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Excellent tutorial ! One situation I remember wasn't when kiting, it was while we were fishing, the dyneema line was caught in the propellor of the outboard and didn't break. Within seconds my rod was pulled out of my hands (50m line out) and trashed in the propellor. Same can happen with a kite line when a boat goes over it, only thing you can do is to disconnect as quick as possible as the engine will pull you to it very fast. I'll always remember how it went with the fishing rod, it was scary how quickly that happened.
Wow great video! Thanks KE team, looking forward to your future content. 🤘 And yeah I did had an accident, and unfortunately not only once. Most of the time it was because I was already tired, spent that day too much time on the water while riding strong winds, and then one wrong move and you're out 😅
Thank you Dean for sharing your kitesurf experience with us. it is good that you know why the accident actually happen and luckily you are smarter now hehe and the accident went without any serious injury :)
Fantastic video, I will again share with my students. My only comment would be putting the leash release next to the hook might mean accidently releasing CL and leash at the same time. (if in a stress situation!). But i take your point about one arm being injured. Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you Paul :)) Every time before your next kite session, remind your self what safety systems you have and how to use them, this will help you in reacting better and quicker :)
thanks for a such nice video !!!! we are always watching for tutorials for the next tricks !! and always thinkings that our materials are so expensives!!! we always thinks i will never put away the safety line dont matter !!!! but on sunday a young french guy dead in normandie !! i hope all my french kiters brothers will see this video!!!!!
Hey man ! Really nice 1st episode ! I would maybe just add something about the use of the leash quick release: If you are far from the coast (too far to swim), think twice before using it, you will loose a good flotation device and a way to be spotted... ! Be careful also close too the shore due to the potentiel impacts downwind on the other beach users: swimmer, tourists... I would say that the safety leash quick release is the only safety you need to think a few seconds before using it in some cases...
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us Jean-Baptiste. As I mentioned in the episode "this is why it is important to not kite too far out because you may have to swim back". If the kite is still aggressively pulling you and looping after using the chicken loop quick release and you are being pulled towards the shore or rocks unfortunately there is not so much time to think in my opinion. I would highly recommend to immediately use the safety leash quick release. This will lose the tension in the lines and the kite will most probably stop looping, which would also prevent to hurt someone on the way. This being said it is also true that a kite flying with the bar connected on the beach can hurt someone. But I truly believe it is much less dangerous for you and for others than if the kite is still connected on yourself and looping on someone's head, or imagine being dragged with the kite on the beach... As I said this 3rd safety systems is to use when you are still in danger after ejecting the chicken loop quick release, I'm pretty sure people won't use it without thinking it through since you are fully disconnecting yourself from the kite with a big chance of loosing your gear, but as Eugene wisely said in the episode, equipment is not worth your life. Thank you again for sharing your opinion here it is super interesting to have different points of view, Cheers, Petar Pavlovic
I can agree with that. Once I was in a situation where I already used #1 and #2 and I already collected my kite in the water. But then I didn't want to let it go. Not only because I didn't want to lose it, but I was happy to have a flotation device with me. It wasn't a funny situation as the wind was blowing me offshore and I had no chance to swim against it with the kite. To make things worse, the lines were tangled around my legs. I decided to wave for the rescue boat and wait for it while hanging on to my kite. The main point I want to make here is that there can be lots of different situations and you need to weight all your options when making a decision.
@@andrasgefferth968 Thanks for sharing your experience with us ! Sounds like you did well. Offshore wind, as always is not safe for practicing kitesurfing, but good that you knew there was a rescue boat in case something happens to you. After using the first 2 safety systems (letting go of the bar and chicken loop quick release) and the kite lost all the tension there is definitely no reason to eject your kite completely, so smart decision indeed. Although it does not sound so safe to have all the lines wrapped around your legs. Were you trying to perform self rescue or did you just pull on the lines to reach your kite as fast as possible ?
@@kitesurfexperiencebypetar Here is in detail of what's happened: I was kiting in Prasonisi. For those who don't know the spot: It is a sandy beach with water on both sides. One with on-shore winds, usually some waves and preferred by kitesurfers. The other side has off-shore wind, flat water and therefore preferred by windsurfers. The off-shore side also has some (1-3) rescue boat operated by the windsurf schools. This sounds good, but there is a small channel between the two sides, so it is possible to ride from one side to the other. I started on the "kite" side, ie. the one with on-shore winds. I wanted to make a downloop, but things got wrong, my kite ended up in the water, and I was running full speed towards my kite, having all the lines lose tension. I did my best to untangle the lines, get them off my bar to prevent looping, before the lines are under tension again. I think I made a good job, but then I wasn't 100% sure whether I succeeded, so I decided to activate the chicken-loop quick-release, hoping to slowly get dragged to the shore. (Now I know it was a bad decision. Especially since if the lines are not clear, the kite may not flag out completely and start to loop. And I don't even have the bar close to me to be able to correct it. BTW this is a good example of when NOT to activate #2, unless immediately followed by #3: when lines are tangled ). After that I started to collect the lines as in a proper self-rescue, first securing the flag-out line, making sure it will always be the only line to be under tension and then collecting all the other lines, trying slowly to avoid getting tangled. I did this a couple of time, and never had any issue. But then I was facing another problem: As you may have guessed I was dragged towards the channel (that is to the off-shore side as opposed to the beach). Not only that, but my board was swimming faster downwind than I was. In an attempt to catch up with my board I was in a hurry and didn't pay enough attention to the lines. When I finally got the board and the kite holding under my arm, I was already at the boarder of the on-shore and the off-shore sides. I could feel the bottom with my feet, but couldn't stay there as the wind was too strong, so I got dragged into the off-shore side. Then luckily I saw a windsurf instructor, who I knew, riding along and I could shout to him asking for rescue. When making my decisions of e.g not cutting all the lines from my leg and letting go off the kite and board I took into account that I knew there was a rescue boat. So I decided it is both safer and cheaper to hold on to my kite as a flotation device. I think overall I ended up quite well. I was a bit surprised that the rescue did not come earlier as, I believe, rescuing a kitesurfer is a rather small job for 100 euros, as that's the rate they charge for the rescue.
