got some deep cuts from an impact with a reef. Bystanders packed up his gear and carted him off to hospital).

It would make sense for the kitesurfing association (KSA or whatever they call themselves this week) to provide members with silicone ID bracelets with our name and a contact number on them instead of the dopey tags and cards they keep sending out. That would be useful.

While I'm on the subject, a bunch of us are doing lots of foiling. It is possible to cover a distance upwind in literally half the time of any other kind of board (because you just ride straight there instead of doing 10-20 gybes). It's possible to be lots of kms away from the beach you started at. It's reaching a point where you would need to think about carrying stuff in case of a breakdown. i.e. tools to dismantle the foil, money for a taxi back (or a myki card), maybe even a satellite tracker so you can be found.

Used to be a product like dog tags that had a USB thumb drive in them, with medical information on it.

i don't go far from the beach because I don't want to be rescued or swim in repeatedly like that other guy has multiold times.

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Gorgo said..
I'm about to go out for a run and all I carry is my house keys, and my driver's licence. The licence is in case I end up unconscious in a hospital and they'll know who I am and who to contact.

It occurred to me that I carry no id when kiting, except my name and phone number on my board.

You worry too much.

What you fear ... you create.

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Gorgo said..

It would make sense for the kitesurfing association (KSA or whatever they call themselves this week) to provide members with silicone ID bracelets with our name and a contact number on them instead of the dopey tags and cards they keep sending out. That would be useful.

well the KA tag does has a member number on it... but yeah maybe they can also wack on a name i guess...

gorgo as for your foiling adventures im sure your still in rocky

just wiggle your thumb or bum out along farnbrough and a 4wd will pick you up.

and if your going to the islands like i use to there then well try not to wiggle your bum to much god theres alota sharks

can allways put a if found please return to address on the back of your helmet much better then the band. ive had a few watches get wripped off my wrists by lines over the years helmets none yet, tho i think yan wrote an article in sky sailor about his helmet wrenching experience at the aus/nz comp earlier this year

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waveslave said..
...

You worry too much.

What you fear ... you create.

There's a certain truth in what you say. But as my 60th birthday gets closer, it makes sense to take simple precautions, especially if the precautions take no real effort.

There's no way I'm going to stop kiting and foiling and having fun. I've only got about 20 years of play time left.

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Gorgo said..

waveslave said..
...

You worry too much.

What you fear ... you create.

There's a certain truth in what you say. But as my 60th birthday gets closer, it makes sense to take simple precautions, especially if the precautions take no real effort.

There's no way I'm going to stop kiting and foiling and having fun. I've only got about 20 years of play time left.

So, is it one year to go ....

or are we down to a handful of months now ?

The 60th birthday I mean, that magic milestone.

If that 20 year kite-window doesn't come off, you can always fall back on plan B.

You do realize that 60 is the legal age for playing bingo.

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waveslave said..

Gorgo said..

waveslave said..
...

You worry too much.

What you fear ... you create.

There's a certain truth in what you say. But as my 60th birthday gets closer, it makes sense to take simple precautions, especially if the precautions take no real effort.

There's no way I'm going to stop kiting and foiling and having fun. I've only got about 20 years of play time left.

So, is it one year to go ....

or are we down to a handful of months now ?

The 60th birthday I mean, that magic milestone.

If that 20 year kite-window doesn't come off, you can always fall back on plan B.

You do realize that 60 is the legal age for playing bingo.

waveslave, poor old gorgo here paraglides so hes no **** about the average age of australian paraglider pilot.

and hes got the whole bloody flying site to himself!

stop being a ponce gorgo 60's nothing but a reason to fly faster and harder then before. everyone knows that theres no old and bold pilots, so if your claim is that your to old then you clearly are not being bold enough!

"Speaking on behalf of myself, there's no correlation between age and maturity," says Chucklehead.

I came to the same conclusion a few years back while cycling, I found a wristband product called ICEid it is a printed tag with name contact number, no allergies, etc could use it kiting but never have...

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Gorgo said...
I'm about to go out for a run and all I carry is my house keys, and my driver's licence. The licence is in case I end up unconscious in a hospital and they'll know who I am and who to contact.

It occurred to me that I carry no id when kiting, except my name and phone number on my board.

