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ajdesq Member  F-O-N Champion 2003  Member#: 6 Location: Registered: 24-07-2002 Diary Entries: 209 Mood: Living to kitesurf :-) |
3rd April 2007 Kite surfing: Greatstone Wind Direction: NNE Wind Stength: About 20kts Surf / Sea State: Mushy waves Air Temperature: 8 Sea Temperature: Cold Weather: Cloudy Max Speed: Distance Covered: What a difference to yesterday... cold, grey, but at least it was 8m/Protoy weather. I was about to let the cold put me off before a load of guys showed up and I decided I couldn't wimp out. A really nice bloke called Bruce went out of his way to help me launch my kite and gave me a few pointers on the water. I haven't experienced a lot of that kind of helpfulness on the local scene so that was nice for a change. The first couple of hours were pretty good, although I could never seem to get the straps right on the Protoy. They were either too tight or too loose, but the board itself is loverly! Did a couple of great (for me) jumps, landed nicely, and started to lick toeside riding. Even managed to do a couple of REALLY smooth turns. Despite ending up downwind, understandable as I'm getting used to a small board, I was about to award the sesh 5 stars. But then... As no-one was around I decided to self-land the kite in the water. But I didn't put the board on the beach first, I left it in the water. BIG MISTAKE! The kite landed, drifted, then the board got caught up in the lines. The kite powered up and I had absolutely no control over it whatsoever. I started getting dragged and was sh***ing myself. I was already unhooked so I pushed the 'Oh Shit' Last Resort eject device to detatch myself. Only it didn't detach. The head of the pin got caught in the loop of my harness, and under such immense pressure/load it was impossible to release. I was dragged upside down underwater, then launched a good 10 feet in the air, then dumped onto the beach and dragged along the sand, all the while desperately trying to detatch the kite. Eventually a lull hit, and only when the tension on the leash eased could I flick the pin to release the head and eject, but by now I could hold the leash with my hand anyway. Luckily I got up to the bar, untangled the board, and after a good 5 minutes (a long time when you're panicking and no-one is around cos you're so far downwind) got to the kite and made it safe. Needless to say I lost the 'mushroom' to the Chicken Loop release in all this. The whole incident has left me pretty shaken up and doubting the safety of GK eject systems, but if I learned one thing today: NEVER LEAVE THE BOARD IN THE SEA WHEN SELF-LANDING YOUR KITE! Actually, I'm pretty dam lucky to escape with little more than dented pride and shaken confidence! |
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