@@andrasgefferth968 Yes, if your lines loose tension, can often happen that they twist around the bar. In this situation I would make sure that the lines are not twisted around any part of your body and be ready to chicken loop quick release in case the kite starts looping without you touching the bar. If the kite doesn’t loop but is stable on the water, I would check that for sure no lines are twisted around the bar. I recommend to relaunch the kite even if the lines are fully twisted with each others, as always the red (or on some brands different colors) is the left side, so would be just a bit different feeling of controlling the kite but still possible to fly it so you can body drag or even ride back to the shore. If you already ejected your CL QR for any reason, like being scared of a bad scenario or even because your kite was looping without you touching the bar, if the kite lost all the tension and is not aggressively pulling you, I would recommend to first try to recover your chicken loop and luckily no lines are twisted around the bar nor around your kite, so you can again relaunch it. But in case it is too much of a big mess with the lines around your bar or the kite then it's a good decision to start with self rescue procedure as you did. Once you hold on the kite and just in this moment there are lines twisted around your legs, then yes, there definitely was no reason of cutting the lines as you were are already holding the kite and preventing it to get any power again.
It's good to see kites have better safety features than in the passed. I abandoned kitesurfing 15 years ago because of a very dangerous incident where my kite got caught in a wave and the chicken loop safety was a pin with some webbing attached. It dragged me over a reef that could have killed me. I see people drop their kites in whitewash all the time and won't release. The other issue not mentioned here is running over lines and being snagged or consequently entangled or worse, cut.
Thank you Vane :)) No worries many people didn't know for the 4th Safety System as it's not so often used, but it's definitely better to have a safety knife for those bad scenarios.
Очень крутой видос!!! Поделился со всеми своими ученикам и друзьями-инструкторами. Возможно, это даже кому-то спасёт жизнь. Спасибо за раскрытие столь важной и "болючей" темы кля кайтеров всех уровней. Катайтесь осознано и в безопасности!!!
Still being super new… I’ve found releasing the bar quickly if I’m overpowered or going to fast etc is already a great, quick “solution” so far. But I can’t say I’ve been in any super dodgy situations yet!
good video indeed. it seems like a lot of kite schools don't pay enough attention on working with a safety system. they just tell you that you have to use a chicken loop or a hard release if something happen and that's it. it's definitely not enough. the students need to work with different release techniques including a self-landing using a chicken loop release until they get used to it. just because students don't know how the kite would behave after the release they hesitate to use it when it's needed. let say they are trying to self-land the kite during a strong wind when it doesn't want to
Hey Denis, thank you for your comment, this is one of the main reasons I decided to create this Kitesurf UA-cam Channel. Its first purpose is to cover for every kiter who didn’t have a complete learning of the basics and safety in kitesurfing or they simply forgot about things they learned during their first lessons, so they can use this videos as a reminder.
Very good summary. But let me add my points: I don't suggest to let the bar go in the following situations: 1, You started a loop but didn't finish it yet. I know it's not a beginners thing, and as a beginner you will never loop on purpose. So for beginners, whenever you don't control the situation it's a good idea to let the bar go. But if you do the loop on purpose, you rather finish it whatever happens (if you can) and only let the bar go, when the kite is pointing up again. 2, You find yourself in the air and see you're going to fall. If you want a soft landing pull the bar in all the way. But don't steer it, keep it at 12. Especially when you are in a shallow water.
Good points, I agree with that, to be focused on the steps you mentioned if you feel in control of the situation and most important when you have your kite under control. Again, if you don’t know what is happening and you don’t feel in control LET GO THE BAR. One important thing to know also, if you are falling in shallow water, never fall with your legs or arms straight in the water, always with a flat body so on the back or on your stomach.
@@kitesurfexperiencebypetar Absolutely: if you're not in control you can make things much worse by trying to pull the lines randomly. In this case let the bar go. In most cases this is a good decision, in other cases it is the least bad decision. Probably one should practice how to fall in shallow water: I didn't and didn't make the best decision in the 0.5 second I had, so I hurt my leg :( Fortunately I can still walk, but no kiting for my for a few weeks.
@@andrasgefferth968 So sorry to hear that, I hope you get well soon. Yes, by my opinion shallow water can be very dangerous for this exact reason, but many people think that practicing kitesurfing in shallow water is much safer than deep water. If I really have to teach kitesurfing in shallow water, this is the number 1 safety rule I tell my students, to always try and fall on the back or the stomach.
I'm surprised that many kite brands are still color coding the left and right bridle attachments on the kite. You DO NOT NEED to connect your safety line to the red bridle attachment. Depending on where you are kiting, you may want to attach your safety line to the other bridle attachment for self landing. I was shocked to see that my new 2022 Orbit was color coded still. That confuses beginners.