A friend had a kiting mishap a few years ago and ended up in hospital. From where we were he just disappeared without a trace. We called out search and rescue and had helicopters and 7 divvy vans of cops looking for him. When he came out of surgery they called his family, but not until well after dark (He got some deep cuts from an impact with a reef. Bystanders packed up his gear and carted him off to hospital).

It would make sense for the kitesurfing association (KSA or whatever they call themselves this week) to provide members with silicone ID bracelets with our name and a contact number on them instead of the dopey tags and cards they keep sending out. That would be useful.

While I'm on the subject, a bunch of us are doing lots of foiling. It is possible to cover a distance upwind in literally half the time of any other kind of board (because you just ride straight there instead of doing 10-20 gybes). It's possible to be lots of kms away from the beach you started at. It's reaching a point where you would need to think about carrying stuff in case of a breakdown. i.e. tools to dismantle the foil, money for a taxi back (or a myki card), maybe even a satellite tracker so you can be found.

Maybe a tat

[;

)]

Why does the KSA need to help you carry ID? It's not hard to find a solution.

After a downwinder-gone-wrong left me alone and stranded on the side of a highway in South Africa when it was getting dark and starting to rain, I've bought a small waterproof pouch. Inside it I have a cheap prepaid $30 phone and $50 in cash. I wear this around my neck and under my wetsuit - it ends up lying at my chest level. It would be simple enough to also add a piece of paper with instructions to my would-be-rescuers if the worst were to happen...

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Gorgo said..
I'm about to go out for a run and all I carry is my house keys, and my driver's licence. The licence is in case I end up unconscious in a hospital and they'll know who I am and who to contact.

Geez mate

Sigh.

The idea of having ID is you put your name and number on your board. It would make sense to put your name and number on yourself.

At the moment the KSA tags are useless bits of plastic that hang around for a few months then get thrown in the bin. Having a customised silicone bracelet with your name and home number on it would make it useful.

As an almost 60 year old I am as fit as I ever was. I won't go into detail but I suspect my commitment to having fun and adventures easily matches yours. But statistically, the older you get the greater the chance of having a "health emergency". It makes sense to take a sensible precaution that takes no real effort.

Some of the activities I do require the use of instruments and one of those is a satellite tracker. It keeps the missus very happy to know that she can see where I am when I am off in relatively inaccessible place by myself. In principle, being stuck 1000 metres off shore with a kite and a black wetsuit in winter in Melbourne sometime around 5:00 pm, your survival chances are not much better than being at the south pole.

Your right there.

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Gorgo said...
Sigh.

The idea of having ID is you put your name and number on your board. It would make sense to put your name and number on yourself.

At the moment the KSA tags are useless bits of plastic that hang around for a few months then get thrown in the bin. Having a customised silicone bracelet with your name and home number on it would make it useful.

As an almost 60 year old I am as fit as I ever was. I won't go into detail but I suspect my commitment to having fun and adventures easily matches yours. But statistically, the older you get the greater the chance of having a "health emergency". It makes sense to take a sensible precaution that takes no real effort.

Some of the activities I do require the use of instruments and one of those is a satellite tracker. It keeps the missus very happy to know that she can see where I am when I am off in relatively inaccessible place by myself. In principle, being stuck 1000 metres off shore with a kite and a black wetsuit in winter in Melbourne sometime around 5:00 pm, your survival chances are not much better than being at the south pole.

What satellite tracker do you use ?

SPOT

It's the cheapest and most people use them.

I've only used it once kiting and it worked ok.

Delorme is much better, but much more expensive to buy, and much much more expensive to use.

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raw996 said..
After a downwinder-gone-wrong left me alone and stranded on the side of a highway in South Africa when it was getting dark and starting to rain, I've bought a small waterproof pouch. Inside it I have a cheap prepaid $30 phone and $50 in cash. I wear this around my neck and under my wetsuit - it ends up lying at my chest level. It would be simple enough to also add a piece of paper with instructions to my would-be-rescuers if the worst were to happen...

Wouldn't it be great if somebody made a waterproof phone case designed for kitesurfing?

Just tatto your name and no on your forehead simple?? never forget it.
also good when you end up with oldtimers.??

Hope I'm kiting at 60 and past. My uncle still surfs in Dunedin and he's 62, I think, so there's hope, let us know if u find a good solution like iced or something. The dog n cat are chipped so there should be a small, relatively cheap solution?