A situation developed at a local Perth spot last evening ..The wind conditions were marginal and flukey ..Many had given up and gone home..There were still probably half a dozen or more kiters on the water and quite a bunch of associated people on the beach ..It seemed to be a bit of a shooting session as there were a video cam and still cam on tripods..
One lone kiter further out on the water was obviously in trouble with a kite that would not relaunch in a worsening situation ..
Maybe no one noticed with all the close up action ...Quite frankly I found the apparent lack of observation and concern surprising, bewildering and disappointing..
I might be wrong but most of the kiters and others on the beach appeared to be “visitors”..
The locals who frequently and willingly carry out rescues had all gone home ..
I should say at this point that rescue by another kiter would have been quite difficult, but there were kiters on the water who would have been way more capable than I will ever be..
Rather than end up with two people in trouble I landed my kite and ran nearly all the way down the beach toward the sailing club to maybe get a boat ..
Luckily at this point a passing catamaran was able to rescue the very grateful and relieved kiter ..
Come on guys .. Lift your game ..

"The wind conditions were marginal and flukey "


You have to remember.. Kitesurfing is an individual sport, you can never rely on someone else to help you if **** hits the fan.. Especially if the wind, like you say, is "marginal and flukey". Then there might be 2 or 3 kiters in need of rescue instead of one, and maybe not as lucky that a boat comes by to rescue them.. Having that said I always try to help and have been helped a few times, something I appreciate.. But like I said earlier, you must never rely on that fact that you WILL get help from others..

Hope everything turned out ok. Where was this btw?

Hi Jim,

Every kiter should be trained in practical self rescue BEFORE they venture out into the water on their own.

Like Dave said, it's a solo sport and you should be responsible for your own safety. Of course others will always help if they are able, and we are often rescuing kiters at Pinnaroo when they are in dire trouble. Having said that, we often leave kiters "out there" so long as they aren't in serious trouble and not too far out, to figure things out for themselves.

If we rescue every kiter who can't relaunch their kite we'd get no lessons done and nobody would bother to learn to self rescue or light wind relaunch or wind direction and beach evaluation.

C'mon people, learn to look after yourself and then someone offering help is a bonus, not a necessity.

Good winds,

Your obviously refering to Woodies, I wasn't there but it's not anyone's responsibility to help you out. It's an offshore beach, you shouldn't be kiting there if you can't save yourself. Bonus if someone helps you out, most of the time someone will. But you shouldn't whine about it just because someone didn't rescue your mate, who if I had to guess wasn't quite up to the grade kiting wise. In the past there has been lots of posts in regards to woodies and people saying that beginners or people who can't self rescue shouldn't kite there, maybe now you understand why?

If I was there I doubt I would have helped out if the conditions are marginal, especially since the rider was still attached to his kite. Most rescues are when a leash blows out or something, not when someone crashes and cant get his gear up.... Recently there was a guy down the beach who obviously was still learning (didn't know how to trim his kite etc.) his board was about 1km out and the wind was real light, he pretty much demanded I go out and rescue his board which at the time was out near the jetty. I went out and did it and just got back in to the beach but people shouldn't count on the locals to bail them out because they can't. This was not the first time this guy board had to be rescued.

Hey Darren would you mind explaining this "light wind relaunch "
Interested in the technique difference from a standard relaunch as I haven't heard of it
Cheers

waiting for tobys response.....

"light wind relaunch" is pretty much the technique required to relaunch a c kite on 4 lines, applied to a hybrid...

U swim towards the kite so that it rolls on its back instead of trying to pull the outside lines for a straight relaunch. Then u swim to one side of the window while pulling the outside line (not to much or u will overcook it and end up back where u started!). It does require a bit of practice but once mastered helps with confidence...

Great to see all your comments about individual sport and all that ...I totally agree with all this and it's all brilliant advice ...Unfortunately it's all very much beside the point when a situation like this has developed ...Maybe we should just let them drown ..That orta teach em a lesson !!!
I am sure this person has now learnt a lesson and luckily didn't have to drown to learn it ..
And no Spacemonkey they were not my mate ...In fact the accent was distinctly european...
My main point was the fact that nobody present seemed to care or notice that someone was OBVIOUSLY in trouble out there...
In this case the rider had rolled the lines and was at the kite attempting self rescue..How could you possibly know what sort of equipment failures may have occured when the person is already so far out..
It's a bloody long swim in when the wind is gradually picking up at the end of the day...

I have swum in big deal, what so now we have too look out for people who can't kite and can't swim. It's simple he shouldn't have been there if he wasn't clued in. That's offshore wind for you, you kite there knowing the consequences of gear failure. I help people out at woodies a lot of the time, just ask Sprucey I have rescued his kite.

People only generally rescue people who have their kites blowing out too sea unattached to the rider, or retrieve their boards. If they got all their gear then they are swimming. Even if someone had rescued this guys kite off him he would still need to swim in... I don't see what your complaining about.