Use in combination with how to stop a deathloop video. Cutting lines is the only method that could help in certain deathloops, but takes more time than stalling the kite which doesn't ruin your lines.
Hi Dmitriy, thank you for your comment, as Anton explained and showed a good examples of surviving the deathloop we can see that on most of the bars you would not be able to cut any line from your bar to stop the deathloop, so stalling your kite is probably the best option.
Let me point out yet another safety option: #5, detach your harness! Not the most common situation, but your bar-end may be stuck in your harness hook. The result: "infinite loop". You have no chance to use #1, #2 or even #3. You may (or may not) be able to reach some of the lines to cut, but cutting the wrong line may result in stronger looping, or simply looping in the other direction. If your harness has a quick release that may be your only option. (Note: there are other ways to stop looping, but it's best to keep in mind all your options)
Yes death loop can be a very tricky situation, especially if the bar gets stuck under your hook. Luckily most of the brands are paying attention to this now and producing bars with end/line winders and floaters quite thick to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately Core bars still look quite thin to me. Anyway in this situation not even the line cutter helps you as you don’t have really options on what to cut, the episode of Anton shows the best example of what you should do. You are right, would be great to have a harness with a quick release system, unfortunately I didn’t see any harnesses with that feature. Do you know any brand of harnesses with a quick release option ? If so could you please share with us the name, brand of the harness ? Thank you so much for your interest in Kitesurf Experience. Cheers
Hey Robbie Nice to read you were a Windsurfer ! I think kitesurfing should be easy for you then ! Just a bit of practice with an instructor and you would enjoy it for sure :)
Nice video on safety systems. The biggest cause of fatalities in kiting though is making bad decisions. Going out in bad weather systems, using a kite that to too large( especially in conditions over 19 knots), etc.. Also there is no safety system in modern kite design for lofting while launching or landing kites. Once lofted the damage is already done and you are traveling at a high velocity up instantaneously. Even with cat like reflexes on the quick release, the damage is already done.
Thank you :) There are definitely also accidents happening because of weather conditions, kiters should always check the weather conditions and the best is to ask around and understand the clouds and wind effects. But again it is often because people are hesitating on using the Safety Systems. Actually mostly experience kiters are trying to control the situation as much as possible and are too late in triggering the safety systems. It would definitely solve or help with the problem even if you see that you are lifted to immediately react, maybe you fall from one or two meters high but it is safer than to just wait and see where you're going to end up and then react. There is nothing to lift you while launching or landing a kite if you follow the safest steps. The problem of people flying while launching their kites is because they are not doing it correctly (already connected to the chicken loop, too much in the power zone, launching with two hands etc...) or just in a hurry to launch... The episode about how to safely launch and land is coming out soon :) It is super important that people don't hesitate on using all the safety systems. Everyone should practice from the start of their kitesurfing journey on how to properly use all safety systems to get the right reflexes (let go of the bar, chicken loop quick release, safety leash quick release).
There are only 2 Let go of bar Chicken loop set release to complete disconnect from kite If you have to pull two releases to completely disconnect your dead in a critical crash. Current safety design is designed for people who chicken out too often and who are too fearful of having to buy a new kite
The idea of a single front line as a safety system is such that you can depower the kite safely while still keeping your kite attached so you don’t lose it. That’s either because a. 90% of the people are too cheap and indecisive to let $1000 dollars fly out of their hands b. 10% have the where with all to be considered about other people down wind. Most likely A the kite didn’t need to be released B lines are already fouled and releasing to a single won’t help or will complicate matters, or make a bad situation worse by making the kite even more unpredictable. All of the accidents I’ve witness and personally experienced and those I’ve read about that serious injury or death occurred there was no chance to hit two releases. That might take four seconds. That’s an enternity and it creates more potential complications The only safe method is single point release
@@scottklandl488 Hey Scott, Ok now I understand. Correct me if I’m wrong, you are saying that it would be best to have just one safety release which would immediately and completely release the kite from you. Very interesting ! I still truly believe people have time to use at least the first 2 safety systems or if necessary all 3 safety systems (like I said by connecting your safety leash in front of you will also save you some time if you have to use it) . I think most of the time some people try everything to control the situation and save their kite more than thinking about immediately releasing when it starts to get nasty. I just saw a video with a pro rider again not releasing but hanging to his kite while he got lifted in the forest, fortunately nothing dramatic happened to him in the end. But more importantly in most cases people didn’t practice the reflex of using the safety systems at all or just once at the beginning of their kitesurfing journey.. I met many advanced kiters coming with me for lessons, never wanting to let go of the bar go or who had never tried to use the CL QR before and worse who didn’t know they should disconnect the CL QR when a line is tangled on their bar and the kite is looping. I think this is the biggest issue and in my opinion everyone should practice the safety systems regularly on every level also to check if everything works fine. Can you please share with us your experience of the accident that happenned to you where you didn’t have time to use your safety systems?
