This is what happened when I downlooped my kite into the water when trying to outrun a wave last week. The line pulled me by the back of my knee. Stay away from loose lines!

Kiting in waves has the potential to have serious consequences. Glad you escaped with just a "flesh wound"! I witnessed a local up here who was a bit new in the surf but definitely knew how to kite ok have a near death experience.
The day was typical S and offshore at this spot with a 2M+ swell, newb caught a wave on the outside bank and ran down the face and towards his kite too much and the kite went down as he rode towards it. He stopped maybe 5M from the kite and I just thought oh well rookie error and hoped it would just be a simple relaunch for him. Meanwhile I was talking to another mate who had come in to the beach but was still flying his kite when I noticed the newbs kite dow a loop and crash, followed about 20 seconds later by a similar loop and crash. After the thrid loop and crash and by this stage the looping kite had dragged newb into the impact zone of even larger waves down the beach.
I said to my mate with the flying kite that does not look right and we watched another couple of loops and crashes and the newb getting pounded, but by this time he is 400m away and headed out to sea as its cross off. My mate says he will go have a look and see if he can help. By this stage the kite is looping faster but still looping crashing then relaunching looping and crashing but also dragging the newb through solid breaking large waves. Eventually just before newb reached a point of no return at the cliffs north of this beach the kite looped and crashed onto the onshore side of the window just as my mate got to him. Long story short my mate was able to assist newb into shallow water where it became obvious newb had come very close to drowning, had swallowed water but not breathed in much water, he was extremely upset and had one arm pinned to his side by kite kite lines with both legs also tangled, he only had one arm free to move. No hook knife.
Took him several weeks but he is back out kiting and he had no permanent injuries other than the massive dent in his confidence.

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jms said..
This is what happened when I downlooped my kite into the water when trying to outrun a wave last week. The line pulled me by the back of my knee. Stay away from loose lines!

Down loop it into the sky, not water
This is where you went wrong

Yep. **** can happen in the waves. Tis the dice we role!...

Yeah, I'm glad I got pulled along by a wave and not a looping kite! Also thankful that the line caught my leg and not some more intimate anatomy such as a finger or neck!

I carry a line knife, but there wasn't time to even think about using it. Not sure how it would have played out if I was actually tangled.

Ah well, a good lesson to learn about keeping clear of the lines!

Happed to me with a snapped trim line, ran over my lines and was dragged under water by my neck wearing boots.

You don't even think out your harness knife when it happens so quickly.

My only thought was, F*** I didnt think I was going to die this way.



But you and are both alive! Count it as a blessing and keep shredding!

Don't underestimate the potential of kite lines to do you harm

Gruesome. I don't let myself get anywhere near slack lines in onshore conditions. If any doubt I eject with no hesitation, turn around, duck dive under the next wave and get out of there.

@Underoath - Brutal mate! Yeah, it all happens so quickly. I don't even remember recovering, just thinking I'd better not breathe while I was getting pulled underwater. I can't imagine what it would have been like getting caught between the kite and the board via your neck.

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jms said..
@Underoath - Brutal mate! Yeah, it all happens so quickly. I don't even remember recovering, just thinking I'd better not breathe while I was getting pulled underwater. I can't imagine what it would have been like getting caught between the kite and the board via your neck.

I wasnt 'nice'. Unfortunately it took this incident for me to stay on top of my gear maintenance.

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Underoath said..

I wasnt 'nice'. Unfortunately it took this incident for me to stay on top of my gear maintenance.

Yep - new lines that same day for me! The issue wasn't due to gear failure, but it deffo makes you take it more seriously.