Show a bit of Auzzie spirit boys .... SURE its an solo sport ... but if a persons in a bad situation ... ya help em ?? dont ya ??

Matty would have helped

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MartyJ said...

Show a bit of Auzzie spirit boys .... SURE its an solo sport ... but if a persons in a bad situation ... ya help em ?? dont ya ??

Matty would have helped

Ok Marty tell us how you would have helped, please enlighten us. Remember the wind is directly offshore light and marginal.

I probably would have done what Jim did in the end and ran up the beach to the sailing club to get help.........

That's exactly right !!! no argument with that at all ...They probably should not have been there ...Fact is they WERE there and they WERE obviously in trouble..
For whatever reason they were not making any ground toward the beach...Who Knows???? maybe they broke a leg or dis attached a retina ...Not so easy to make a judgement from the shore...
I could see they were in trouble ...
Maybe I'm wrong but there did seem to be a worrying lack of concern ...
On this I felt obliged to comment ..

If Toby had been there this wouldn't have happened
Tom Wasn't there ...

From a person thats spent most of there life on the water, i'm appalled to hear some of the attitudes here. What i love about water sports is the fact that everyone looks out for each other. Sure its a solo sport, but who goes out thinking "Hey, i dont think i'll get back..."

If this guy looked like they were in trouble, get them help! Doesn't mean you have to rescue them yourselves, but at least keep an eye out for each other and get them help in another way. Props to Jim for giving a ****.

Water is deadly. What if the guy had injured himself? What if he had an asthma attack? What if he had busted a line? Seems the issue was not that he was with his kite, but the fact that NO ONE cared.

Remind me NEVER to kite with some of the people that have posted here, and if i do find you in a situation, to leave you there and let you get yourself out of it.

If someone's in trouble you help them out.
No whats, ifs or buts.
Who wants to claim " I was down there when that guy/girl died"
Bad karma!

Just my 2 cents. The first principle of all rescue and first aid is to not put yourself at risk, which is all fine and dandy.

At the very least though you can let the person in trouble know that you can see them and you are watching them. If you can't do the rescue then you can call the police if necessary.

As for the guy in trouble, in marginal light offshore conditions then swimming in towing a kite is usually not that difficult. I've done it. Do all the self rescue stuff and that. If it is too hard then ditch the kite. You can always buy a new kite.

if they where really in trouble they would have released their kite and begun swimming back to shore in just their jocks [cus u make no headway with a harness and rashie on]. until they are willing to sacrifice the gear why should others put themselves in a risky situation?
someone going out to "save" them wouldn't save the kite and board as well so why go all the way out there to find someone who's not willing to leave the gear behind and then have to try get back themselves.

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Abesy said...

"light wind relaunch" is pretty much the technique required to relaunch a c kite on 4 lines, applied to a hybrid...

U swim towards the kite so that it rolls on its back instead of trying to pull the outside lines for a straight relaunch. Then u swim to one side of the window while pulling the outside line (not to much or u will overcook it and end up back where u started!). It does require a bit of practice but once mastered helps with confidence...

Oh I C nothing different there , just thought it was some new trick ? But I c not.
And to add to the thread if there is to ever be any assistance from anyone for any situation weather it be kiting or near drowning etc the person lending the assistance has to make the call weather it's safe to do so regardless, if he at all feels that he himself could suffer the same fate then he should bail on the whole thing , no use having 2 people down , this rule applies in every safety taught senario there is.
Jim was on the money IMO

I'm with Spacemonkey and kitecrazzzy... If noone comes to rescue you, something you can't rely or count on especially in offshore light wind conditions, you have to make a choice to ditch your gear in order to save your life. If you can't make it in with your gear then ditch it. Simple. If noone helps you out, you have to take care of yourself. Simple.

Also you don't know, the guys riding might well have had an eye on him and saw he was floating around out there but chose to wait or not to endanger themselves.

Bottomline is if you have to know that is only you out there, you can never count on anyone to help you.. If they do that's a plus.

And the thing about "Hey, i dont think i'll get back...".. Well partner then your are practicing the wrong sport. Noone thinks this way but you can never tell how the days session will evolve.. It is an extremesport, if you push it you will get injuries or equipment failure in some way at some point. Not very likely you will die but maybe that you will injure yourself and/or trash/lose your gear. That comes with the sport!! If you don't wanna take risks I suggest you stick to Chess, Canasta or Memory, as far as I know they are all perfectly safe sports.

Also was the guy screaming for help? If he wasn't, how could you know he was in trouble? If he wasn't screaming for help and was at the kite swiming in with it that seams all fine and dandy to me.. If he realises he won't be able to make it, he has to ditch his gear.. If he's drowning he should scream for help, wave his arms, anything but until then there's no real obligation to help, especially in this situation where it's more than likely you would put yourself at risk executing a rescue attempt

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vertigo said...