Most people don’t have the time to hit one safety system. Last week I saw a guy get jacked and launched 20 feet forward in the air and dragged for another 20-40 feet (7-15m before his kite crashed and luckily was caught by some bushes) no way would he have had time to hit two releases, he couldn’t hit one while flying through the air. He was a good rider but something had fouled his lines, releasing to a front line might not have saved him if it was one of the fouled lines. There have been arms broken, legs and necks broken in this same launch, In your own vid you say your three reasons to release cl Winds to strong… a flopping kite is more dangerous than one that has too much power and is dragging you but you can control You’re scared a flopping kite is gonna tangle and if your scared how are you going to have the. Mental awareness to properly reach your floppy kite avoiding lines and contain it before something goes wrong . Nope not gonna happen You’re own third reason is lines fouled. Releasing to one line may not help, highly likely if something else is fouled, might make things worse or maybe better but it’s a gamble. There’s a way that guarantees safety. And the consequences? Less than impending serious injury which IS THE ONLY TIME you should release a kite. The notion that you will be safe if you release your CL brings a false sense of security. 60% of the time I see things get worse when. People release and they were NOT in immediate danger. Once kite is flagged out the less experienced rider is in more danger because the original danger wasn’t that great and the experienced rider would never have released the kite. Ps In 20 years I’ve never released my kite intentionally
I’d also strongly argue against people being concerned about other people with the idea of releasing their kite. People aren’t even aware or concerned about other people when launching their Kite, making launchers deal with bucking kites because of a lack of wind awareness or putting people downwind of them at risk
kitesurfing is super dangerous when the weather conditions suddenly deteriorate, 2 days ago at my house in Normandy, France, the wind went from 20 to over 45 knots in really 2 minutes, a guy on a kite did not didn't see it coming, he lost control, got ripped off, he was thrown several tens of meters, he ended up in a restaurant window, dead, he was 31, he wasn't a beginner. coming from windsurfing, I had tried kiting but I immediately understood the danger and I gave up, many of my kitesurfing friends are now wingfoil, because it's much safer
Hey, thank you for your comment, I heard about this tragical accident in Normandy. My girlfriend has a house there and many friends were very concerned. One of our friend was kiting that day and luckily he went came out of the water just 5 minutes before the crisis. Unfortunately this is the example of kiters hesitating to use their safety systems thinking they will manage to control the situation. I also was thinking for many years that I was a super good kiter so in many dangerous situations I was trying to save the equipment as it’s expensive. After I injured myself I learned a big lesson and I understood that your life and safety is way more important than the gear. No matter what storms kicks in if we use our Safety Systems correctly without hesitation we are 100% safe, at least the kite would not harm you. This is the main reason of me making this episode, to remind people of the importance of the safety systems, because I heard and I saw many people ending in bad situations just because they didn't use their safety systems in time. In every sport you should choose the safest options. A French actor died in skiing recently. No helmet….Those kind of sports can be dangerous of course but if you are learning about safety rules and practicing wisely no reason to never ski again or never kitesurf again. Let’s not give up on this amazing water sport but learn how to be the safest in kitesurfing. There will be an episode around meteorological situations, clouds etc and how to recognise if a storm is coming. Stay safe, Petar
I saw that. Many will say….why didn’t he let go or use safety system? They do not understand that when things go bad, they go bad really fast. Wind lift force is exponential and not linear. When you are instaneously lifted and traveling at high velocity……the damage is done even if you let go of the bar or activate the quick release. Many fatalities are very experienced kiters who knew safety systems very well. Very bad news about your friend and tragic news.
@@webstken Did you ever get lifted and couldn't react ? Please share your experience here with us. Like I said the problem is mostly with experienced kiters thinking they can handle the situation without immediately using the safety systems. I was one of them before thinking more about my expensive equipment than my own life. Again, even if you are lifted and you react you can definitely avoid more tragic situations. Also going kiting alone or without checking the weather in the next hours is never recommended, it is very important to not go kiting if you see certain clouds appearing. Some dangerous clouds you unfortunately cannot see on the forecast, just on radars maybe an hour before they come. We should really pay more attention on the clouds and try to take the best decisions on going for a session or not and coming out of the water in time. Understanding when the storm is coming...episode coming soon.
If you have learned anything with my tutorials I would be so grateful for your support by purchasing one KE t-shirt, you can do it over my PATREON account: www.patreon.com/kitesurf or by sending us an email on info@kitesurfexperience.com
Excellent tutorial !
One situation I remember wasn't when kiting, it was while we were fishing, the dyneema line was caught in the propellor of the outboard and didn't break. Within seconds my rod was pulled out of my hands (50m line out) and trashed in the propellor.
Same can happen with a kite line when a boat goes over it, only thing you can do is to disconnect as quick as possible as the engine will pull you to it very fast. I'll always remember how it went with the fishing rod, it was scary how quickly that happened.
Thank you Werner :)
Yes, definitely your story sounds scary 😬
Very helpful video. Looking forward to Petar's future videos!
Thank you Jaksa ! Your support means a lot ! There's a lot more to come ;)
Great job, very quality content!! Subscribed and cannot wait for more episodes!
Thanks a lot Yari, and yes it is just the beginning :)
Wow great video! Thanks KE team, looking forward to your future content. 🤘
And yeah I did had an accident, and unfortunately not only once. Most of the time it was because I was already tired, spent that day too much time on the water while riding strong winds, and then one wrong move and you're out 😅
Thank you Dean for sharing your kitesurf experience with us. it is good that you know why the accident actually happen and luckily you are smarter now hehe and the accident went without any serious injury :)
excellent video for reminding about importance of safety systems :) super easy explained and very helpful especialy for new kiters
Keep it up Pero
Thank you Mario, we are happy to hear that you like the episode :)
great video guys! always good to have a reminder on basic safety 🙏
Thank you Alex, we are happy that you find it useful :))
Fantastic video, I will again share with my students. My only comment would be putting the leash release next to the hook might mean accidently releasing CL and leash at the same time. (if in a stress situation!). But i take your point about one arm being injured. Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you Stephen :))
Awesome concept, great examples! Thanks for this video, looking forward for more episodes! Great content 👍
#kitesurfing
Thank you very much, there is much more to come stay tuned :)
Super helpful video! Every kitesurfer on any level should watch this! Keep up this great channel! Definitely worst to support you on patreon! 👍❤️
Thank you so much Eric, for your "worst" support haha I hope you mean "that it's worth it" 😅😄
Definitely a good reminder. But how can we make it a strong reflex ?
