You're not taking lessons just for your own benefit. But for the benefit of all and the benefit of keeping kiting areas open.
Quality professional kiteboarding instruction should allow rapid, safer learning under controlled conditions using someone else’s kites and boards. Much of the trial, error, hazards and frustration that plagues folks trying to figure it out on their own can be avoided when you work with a capable instructor. Your speed of advancement in kiteboarding after proper training should also be faster than otherwise. This process should reduce the odds of painful and costly injury, damaged kite gear, threats to our access to ride and give you experience to make your own judgments on what gear to buy. A primary goal of adequate, quality instruction is to aid the rider in becoming an independent kiteboarder to allow safer experience building following training. Don’t fall in the trap of trying to figure out how to kiteboard from scratch with a friend who is new to the sport. This practice is not that uncommon and a very bad idea. There is too much that can go wrong during inexpert “training” and after.
Proper instruction can also help you to avoid looking like a kook. Experienced riders can give kooks a hard time at the local launch. Nobody wants to be an outsider. Learning mistakes accidents/incidents can also lead to bans. Also, there may be a growing trend in which certification is required to access some riding areas.
How much time should you spend in instruction? Can adequate instruction be accomplished in a single lesson, No. A taste of the sport, sure but not much else. SCUBA diving, hang gliding, boat operation and kiteboarding too, demand a realistic amount of time for proper training. Teaching the basic mechanical skills can be fairly quick BUT there is all that knowledge that is needed as well for safer kiteboarding. It’s a package deal, there is knowing how to steer a airplane for example and then there is learning how to OPERATE a plane under all the varied conditions including emergencies. Kiteboarding instructors indicate that first time students are requesting from 3 to 5 lessons currently. Kiteboarders may wish to come back to hone and develop skills following initial training.
Instruction costs however quality instruction may be the best investment you make in kiteboarding. Quality instruction can last a lifetime. For example, I still remember and draw from my first SCUBA diving course over 30 years ago. It was that detailed, effective and launched a fun sport for life.
What should you learn during professional instruction before you go out on your own to continue to carefully build experience? This subsequent phase should be with a more experienced kiteboarding buddy by the way. Some ideas follow. Not all instructors cover all these points in these early days as kiteboarding instruction is still fairly new. Still, you would do well to try to find a program that properly addresses the following:
Knowledge Development
1. How kites, boards and gear work.
2. Insight into the wind, wind window and influences on kite performance and power.
3. What to look for in good launch, riding and landing areas vs. poor areas.
4. What is a safety buffer (DISTANCE), and the critical importance of
maintaining one.
5. Wind, weather & water environment planning and monitoring. What causes unstable weather/wind and associated hazards, how to predict it and what to watch out for. What are suitable conditions and variables for riding, what
conditions should you avoid and what to look for.
6. Minimum kiteboarder physical capabilities such as swimming, fitness, warm up and warm down procedures.
7. Kiting rules of the road, kiting responsibility & protecting access to kite.
8. Gear selection (kite, line, board, wetsuit/drysuit, etc.), for predicted
conditions and kiteboarding safety gear (helmets, impact vests, gloves, knives, signalling devices, etc.).
9. Standard voice and hand signals e.g. launch, landing, rescue, etc..
10. Kiteboarding hazards (lofting, dragging, etc., emergency scenarios, avoidance and management.
11. What skills to work on following the initial training, tips for achieving them and precautions.
Some of this information may be conveyed while working with the instructor on the beach or in the water, during lectures or in hand outs. If your instructor doesn’t cover all this information you would do well to research these topics on your own.
Skill Development
1. Gear setup & putting it away, preflighting, basic preventative maintenance.
2. Launching and landing unhooked and launch angle selection for conditions.
3. Capable stable kite flight under a variety of conditions both unhooked and hooked in.
4. Ability to vary and maintain constant kite power through kite positioning and sinusoiding.
5. Kite safety (emergency depower), activation in repeated simulated emergencies and rearming including an overview of current safety systems.
6. Harness and trim strap use.
7. Solo and assisted kite launching and landing.
8. Body dragging upwind with and without a board from point to point.
9. Self rescue techniques including using the kite as a sail to return to shore and securing the kite and lines and swimming into shore.