From a person thats spent most of there life on the water, i'm appalled to hear some of the attitudes here. What i love about water sports is the fact that everyone looks out for each other. Sure its a solo sport, but who goes out thinking "Hey, i dont think i'll get back..."

If this guy looked like they were in trouble, get them help! Doesn't mean you have to rescue them yourselves, but at least keep an eye out for each other and get them help in another way. Props to Jim for giving a ****.

Water is deadly. What if the guy had injured himself? What if he had an asthma attack? What if he had busted a line? Seems the issue was not that he was with his kite, but the fact that NO ONE cared.

Remind me NEVER to kite with some of the people that have posted here, and if i do find you in a situation, to leave you there and let you get yourself out of it.

So,you are going to pick and choose who you would rescue,and those you would leave !

This is worse than the original scenario IMO

It's easy to sit behind a keyboard and say that he should have been rescued and that you would have done it. Here is some facts:
-People are never rescued at woodies unless their kites fly out to sea
-As a kiter a rescue would have been impossible using the kites
-The guy wasn't actually in physical trouble he was just a kook that shouldn't have been there
-He was rescued, by you! So what are you whining about that you had to take the initiative?

Problem is every person on this thread criticising has never ridden at woodies, it's not your standard rescue. It's not a beginners beach. I'm all for helping people out where possible but when they are attached to a mssive inflated kite I doubt they are going to drown. I know a whole lot of you are going to disagree but thats just because you dont understand, your judging it on face value.

Dave my man ,
I don't know if the person was screaming for help or not ..They were that far out I very much doubt anyone would have heard them anyway..
It's just back to my point again ..How could you know what condition the person is in by looking from the shore..I spotted them ,I watched them for quite a while and their situation was not improving ..I have no idea why they didn't dump the gear ..
Maybe if they had dumped it and started swimming I may have been less concerned..
I made a judgement on what I observed ,and for what ever reason, I figured this person was not having a good time out there..
I wasn't going to wait till they were out of sight..
Anyway I reckon this thread has now contracted a very bad case of semantics and this will be my last words ..
Probably if others at the spot had noticed and thought there was a problem then probably they may have done something ...I still worry just a teeny weeny bit ...
By the way I have seen Spacemonkey help people out before and his credentials are not questioned here..
It is all about the people who were actually there...

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Spacemonkey! said...

It's easy to sit behind a keyboard and say that he should have been rescued and that you would have done it. Here is some facts:
-People are never rescued at woodies unless their kites fly out to sea

lol.
Well there's the escape-clause right there. ^^
If you need a rescue at Woodies, on demand...
just lose the kite.
Simple.
Get UNPLUGG =D-----

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user said...

So,you are going to pick and choose who you would rescue,and those you would leave !

This is worse than the original scenario IMO

I will never pick and choose, it was said in anger at the people that said that they shouldn't have to look out for others. I know your saying that as a smart ass, so I wont direct this at you.

I have pulled people from the water in the past, and will continue to. Knowing that you may have saved someones life is a good feeling. If your a true "waterman", you wont even think twice. If someone looks like they may be in trouble, how hard is it to even return to the beach and make sure people are aware of the problem? To do anything else, even to ignore the person in danger, is a selfish act, and i hope one day people realise this.

As a sailor, i know i have put myself in harms way on many occasions. Every weekend i hit the water, i know that i may, no matter what my skill, not get back to shore under my own power. This is why there are rescue services that are trained specifically to deal with water rescues.

For anyone who questions this, i ask this. Should we close down all the Surf Lifer Saving Clubs, just because those that may need rescue should have evaluated their swimming ability better? Its the same scenario?

In addition to my last post, i'd like to add that i'm not saying people should put themselves in harms way to do the rescue themselves, but going off the original post, there was other means of rescue available at the site...

In various parts of the world,
property is considered more precious than its people.
Unfortunately human-life can be very cheap.

A loose kite that's tossing and tumbling, crazy-flying out to sea;
can be a wondrous sight to behold.
Crew will hotly pursue the wheeling beast, like mad dogs nipping at car tyres.
Chasing down feral airfoils can be fun.

On the other hand, sadly...
a stricken newbie slowly floating on flatwater with his limp weapon presents a less exciting spectacle.

eddie would go...

chill pill maybe i should start a buisiness and have a boat at each of the kite spots and charge 10 bucks per rescue i could also organise to ppup crew from downwinders and bring them back after their sesh but then again if the human spirit was truly alive i would go broke, if someone is in trouble and you have the abiltiy to render assistance it should be automatic and the reward is knowing you have made someones day.

people will always get into difficulty i can sympaphise with people being annoyed at beginners or morons putting themselves at risk but at the end of the day please make sure all your fellow kiters/poleys/swimmers/surfers are safe

everyone makes mistakes and you would hope they learn from it and dont do it again

anyhow all the best and happy australia day.

It's Australia Day???