Thank you Paul :))
Every time before your next kite session, remind your self what safety systems you have and how to use them, this will help you in reacting better and quicker :)
Finally I know how to use quick release properly!!
Thank you Milan ! I am glad this could be of use :) I hope to see you soon on the water !
thanks for a such nice video !!!! we are always watching for tutorials for the next tricks !! and always thinkings that our materials are so expensives!!! we always thinks i will never put away the safety line dont matter !!!! but on sunday a young french guy dead in normandie !! i hope all my french kiters brothers will see this video!!!!!
ouu not nice to hear that :((
Definitely safety is number one in kitesurfing which many riders ignores, not respecting the elements can be dangerous.
Hey man ! Really nice 1st episode ! I would maybe just add something about the use of the leash quick release: If you are far from the coast (too far to swim), think twice before using it, you will loose a good flotation device and a way to be spotted... ! Be careful also close too the shore due to the potentiel impacts downwind on the other beach users: swimmer, tourists... I would say that the safety leash quick release is the only safety you need to think a few seconds before using it in some cases...
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us Jean-Baptiste. As I mentioned in the episode "this is why it is important to not kite too far out because you may have to swim back". If the kite is still aggressively pulling you and looping after using the chicken loop quick release and you are being pulled towards the shore or rocks unfortunately there is not so much time to think in my opinion. I would highly recommend to immediately use the safety leash quick release. This will lose the tension in the lines and the kite will most probably stop looping, which would also prevent to hurt someone on the way. This being said it is also true that a kite flying with the bar connected on the beach can hurt someone. But I truly believe it is much less dangerous for you and for others than if the kite is still connected on yourself and looping on someone's head, or imagine being dragged with the kite on the beach...
As I said this 3rd safety systems is to use when you are still in danger after ejecting the chicken loop quick release, I'm pretty sure people won't use it without thinking it through since you are fully disconnecting yourself from the kite with a big chance of loosing your gear, but as Eugene wisely said in the episode, equipment is not worth your life.
Thank you again for sharing your opinion here it is super interesting to have different points of view,
Cheers,
Petar Pavlovic
I can agree with that. Once I was in a situation where I already used #1 and #2 and I already collected my kite in the water. But then I didn't want to let it go. Not only because I didn't want to lose it, but I was happy to have a flotation device with me. It wasn't a funny situation as the wind was blowing me offshore and I had no chance to swim against it with the kite. To make things worse, the lines were tangled around my legs. I decided to wave for the rescue boat and wait for it while hanging on to my kite.
The main point I want to make here is that there can be lots of different situations and you need to weight all your options when making a decision.
@@andrasgefferth968 Thanks for sharing your experience with us ! Sounds like you did well. Offshore wind, as always is not safe for practicing kitesurfing, but good that you knew there was a rescue boat in case something happens to you. After using the first 2 safety systems (letting go of the bar and chicken loop quick release) and the kite lost all the tension there is definitely no reason to eject your kite completely, so smart decision indeed. Although it does not sound so safe to have all the lines wrapped around your legs. Were you trying to perform self rescue or did you just pull on the lines to reach your kite as fast as possible ?
@@kitesurfexperiencebypetar Here is in detail of what's happened: I was kiting in Prasonisi. For those who don't know the spot: It is a sandy beach with water on both sides. One with on-shore winds, usually some waves and preferred by kitesurfers. The other side has off-shore wind, flat water and therefore preferred by windsurfers. The off-shore side also has some (1-3) rescue boat operated by the windsurf schools.
This sounds good, but there is a small channel between the two sides, so it is possible to ride from one side to the other.
I started on the "kite" side, ie. the one with on-shore winds.
I wanted to make a downloop, but things got wrong, my kite ended up in the water, and I was running full speed towards my kite, having all the lines lose tension. I did my best to untangle the lines, get them off my bar to prevent looping, before the lines are under tension again. I think I made a good job, but then I wasn't 100% sure whether I succeeded, so I decided to activate the chicken-loop quick-release, hoping to slowly get dragged to the shore. (Now I know it was a bad decision. Especially since if the lines are not clear, the kite may not flag out completely and start to loop. And I don't even have the bar close to me to be able to correct it. BTW this is a good example of when NOT to activate #2, unless immediately followed by #3: when lines are tangled ).
After that I started to collect the lines as in a proper self-rescue, first securing the flag-out line, making sure it will always be the only line to be under tension and then collecting all the other lines, trying slowly to avoid getting tangled. I did this a couple of time, and never had any issue.
But then I was facing another problem: As you may have guessed I was dragged towards the channel (that is to the off-shore side as opposed to the beach). Not only that, but my board was swimming faster downwind than I was.
In an attempt to catch up with my board I was in a hurry and didn't pay enough attention to the lines.
When I finally got the board and the kite holding under my arm, I was already at the boarder of the on-shore and the off-shore sides. I could feel the bottom with my feet, but couldn't stay there as the wind was too strong, so I got dragged into the off-shore side.