10. Ability to relaunch kite from water.
11. Beach starting and rudiments of water starting on a board.
12. Tips on how to ride upwind.
Here are some things to compare when shopping for and selecting a kiteboarding instructor or school. No all instruction is equal and it is your interest to find the best training available. Bottom line, don’t take things for granted, do your homework and get the most out of your kiteboarding training.
1. Are they certified instructors by a recognized training organization? (such as PASA ,IKO, Real, FFVL, VDWS)
2. How long have they been professionally teaching kiteboarding?
3. What is their instructor to student teaching ratio?
4. What are his lesson plan, anticipated skill progression and time requirements for you considering your related experience, physical condition and predicted wind/conditions?
5. Is a primary goal training self-sufficient kiteboarders.
6. Is the training area sufficiently large, uncrowded and away from hard objects?
7. Does he have liability insurance and is the business registered?
8. Does he use a chase water craft (boat, wave runner, kayak) and radio communications?
9. Try to schedule your lessons when conditions are appropriate for learning, e.g. 12 to 18 kts., side to side onshore.
10. Do you communicate well and comfortably with the instructor?
11. Watch a class. What did they accomplish, did it appear to be well organized and effective what do the students think about the experience?
12. Has the instructor had student injuries, if so how and what are their emergency procedures?
13. Is new, well maintained equipment used with current safety systems along
with helmets and impact vests?
14. Can he offer any discounts on purchase of kiteboarding gear?
14. Is he affiliated with the local kiteboarding association?
15. Cost is an important consideration but not THE most important
consideration. Proper effective instruction can save you a lot of time,
frustration and possibly injury/damaged equipment in learning kiteboarding.
Quality instruction is a good thing. If you are interested in kiteboarding take the intelligent path and hookup with a Professional kiteboarding instructor for adequate, quality training. The experience should speed you on your way to safer enjoyment of this excellent sport.
Proper instruction can also help you to avoid looking like a kook. Experienced riders can give kooks a hard time at the local launch. Nobody wants to be an outsider. Learning mistakes accidents/incidents can also lead to bans. Also, there may be a growing trend in which certification is required to access some riding areas.
How much time should you spend in instruction? Can adequate instruction be accomplished in a single lesson, No. A taste of the sport, sure but not much else. SCUBA diving, hang gliding, boat operation and kiteboarding too, demand a realistic amount of time for proper training. Teaching the basic mechanical skills can be fairly quick BUT there is all that knowledge that is needed as well for safer kiteboarding. It’s a package deal, there is knowing how to steer a airplane for example and then there is learning how to OPERATE a plane under all the varied conditions including emergencies. Kiteboarding instructors indicate that first time students are requesting from 3 to 5 lessons currently. Kiteboarders may wish to come back to hone and develop skills following initial training.
Instruction costs however quality instruction may be the best investment you make in kiteboarding. Quality instruction can last a lifetime. For example, I still remember and draw from my first SCUBA diving course over 30 years ago. It was that detailed, effective and launched a fun sport for life.
What should you learn during professional instruction before you go out on your own to continue to carefully build experience? This subsequent phase should be with a more experienced kiteboarding buddy by the way. Some ideas follow. Not all instructors cover all these points in these early days as kiteboarding instruction is still fairly new. Still, you would do well to try to find a program that properly addresses the following:
Knowledge Development
1. How kites, boards and gear work.
2. Insight into the wind, wind window and influences on kite performance and power.
3. What to look for in good launch, riding and landing areas vs. poor areas.
4. What is a safety buffer (DISTANCE), and the critical importance of
maintaining one.
5. Wind, weather & water environment planning and monitoring. What causes unstable weather/wind and associated hazards, how to predict it and what to watch out for. What are suitable conditions and variables for riding, what
conditions should you avoid and what to look for.
6. Minimum kiteboarder physical capabilities such as swimming, fitness, warm up and warm down procedures.
7. Kiting rules of the road, kiting responsibility & protecting access to kite.
8. Gear selection (kite, line, board, wetsuit/drysuit, etc.), for predicted
conditions and kiteboarding safety gear (helmets, impact vests, gloves, knives, signalling devices, etc.).
