Fluff piece- what is THE dumbest thing you have done KBing?

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2027 Posts Windward

1999, November
After a quick kite lesson from Will Brady I was up and going (downwind)
bought his old windsurfer short board
because I wasn't done with windsurfing Laughing

(big mistake)

2000 ,January
Headed to SPI with 10.0 Slingy and a Sky Pirate
second day there I was getting a launch at Phlillip Money's place (no other kiters!)

The dude who was launching me didn't really care for kiters(as this was a windsurf place)
Their procedure was to stand between the buildings have somebody walk your kite to the edge of the water ,launch it and you walk out from buildings (stupid)
Well ,I was apprently taking too long and he chucked the kite out into the channel
I was drug to the water after a 20' leap landed me on the beach 5' below with lots of pilings and docks downwind
with enough force to bend my hook and fuck up my wrist for a couple months

great lesson for learning self launch
(at the flats with wife )

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

Tremendous stories!

You guys suck I never had any issues kiting

Well maybe once, there was this time at band camp, I mean the gaybar, weather looked weird - stormline sitting a few miles upwind.

Busted out the trusty windometer - never got above 19, sat there for 10 minutes, steady 19.

Toss up the 2001 slingy fuel - wind doubles just as it is airborne - kinda of a blur but remember looking down as the 157 surf on my fully extended reel leash was passing over people's heads as they scurried for cover.

Did one perfect touch and go and smacked down hard at the end of the sandbar - didn't look back to check for decapited bodies - just sailed off with tail between my legs

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2027 Posts Windward

it's the reason to NOT put your name on your kite
just walk away Laughing

carlitos · Since 02 Feb 2006 81 Posts NE pdx

two stories...

tried to kite in the straight between Zhuhai and Maccau (china). didnt know or didnt bother to ask any official about it. kited for about an hour. 15m and twin tip....then, what appeared to be a Chinese coast guard cutter, guns and all, comes racing towards me blasting a horn repeatedly. they screamed at me through a pa system. i dont speak Mandarin or understand it, but they were NOT being friendly by the tone and volume. stupid. its illegal to operate ANY personal watercraft in that zone.

my brother was kiting solo in front of the four seasons kauai (i think). there was a seal or sea lion or some "special" water mammal sitting on a rock just down wind. there was a huge private estate way up on the beach behind this "seal". there were orange cones and 2 hawaiian guards keeping people about 100 feet away from it. about 25 tourists, students and official observers looking at it or taking pictures and writing stuff on clip boards. the wind came up suddenly and my little bro (not all that little), gets pulled closer and closer to the rock where the seal was. the guards start waving him off. then he crashes and gets yarded, skipping across the water towards the now frightened animal. the kite slams into the water just a few feet from the seal, scaring it back into the water....then another gust hits and he gets pulled up onto the lawn of this huge estate where there was some cocktail party going on. he didnt leave the grounds of the hotel again.

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 713 Posts city of angels Addicted

These are funny. That seal story is great.

I guess the dumbest thing I've ever done was to kite in offshore winds in the Nahalem Bay. (the wind was onshore relative to the coast, but offshore relative to my launch in the bay). Anyway, I'm cruising around, and then realize I'm having a hard time staying upwind, which has never been a problem (i think it was the current). So, I end up like a mile from where I started.
Also, I purposely dumped the kite right before I got to shore (no one to catch it), but then got carried in the current and had to swim for awhile. I should have pull right up to the shore, then dumped the kite.
Lessons: don't kite in offshore conditions, and dont dump your kite till you're on solid ground.

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

endangered hawaiian monk seal - priceless!

magicmaker · Since 29 Oct 2006 895 Posts da Hood Opinionated

last year, i decided to go out in 25 - 35+ on my 9 meter because my 7m was @ airtime getting repaired. anyway, nobody else is out, except Jim, giving or finishing up a lesson, so i rig up, prepare to self launch doing a pivot launch. anyway, i guess i didn't connect one of my leading edge lines, because as soon as the kite popped up it started looping, like a crazed mf'ing kite.