Then luckily I saw a windsurf instructor, who I knew, riding along and I could shout to him asking for rescue.
When making my decisions of e.g not cutting all the lines from my leg and letting go off the kite and board I took into account that I knew there was a rescue boat. So I decided it is both safer and cheaper to hold on to my kite as a flotation device.
I think overall I ended up quite well. I was a bit surprised that the rescue did not come earlier as, I believe, rescuing a kitesurfer is a rather small job for 100 euros, as that's the rate they charge for the rescue.
@@andrasgefferth968 Yes, if your lines loose tension, can often happen that they twist around the bar. In this situation I would make sure that the lines are not twisted around any part of your body and be ready to chicken loop quick release in case the kite starts looping without you touching the bar. If the kite doesn’t loop but is stable on the water, I would check that for sure no lines are twisted around the bar. I recommend to relaunch the kite even if the lines are fully twisted with each others, as always the red (or on some brands different colors) is the left side, so would be just a bit different feeling of controlling the kite but still possible to fly it so you can body drag or even ride back to the shore.
If you already ejected your CL QR for any reason, like being scared of a bad scenario or even because your kite was looping without you touching the bar, if the kite lost all the tension and is not aggressively pulling you, I would recommend to first try to recover your chicken loop and luckily no lines are twisted around the bar nor around your kite, so you can again relaunch it. But in case it is too much of a big mess with the lines around your bar or the kite then it's a good decision to start with self rescue procedure as you did.
Once you hold on the kite and just in this moment there are lines twisted around your legs, then yes, there definitely was no reason of cutting the lines as you were are already holding the kite and preventing it to get any power again.
It's good to see kites have better safety features than in the passed. I abandoned kitesurfing 15 years ago because of a very dangerous incident where my kite got caught in a wave and the chicken loop safety was a pin with some webbing attached. It dragged me over a reef that could have killed me. I see people drop their kites in whitewash all the time and won't release.
The other issue not mentioned here is running over lines and being snagged or consequently entangled or worse, cut.
Peter really does have great videos. Content is excellent
Thank you very much :))
パブロビッチ
先生
とても素晴らしい解説です
ありがとうございました。
学校で習うのはカイトの入口の学習だけです！
先生の体験を見て、沢山のカイトボーダーが学習して上達すると思います
👏👏👏
ありがとう、気に入ってもらえて嬉しいです
This is very useful, I didn't know about the 4th one,
Thank you Vane :))
No worries many people didn't know for the 4th Safety System as it's not so often used, but it's definitely better to have a safety knife for those bad scenarios.
Очень крутой видос!!! Поделился со всеми своими ученикам и друзьями-инструкторами. Возможно, это даже кому-то спасёт жизнь. Спасибо за раскрытие столь важной и "болючей" темы кля кайтеров всех уровней. Катайтесь осознано и в безопасности!!!
Спасибо большое, я рада, что вам понравилась серия :))
Have you ever had an accident in kitesurfing ? Do you know why it actually happened ?
Still being super new… I’ve found releasing the bar quickly if I’m overpowered or going to fast etc is already a great, quick “solution” so far. But I can’t say I’ve been in any super dodgy situations yet!
Great video Petar, thanks!
Thank you for watching Ben :))
Really good work bro! I will recommend my students to watch your videos.
Thank you so much Dennis ! This is also one of the main reasons I started this UA-cam channel :)
A Hook knife is also useful when wrapped in fishing lines. Some fishing lines are almost as strong as kitelines and won’t break. They need to be cut.
oo yeah definitely, on many kite spots I visited there been fishing nets, so it's a must to have a knife.
good video indeed. it seems like a lot of kite schools don't pay enough attention on working with a safety system. they just tell you that you have to use a chicken loop or a hard release if something happen and that's it. it's definitely not enough. the students need to work with different release techniques including a self-landing using a chicken loop release until they get used to it. just because students don't know how the kite would behave after the release they hesitate to use it when it's needed. let say they are trying to self-land the kite during a strong wind when it doesn't want to
Hey Denis, thank you for your comment, this is one of the main reasons I decided to create this Kitesurf UA-cam Channel. Its first purpose is to cover for every kiter who didn’t have a complete learning of the basics and safety in kitesurfing or they simply forgot about things they learned during their first lessons, so they can use this videos as a reminder.
Very good summary. But let me add my points:
I don't suggest to let the bar go in the following situations:
1, You started a loop but didn't finish it yet. I know it's not a beginners thing, and as a beginner you will never loop on purpose. So for beginners, whenever you don't control the situation it's a good idea to let the bar go. But if you do the loop on purpose, you rather finish it whatever happens (if you can) and only let the bar go, when the kite is pointing up again.
2, You find yourself in the air and see you're going to fall. If you want a soft landing pull the bar in all the way. But don't steer it, keep it at 12. Especially when you are in a shallow water.
Good points, I agree with that, to be focused on the steps you mentioned if you feel in control of the situation and most important when you have your kite under control. Again, if you don’t know what is happening and you don’t feel in control LET GO THE BAR. One important thing to know also, if you are falling in shallow water, never fall with your legs or arms straight in the water, always with a flat body so on the back or on your stomach.
@@kitesurfexperiencebypetar Absolutely: if you're not in control you can make things much worse by trying to pull the lines randomly. In this case let the bar go. In most cases this is a good decision, in other cases it is the least bad decision.