9. Standard voice and hand signals e.g. launch, landing, rescue, etc..
10. Kiteboarding hazards (lofting, dragging, etc., emergency scenarios, avoidance and management.
11. What skills to work on following the initial training, tips for achieving them and precautions.
Some of this information may be conveyed while working with the instructor on the beach or in the water, during lectures or in hand outs. If your instructor doesn’t cover all this information you would do well to research these topics on your own.
Skill Development
1. Gear setup & putting it away, preflighting, basic preventative maintenance.
2. Launching and landing unhooked and launch angle selection for conditions.
3. Capable stable kite flight under a variety of conditions both unhooked and hooked in.
4. Ability to vary and maintain constant kite power through kite positioning and sinusoiding.
5. Kite safety (emergency depower), activation in repeated simulated emergencies and rearming including an overview of current safety systems.
6. Harness and trim strap use.
7. Solo and assisted kite launching and landing.
8. Body dragging upwind with and without a board from point to point.
9. Self rescue techniques including using the kite as a sail to return to shore and securing the kite and lines and swimming into shore.
10. Ability to relaunch kite from water.
11. Beach starting and rudiments of water starting on a board.
12. Tips on how to ride upwind.
Here are some things to compare when shopping for and selecting a kiteboarding instructor or school. No all instruction is equal and it is your interest to find the best training available. Bottom line, don’t take things for granted, do your homework and get the most out of your kiteboarding training.
1. Are they certified instructors by a recognized training organization? (such as PASA ,IKO, Real, FFVL, VDWS)
2. How long have they been professionally teaching kiteboarding?
3. What is their instructor to student teaching ratio?
4. What are his lesson plan, anticipated skill progression and time requirements for you considering your related experience, physical condition and predicted wind/conditions?
5. Is a primary goal training self-sufficient kiteboarders.
6. Is the training area sufficiently large, uncrowded and away from hard objects?
7. Does he have liability insurance and is the business registered?
8. Does he use a chase water craft (boat, wave runner, kayak) and radio communications?
9. Try to schedule your lessons when conditions are appropriate for learning, e.g. 12 to 18 kts., side to side onshore.
10. Do you communicate well and comfortably with the instructor?
11. Watch a class. What did they accomplish, did it appear to be well organized and effective what do the students think about the experience?
12. Has the instructor had student injuries, if so how and what are their emergency procedures?
13. Is new, well maintained equipment used with current safety systems along
with helmets and impact vests?
14. Can he offer any discounts on purchase of kiteboarding gear?
14. Is he affiliated with the local kiteboarding association?
15. Cost is an important consideration but not THE most important
consideration. Proper effective instruction can save you a lot of time,
frustration and possibly injury/damaged equipment in learning kiteboarding.
Quality instruction is a good thing. If you are interested in kiteboarding take the intelligent path and hookup with a Professional kiteboarding instructor for adequate, quality training. The experience should speed you on your way to safer enjoyment of this excellent sport.
New riders have NO BUSINESS launching in such conditions. Reportedly, several experienced riders opted NOT to launch in one of these cases.
* IF YOU ARE NEW, TAKE ADEQUATE QUALITY PROFESSIONAL LESSONS. Ideas to consider when interviewing and selection of an instructor appear here.
* IF you are on your own after adequate lessons, AVOID winds above 18 kts., no matter how tempting conditions might be, until you fully develop your basic skills.
* IF you are new to a launch, weather conditions, etc. ASK locals for constructive advice and listen carefully to what they say.
* If in doubt, blow it off to live to kite another day.
* If someone new shows up at your launch, take some time to get to know them, their background particularly in stronger conditions. Their health and your access may depend upon how well you communicate.
Don't push your luck, it may not be there to pick you up again.
* IF YOU ARE NEW, TAKE ADEQUATE QUALITY PROFESSIONAL LESSONS. Ideas to consider when interviewing and selection of an instructor appear here.
* IF you are on your own after adequate lessons, AVOID winds above 18 kts., no matter how tempting conditions might be, until you fully develop your basic skills.
* IF you are new to a launch, weather conditions, etc. ASK locals for constructive advice and listen carefully to what they say.
* If in doubt, blow it off to live to kite another day.
* If someone new shows up at your launch, take some time to get to know them, their background particularly in stronger conditions. Their health and your access may depend upon how well you communicate.
Don't push your luck, it may not be there to pick you up again.