well, i'm trying to control the damned thing and i'm getting pulled down the beach, on my chest, layed out like superman flyinc across the sand for a couple of minutes. anyway, i figure, there is no way i can fix this, or even stand up for that metter, and i can just let go of my bar and my safety line will grab the kite which will depower and i'll be fine. well, in my struggle with the kite somehow, my leash accidentally came undone so after i let go of my bar, kite is just flying down the beach faster, it seems, than i can run. there is nobody down wind of my kite. anyway, i take off running after my kite, Jim takes off running after my kite, at some point i grab the bar and try to pull one of hte outside lines, no luck, keep getting dragged down the beach by a mad looping kite. my hands are just getting shredded from holding on to 1 line. let go of hte kite again, it takes off downwind towards the edge of hte sandbar where, thankfully, the kite finally comes to a rest with the canopy down and the LE towards the wind, and i am able to jump on the kite and stop it from flying away again.

that day sucked.

and then again last sunday, when i was coming in off my 7m fuel, flying the kite to land in the parking lot, thinking it is not very strong out so i unhook and continue to fly my kite in unhooked. anyway, a gust comes, kite is in my left hand, kite flies up, picks me up off the ground, left hand on the kite, i do an f-16 50 feet from the peanut gallery into the sand. landed layed out on my chest, but worst of all there is a mom and two little kids. kite hit the ground past where they were standing. i didn't let go of the kite until after it had finished looping to make sure it didn't come down hard on the kid or mom. i have NEVER seen somebody get the eff off the kite beach so fast in my life.

both times i walked away unhurt, except for a few bruises and my ego Embarassed

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

stupidest: spring 2003, 2nd day of owning my first inflatable, I decide I want to fly it no matter what. So we got out to Sauvies, it was cloudy and maybe blowing 4mph. I have Nicole hot launch my Naish Aero I 10m kite. I then have to run backwards to get the thing to fly and stay in the air.

It was really fun for about 30 seconds until it fell out of the sky, onto the other side of the burm, into the blackberries. Amazingly the kite was ok.

scariest/stupidest: november 2003, trip to maui, using same 10m kite... I got a great day by myself in Waliea kiting off of one of the swimming beaches... so the next day I thought I'd try again from one of the other beaches.

Flash to 20 minutes later the wind is literally 0-30mph. I am being pushed offshore in offshore wind, and my only option to get back to shore is to body drag over a nasty looking reef.

The whole time I am being tea bagged and absolutely cannot ride the board without being picked off of it or have my kite fall out of the sky.

Finally I stop panicking and start thinking I can body drag better than I can ride in this wind, so I manage to dodge the reef and I end up on a lower beach.

Nicole was waiting for me on the beach, she wasn't too concerned but said people kept coming up and asking "is he supposed to be doing that?" as I was getting tea bagged 20 feet at a time.

Sid · Since 31 Mar 2008 83 Posts Right behind you.

Man, those stories make me feel pretty lucky.

I think I did my stupidest move this weekend. I handed my kite off to my friend (who I shall not name) so I could cinch my harness down tighter and didn't get my leash unhooked. I stepped back from him which threw my kite into a spiral and yanked us off our feet. It took me about 50 feet to register what the heck was going on as we were getting drug through the water with my kite spinning like mad in front of us. It's kinda hard to find your leash release when you are getting submarined but I managed to reach my clip just as my friend was saying "uh, how far are you going to let us go here?" I finally got us unclipped after about 15 loops. Luckily we were in shallow water and we managed to miss the poor guy taking a lesson just to the left of us. I'm just happy no one was in front of us.

I apologized to the guys instructor and later had to laugh as she didn't even bat an eye like she had seen it all. I was feeling pretty small until a poor dude right after that self launched straight down wind and was drug through the sand upside down on his head. Shame transfer.

stringer · Since 31 Jul 2007 694 Posts Chucktown Flying Tomato

I once went out at Sauvie wearing a shorty with no boardshorts, a boardleash, and a gay-ass pink helmet.

gross

needless to say, sasquatch gave me crap

i think this is big enough...

boardrider · Since 05 Apr 2006 1034 Posts Ventura, CA XTreme Poster

Light wind day & cold a shit in early April - Cape Hatteras, NC. Convinced Esther and my brother to do a 2 mile downwinder in a CANOE w/ kite to kite beach. This is much harder than it first may sound Confused

. Relaunching a kite from a canoe sucks. We were all fozen stiff - completely wet - canoe full of water. After a super shakey & very cold hour, we made it to kite beach feeling lucky to be on the sand. A guy looks at us and said ' that looks cool ' Twisted Evil

.