Probably one should practice how to fall in shallow water: I didn't and didn't make the best decision in the 0.5 second I had, so I hurt my leg :( Fortunately I can still walk, but no kiting for my for a few weeks.
@@andrasgefferth968 So sorry to hear that, I hope you get well soon.
Yes, by my opinion shallow water can be very dangerous for this exact reason, but many people think that practicing kitesurfing in shallow water is much safer than deep water. If I really have to teach kitesurfing in shallow water, this is the number 1 safety rule I tell my students, to always try and fall on the back or the stomach.
I'm surprised that many kite brands are still color coding the left and right bridle attachments on the kite. You DO NOT NEED to connect your safety line to the red bridle attachment. Depending on where you are kiting, you may want to attach your safety line to the other bridle attachment for self landing. I was shocked to see that my new 2022 Orbit was color coded still. That confuses beginners.
Hey Jeff, yes that is true, not really necessary for the bridle attachments to be color coded.
nice piece of work
Thank you Philippe :)
Great content 👍
Thank you :))
Use in combination with how to stop a deathloop video. Cutting lines is the only method that could help in certain deathloops, but takes more time than stalling the kite which doesn't ruin your lines.
Hi Dmitriy, thank you for your comment, as Anton explained and showed a good examples of surviving the deathloop we can see that on most of the bars you would not be able to cut any line from your bar to stop the deathloop, so stalling your kite is probably the best option.
Let me point out yet another safety option: #5, detach your harness!
Not the most common situation, but your bar-end may be stuck in your harness hook. The result: "infinite loop". You have no chance to use #1, #2 or even #3. You may (or may not) be able to reach some of the lines to cut, but cutting the wrong line may result in stronger looping, or simply looping in the other direction.
If your harness has a quick release that may be your only option. (Note: there are other ways to stop looping, but it's best to keep in mind all your options)
Yes death loop can be a very tricky situation, especially if the bar gets stuck under your hook. Luckily most of the brands are paying attention to this now and producing bars with end/line winders and floaters quite thick to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately Core bars still look quite thin to me. Anyway in this situation not even the line cutter helps you as you don’t have really options on what to cut, the episode of Anton shows the best example of what you should do.
You are right, would be great to have a harness with a quick release system, unfortunately I didn’t see any harnesses with that feature. Do you know any brand of harnesses with a quick release option ? If so could you please share with us the name, brand of the harness ?
Thank you so much for your interest in Kitesurf Experience.
Cheers
I used to windsurf but I never have tried this Kite dangling .
Hey Robbie
Nice to read you were a Windsurfer ! I think kitesurfing should be easy for you then ! Just a bit of practice with an instructor and you would enjoy it for sure :)
Nice video on safety systems. The biggest cause of fatalities in kiting though is making bad decisions. Going out in bad weather systems, using a kite that to too large( especially in conditions over 19 knots), etc.. Also there is no safety system in modern kite design for lofting while launching or landing kites. Once lofted the damage is already done and you are traveling at a high velocity up instantaneously. Even with cat like reflexes on the quick release, the damage is already done.
Thank you :)
There are definitely also accidents happening because of weather conditions, kiters should always check the weather conditions and the best is to ask around and understand the clouds and wind effects. But again it is often because people are hesitating on using the Safety Systems. Actually mostly experience kiters are trying to control the situation as much as possible and are too late in triggering the safety systems. It would definitely solve or help with the problem even if you see that you are lifted to immediately react, maybe you fall from one or two meters high but it is safer than to just wait and see where you're going to end up and then react.
There is nothing to lift you while launching or landing a kite if you follow the safest steps. The problem of people flying while launching their kites is because they are not doing it correctly (already connected to the chicken loop, too much in the power zone, launching with two hands etc...) or just in a hurry to launch... The episode about how to safely launch and land is coming out soon :)
It is super important that people don't hesitate on using all the safety systems. Everyone should practice from the start of their kitesurfing journey on how to properly use all safety systems to get the right reflexes (let go of the bar, chicken loop quick release, safety leash quick release).
There are only 2
Let go of bar
Chicken loop set release to complete disconnect from kite
If you have to pull two releases to completely disconnect your dead in a critical crash.
Current safety design is designed for people who chicken out too often and who are too fearful of having to buy a new kite
Hey Scott
Thanks a lot for your comment !
Only thing I have trouble understanding what you’re saying exactly. Let me know what you meant.
Thank you
The idea of a single front line as a safety system is such that you can depower the kite safely while still keeping your kite attached so you don’t lose it. That’s either because a. 90% of the people are too cheap and indecisive to let $1000 dollars fly out of their hands b. 10% have the where with all to be considered about other people down wind.
Most likely
A the kite didn’t need to be released
B lines are already fouled and releasing to a single won’t help or will complicate matters, or make a bad situation worse by making the kite even more unpredictable.
All of the accidents I’ve witness and personally experienced and those I’ve read about that serious injury or death occurred there was no chance to hit two releases. That might take four seconds. That’s an enternity and it creates more potential complications
The only safe method is single point release
@@scottklandl488 Hey Scott,
Ok now I understand. Correct me if I’m wrong, you are saying that it would be best to have just one safety release which would immediately and completely release the kite from you. Very interesting !
I still truly believe people have time to use at least the first 2 safety systems or if necessary all 3 safety systems (like I said by connecting your safety leash in front of you will also save you some time if you have to use it) . I think most of the time some people try everything to control the situation and save their kite more than thinking about immediately releasing when it starts to get nasty. I just saw a video with a pro rider again not releasing but hanging to his kite while he got lifted in the forest, fortunately nothing dramatic happened to him in the end.