The following is a reprint of an article from the latest issue of the magazine "Kiting" published by the AKA:
“Riding and Flying, FREE and At Will
Kiteboarding can be a very liberating, extreme sport. You throw yourself into it, after adequate preparation and safety considerations, to drive hard, fly high and long. The stoke of this sport is beyond compare and even addictive for many of us. In society though, with most great freedoms often comes responsibility to preserve that freedom. If you want the incredible stoke flung out in great gouts by this sport you have to take some care to protect your ability to ride. Kiteboarding sad to say, is NOT a God given constitutional right but can be easily lost.
Just like not landing your airplane on the highway, or respecting climbing rules in National Parks or waverunner operating restrictions in swimmer zones, if you wanna play you need to follow some reasonable practices and guidelines. If you don’t, you may well be shut down at some point.
Some kiteboarding restrictions have appeared in various areas. A few of these restrictions on access and riding are logical such as in the case of excessive beach crowding and should have been undertaken by riders, VOLUNTARILY before Big Brother stepped in. No one likes being overwhelmed by laws, if we use our head and fly at our sport responsibly, government should stay out of our way in most cases. Things like staying out of guarded swim areas while kiteboarding for instance when more thinly populated unguarded areas are present not so far away.
D I S T A N C E in kiteboarding can be a very good thing. It protects you the rider, bystanders and your ability to ride in many cases. If you don’t use distance you may be shredding more than just water, you may be shredding your ability to ride there in the long term. Being hooked on showing off to the crowd near the shoreline may well show you to the door and out of kiteboarding at your launch. Working things out with windsurfers in long term riding areas is a very good thing. Figuring out how to coexist is a is a more productive goal than promoting problems and rivalry through poor communication and indifference.
Consciously avoiding complaints and official concern are essential steps in protecting kiteboarding access in lots of areas. Many current restrictions started with complaints and repeated behaviors that gave substance to the complaints. Unfortunately, people often require to be “burned” to take a threat seriously as opposed to using the old noggin to dodge an obvious and avoidable threat in the first place. This trait has to have caused humanity a lot of heartache through the ages but there it is.
Concerned about kiteboarding FREE and at will for the long haul?
1. Do you see the basis for problems or complaints at your riding area?
2. Tactfully ask lifeguards, park rangers, bystanders if they see any problems or have complaints about kiteboarding on a periodic basis. Consider putting on kiting orientations for these public authorities, it may help them to manage and understand our sport a bit better.
3. If you see or hear about problems, figure out some reasonable solutions, gather the local kiteboarders including leading riders, shop owners, instructors, etc. and talk about what you folks have to lose and some means of keeping the good times flying. Once you decide on solutions, present them to the authorities and effectively promote them to local riders.
4. Promote kiteboarders to use D I S T A N C E. That is avoid guarded public beaches unless by prior agreement with the authorities in designated launch corridors. Also avoid annoying private homeowners in launch areas. Problems usually start with complaints.
5. Make sure that ALL kiteboarders use tested, function KITE depowering leashes. “Put a leash on that thing before it bites someone!”
6. Promote the Safe Kiteboarding Guidelines** and other appropriate practices at your launch. This collection of ideas is intended to try to improve rider and bystander safety and minimize complaints and threats to access. Add in your own local guidelines as necessary.
7. Consider having get togethers or KiteNites to bring riders together, create a sense of “community” and spread ideas on how to keep the good times flying at your local launch. (Lack of such organization and sense of union could lead to problems a lot sooner than later)
8. Contact your local kiteboarding association for help. If you don’t have one or need one, think about starting one yourself. It all starts with putting two or more concerned riders together with a mind to protect access to ride. It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, just effective!
9. Don’t let just one or two guys fall into the role of “kite cop.” These leaders are looking out for your access as well. There is strength in numbers, so when a rider needs to be set straight on what his riding practices are putting at risk, take your friends for best effect.
10. Many areas don't have problems but quite a few others do. Securing your access starts with identifying the problem in the first place and before things fly off too far south. So checkout things out at your local launches.
