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gymshoe
Since 19 Aug 2007
29 Posts
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 Thu Jun 11, 15 3:56 pm Shout out to whoever RESCUED my kite near WS bridge |
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The leading edge on my 5.5m Drifter (teal/orange/yellow) deflated today mid-river in front of the White Salmon bridge. I had to ditch it to save myself.
A big thanks to whoever dragged my kite ashore at the WS sandbar!
I owe you, man. |
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Mtjustice100
Since 14 Jun 2014
49 Posts
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| Sat Jun 13, 15 12:02 am |
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Sweet glad to hear your ok! It was nuking! I found the kite floating about the middle of the river, middle of wells. Stoked to help! Glad those dudes I left it with got it back to you too. Happy shred brotha;
PS this dude had his bar nicely wrapped... Made for an easier recovery. Remember always wrap it up. |
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kitezilla
Since 22 Jun 2006
453 Posts
gorge
Obsessed
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| Sat Jun 13, 15 8:43 am |
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gymshoe,
Out of curiosity... I have never found a loose kite on the water with the lines wound up. My question is... if you were able to successfully perform the first and most difficult part of a “self-rescue”, that is “getting to the kite”....so, why did you not stick with the kite and use it like a little sailboat in order to pull you to shore?
I know that some kites are hard to “peel” off the water and get into the right (upside-down) position in order to pull the wingtip up high off the water, and thereby use it like a little sail to motor you back to shore. Was that it? Or were you too cold to stay in the water any longer? |
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user124
Since 02 Aug 2012
390 Posts
Portland
Obsessed
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| Sat Jun 13, 15 9:47 am |
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| kitezilla wrote: | gymshoe,
Out of curiosity... I have never found a loose kite on the water with the lines wound up. My question is... if you were able to successfully perform the first and most difficult part of a “self-rescue”, that is “getting to the kite”....so, why did you not stick with the kite and use it like a little sailboat in order to pull you to shore?
I know that some kites are hard to “peel” off the water and get into the right (upside-down) position in order to pull the wingtip up high off the water, and thereby use it like a little sail to motor you back to shore. Was that it? Or were you too cold to stay in the water any longer? |
When I've had to self rescue with a deflated kite there was no way it was going to work as a sail. Once most of it is wet and under water it's just a big soggy sea anchor. I was able to get it back to shore with a tow from another kiter, but it was difficult. |
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gymshoe
Since 19 Aug 2007
29 Posts
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| Sat Jun 13, 15 10:15 am |
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MtJustice100: you're awesome, thanks again. To be honest, if I had been in your shoes, I don't know how I would have brought the kite in. Did you just roll it up, pick it up, and kite-in one-handed?
Kitezilla: Good question, and probably multifactorial answer.
I did try to use the Kite as a mini-sail, but with the leading edge gone, I couldn't get much leverage to push the kite high enough off the water to catch much wind. (Any tips on how to do that better?) It was taking a lot of effort from me and I wasn't getting much "pull" from the kite. I was also trying not to lose my board (I had no leash) with one arm, at the same time I was trying to get the kite out of the water and into the wind with the other. Finally, I was at the end of a 2hr session when the mishap occurred, so I was a bit tired and cold. Maybe if I was fresh, I would have been able to affect a self-rescue better. In any case, at that point, I focused on saving myself, before I didn't have the strength to do even that.
Thanks all. |
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Mtjustice100
Since 14 Jun 2014
49 Posts
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| Sat Jun 13, 15 10:16 am |
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| Umm as far as using a kite full of water as a sail, don't got any tips on that. Not sure it's even possible.... With the struts inflated i think it's just a big floaty at best. getting it to shore was a little tricky i kinda rolled it sorta and jut held it with one hand and kited with the other. |
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sromano1995
Since 22 May 2013
240 Posts
Portland
Stoked
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| Sun Jun 14, 15 8:36 am |
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| Depending on what is the cause of the leading edge deflation, you may be able to inflate it back sufficiently to use as a sail. It happened to me last year. I thought that I had popped my bladder after tomawacking the kite. Once I got back to shore one painful hour later and dragging my sea-anchor kite, I realized that the valve had popped. If I had simply put it back and inflating a little by mouth, I would probably have been able to re-launch and ride back to shore... |
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kitezilla
Since 22 Jun 2006
453 Posts
gorge
Obsessed
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| Sun Jun 14, 15 9:58 am |
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I would not encourage anyone to do this, but...... if you have a tear in the leading edge and a burst bladder, you might be able to pull out some of the bladder and then inflate the wingtip end by blowing into it and then tying it in a knot to hold the air.
Problem is... you might pass out and drown. I don’t feel good when I try to even blow up a air matress.... kind of start to see grey... so, if you are already tired and cold, the last thing you want is to start to feel woozy.
Some kiters are using no-strut kites these days and might have to deal with a busted bladder on the water, in some fashion, like the above, to keep anything afloat. |
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rightguard
Since 22 Oct 2012
29 Posts
Maui
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| Sun Jun 21, 15 11:50 pm |
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| I had a leading edge deflate after popping the valve. I just took my time blowing it back up, and self rescued back in. It was a little harder without being totally pumped but it worked better than swimming. |
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gymshoe
Since 19 Aug 2007
29 Posts
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| Mon Jun 22, 15 9:10 pm |
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Excellent suggestion. Had not thought of it before, but will keep it in mind next time.
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