But more importantly in most cases people didn’t practice the reflex of using the safety systems at all or just once at the beginning of their kitesurfing journey.. I met many advanced kiters coming with me for lessons, never wanting to let go of the bar go or who had never tried to use the CL QR before and worse who didn’t know they should disconnect the CL QR when a line is tangled on their bar and the kite is looping.
I think this is the biggest issue and in my opinion everyone should practice the safety systems regularly on every level also to check if everything works fine.
Can you please share with us your experience of the accident that happenned to you where you didn’t have time to use your safety systems?
Most people don’t have the time to hit one safety system. Last week I saw a guy get jacked and launched 20 feet forward in the air and dragged for another 20-40 feet (7-15m before his kite crashed and luckily was caught by some bushes) no way would he have had time to hit two releases, he couldn’t hit one while flying through the air. He was a good rider but something had fouled his lines, releasing to a front line might not have saved him if it was one of the fouled lines.
There have been arms broken, legs and necks broken in this same launch,
In your own vid you say your three reasons to release cl
Winds to strong… a flopping kite is more dangerous than one that has too much power and is dragging you but you can control
You’re scared a flopping kite is gonna tangle and if your scared how are you going to have the. Mental awareness to properly reach your floppy kite avoiding lines and contain it before something goes wrong . Nope not gonna happen
You’re own third reason is lines fouled. Releasing to one line may not help, highly likely if something else is fouled, might make things worse or maybe better but it’s a gamble. There’s a way that guarantees safety. And the consequences? Less than impending serious injury which IS THE ONLY TIME you should release a kite.
The notion that you will be safe if you release your CL brings a false sense of security. 60% of the time I see things get worse when. People release and they were NOT in immediate danger. Once kite is flagged out the less experienced rider is in more danger because the original danger wasn’t that great and the experienced rider would never have released the kite.
Ps In 20 years I’ve never released my kite intentionally
I’d also strongly argue against people being concerned about other people with the idea of releasing their kite. People aren’t even aware or concerned about other people when launching their Kite, making launchers deal with bucking kites because of a lack of wind awareness or putting people downwind of them at risk
kitesurfing is super dangerous when the weather conditions suddenly deteriorate, 2 days ago at my house in Normandy, France, the wind went from 20 to over 45 knots in really 2 minutes, a guy on a kite did not didn't see it coming, he lost control, got ripped off, he was thrown several tens of meters, he ended up in a restaurant window, dead, he was 31, he wasn't a beginner. coming from windsurfing, I had tried kiting but I immediately understood the danger and I gave up, many of my kitesurfing friends are now wingfoil, because it's much safer
Hey, thank you for your comment, I heard about this tragical accident in Normandy. My girlfriend has a house there and many friends were very concerned. One of our friend was kiting that day and luckily he went came out of the water just 5 minutes before the crisis. Unfortunately this is the example of kiters hesitating to use their safety systems thinking they will manage to control the situation. I also was thinking for many years that I was a super good kiter so in many dangerous situations I was trying to save the equipment as it’s expensive. After I injured myself I learned a big lesson and I understood that your life and safety is way more important than the gear. No matter what storms kicks in if we use our Safety Systems correctly without hesitation we are 100% safe, at least the kite would not harm you. This is the main reason of me making this episode, to remind people of the importance of the safety systems, because I heard and I saw many people ending in bad situations just because they didn't use their safety systems in time. In every sport you should choose the safest options. A French actor died in skiing recently. No helmet….Those kind of sports can be dangerous of course but if you are learning about safety rules and practicing wisely no reason to never ski again or never kitesurf again. Let’s not give up on this amazing water sport but learn how to be the safest in kitesurfing.
There will be an episode around meteorological situations, clouds etc and how to recognise if a storm is coming.
Stay safe, Petar
I saw that. Many will say….why didn’t he let go or use safety system? They do not understand that when things go bad, they go bad really fast. Wind lift force is exponential and not linear. When you are instaneously lifted and traveling at high velocity……the damage is done even if you let go of the bar or activate the quick release. Many fatalities are very experienced kiters who knew safety systems very well. Very bad news about your friend and tragic news.
@@webstken Did you ever get lifted and couldn't react ? Please share your experience here with us.
Like I said the problem is mostly with experienced kiters thinking they can handle the situation without immediately using the safety systems. I was one of them before thinking more about my expensive equipment than my own life. Again, even if you are lifted and you react you can definitely avoid more tragic situations.
Also going kiting alone or without checking the weather in the next hours is never recommended, it is very important to not go kiting if you see certain clouds appearing.
Some dangerous clouds you unfortunately cannot see on the forecast, just on radars maybe an hour before they come. We should really pay more attention on the clouds and try to take the best decisions on going for a session or not and coming out of the water in time. Understanding when the storm is coming...episode coming soon.
отличное видео
Спасибо Oleg за участие :))
@@kitesurfexperiencebypetar always happy to help😂😂😂! I think after your good video other accidents like mine!
@@olegta4581 hahaha hopefully no more accidents :))
💪💪💪
Thank you Marko :))
@@kitesurfexperiencebypetar thank you for making this videos, and allowing people like me to learn something new in a best way.
Bless you brother 💪💪💪
@@markocalic9806 So nice to hear this words, Thanks a lot Marko :))
Fali ti 5 ; ua-cam.com/video/SjA5CEzZrTU/v-deo.html
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, nice video.