11. More ideas on preserving access appear at the AKA website at:
“Riding and Flying, FREE and At Will
Kiteboarding can be a very liberating, extreme sport. You throw yourself into it, after adequate preparation and safety considerations, to drive hard, fly high and long. The stoke of this sport is beyond compare and even addictive for many of us. In society though, with most great freedoms often comes responsibility to preserve that freedom. If you want the incredible stoke flung out in great gouts by this sport you have to take some care to protect your ability to ride. Kiteboarding sad to say, is NOT a God given constitutional right but can be easily lost.
Just like not landing your airplane on the highway, or respecting climbing rules in National Parks or waverunner operating restrictions in swimmer zones, if you wanna play you need to follow some reasonable practices and guidelines. If you don’t, you may well be shut down at some point.
Some kiteboarding restrictions have appeared in various areas. A few of these restrictions on access and riding are logical such as in the case of excessive beach crowding and should have been undertaken by riders, VOLUNTARILY before Big Brother stepped in. No one likes being overwhelmed by laws, if we use our head and fly at our sport responsibly, government should stay out of our way in most cases. Things like staying out of guarded swim areas while kiteboarding for instance when more thinly populated unguarded areas are present not so far away.
D I S T A N C E in kiteboarding can be a very good thing. It protects you the rider, bystanders and your ability to ride in many cases. If you don’t use distance you may be shredding more than just water, you may be shredding your ability to ride there in the long term. Being hooked on showing off to the crowd near the shoreline may well show you to the door and out of kiteboarding at your launch. Working things out with windsurfers in long term riding areas is a very good thing. Figuring out how to coexist is a is a more productive goal than promoting problems and rivalry through poor communication and indifference.
Consciously avoiding complaints and official concern are essential steps in protecting kiteboarding access in lots of areas. Many current restrictions started with complaints and repeated behaviors that gave substance to the complaints. Unfortunately, people often require to be “burned” to take a threat seriously as opposed to using the old noggin to dodge an obvious and avoidable threat in the first place. This trait has to have caused humanity a lot of heartache through the ages but there it is.
Concerned about kiteboarding FREE and at will for the long haul?
1. Do you see the basis for problems or complaints at your riding area?
2. Tactfully ask lifeguards, park rangers, bystanders if they see any problems or have complaints about kiteboarding on a periodic basis. Consider putting on kiting orientations for these public authorities, it may help them to manage and understand our sport a bit better.
3. If you see or hear about problems, figure out some reasonable solutions, gather the local kiteboarders including leading riders, shop owners, instructors, etc. and talk about what you folks have to lose and some means of keeping the good times flying. Once you decide on solutions, present them to the authorities and effectively promote them to local riders.
4. Promote kiteboarders to use D I S T A N C E. That is avoid guarded public beaches unless by prior agreement with the authorities in designated launch corridors. Also avoid annoying private homeowners in launch areas. Problems usually start with complaints.
5. Make sure that ALL kiteboarders use tested, function KITE depowering leashes. “Put a leash on that thing before it bites someone!”
6. Promote the Safe Kiteboarding Guidelines** and other appropriate practices at your launch. This collection of ideas is intended to try to improve rider and bystander safety and minimize complaints and threats to access. Add in your own local guidelines as necessary.
7. Consider having get togethers or KiteNites to bring riders together, create a sense of “community” and spread ideas on how to keep the good times flying at your local launch. (Lack of such organization and sense of union could lead to problems a lot sooner than later)
8. Contact your local kiteboarding association for help. If you don’t have one or need one, think about starting one yourself. It all starts with putting two or more concerned riders together with a mind to protect access to ride. It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, just effective!
9. Don’t let just one or two guys fall into the role of “kite cop.” These leaders are looking out for your access as well. There is strength in numbers, so when a rider needs to be set straight on what his riding practices are putting at risk, take your friends for best effect.
10. Many areas don't have problems but quite a few others do. Securing your access starts with identifying the problem in the first place and before things fly off too far south. So checkout things out at your local launches.
11. More ideas on preserving access appear at the AKA website at:
You have had your kiteboarding lessons and know how to setup your gear, solo launch and land, body drag, self-rescue, waterstart and ride somewhat, what now? You could always continue your lessons subject to financial and other considerations and/or you can try the following.
1. First, flying an airplane straight and level requires little skill but a great deal of knowledge, careful experience building and use of good judgment. Kiteboarding can be like that to some degree. You can master the basics rapidly but all that necessary knowledge may still be lurking in the wings and may not have been covered much in your lessons. So, you need to go after it! Learn about weather planning and monitoring, what characterizes a good launch, riding and landing area, managing emergency scenarios, safety gear and other "theory." Lots of information and ideas in this regard appear at the website of the Florida Kitesurfing Association at http://fksa.org/ under:
KITEBOARDING SAFETY & SUSTAINABILITY - KEEP THE GOOD TIMES FLYING!!!
2. Make sure you are setup with the proper rig out for safe kiteboarding including a good helmet, impact vest, gloves, etc.
3. Try to meet and hookup with other new kiteboarders and ideally a few experienced ones as well. Always ride with a kiteboarding buddy, it increases the fun, ease and safety. Watch other more experienced kiteboarders that use good, responsible techniques.
4. Research and pick a good training area. This may NOT be where a lot of other kiteboarders are located. Experienced guys may hang out at more advanced launches unsuitable for new kiteboarders. Few bystanders, wide sandy beaches, few rocks or pilings, minimal waves & currents are desirable.
More about potential launches will soon be uploaded to: South Florida Kite Launch Rules
5. Carefully pick your weather. Avoid gusty winds or wind much above 18 kts, early on and MAKE SURE the wind is side to side onshore and NOT onshore or offshore. Do your weather planning to verify the unstable weather isn't predicted to move in during your session. If the weather isn't suitable, easy, don't go kiteboarding!
Checkout: WEATHER & LAUNCH CONSIDERATIONS
6. Make sure you have the correct kite size for conditions, with all your gear in good repair and you understand its setup and function. Don't launch an unfamiliar kite in strong conditions. Check the manufacturer's table to verify that your kite falls near the lower end to center of the recommended wind range.
7. Work on assisted kite landing and safe solo landing in time, INSTANT solo depowering/landing (should an emergency threaten), maintaining a good downwind buffer zone, awareness of the weather and your surroundings at all times. Make sure that you can body drag upwind to AVOID the need for a board leash (these can hurt you).
8. Work on water starting while you are still working with a good instructor, ideally in sheltered waters with steady wind suitable for your kite size.
Take your time and CAREFULLY accumulate experience under favorable conditions. If in doubt about conditions, sit it out. Rushing into excessive conditions or unfamiliar circumstances have led to problems in the past. Why repeat readily avoidable mistakes? Kiteboarding is all about fun, have a care and have at it!
.
__________________
1. First, flying an airplane straight and level requires little skill but a great deal of knowledge, careful experience building and use of good judgment. Kiteboarding can be like that to some degree. You can master the basics rapidly but all that necessary knowledge may still be lurking in the wings and may not have been covered much in your lessons. So, you need to go after it! Learn about weather planning and monitoring, what characterizes a good launch, riding and landing area, managing emergency scenarios, safety gear and other "theory." Lots of information and ideas in this regard appear at the website of the Florida Kitesurfing Association at http://fksa.org/ under:
KITEBOARDING SAFETY & SUSTAINABILITY - KEEP THE GOOD TIMES FLYING!!!
2. Make sure you are setup with the proper rig out for safe kiteboarding including a good helmet, impact vest, gloves, etc.
3. Try to meet and hookup with other new kiteboarders and ideally a few experienced ones as well. Always ride with a kiteboarding buddy, it increases the fun, ease and safety. Watch other more experienced kiteboarders that use good, responsible techniques.
4. Research and pick a good training area. This may NOT be where a lot of other kiteboarders are located. Experienced guys may hang out at more advanced launches unsuitable for new kiteboarders. Few bystanders, wide sandy beaches, few rocks or pilings, minimal waves & currents are desirable.
More about potential launches will soon be uploaded to: South Florida Kite Launch Rules
5. Carefully pick your weather. Avoid gusty winds or wind much above 18 kts, early on and MAKE SURE the wind is side to side onshore and NOT onshore or offshore. Do your weather planning to verify the unstable weather isn't predicted to move in during your session. If the weather isn't suitable, easy, don't go kiteboarding!
Checkout: WEATHER & LAUNCH CONSIDERATIONS
6. Make sure you have the correct kite size for conditions, with all your gear in good repair and you understand its setup and function. Don't launch an unfamiliar kite in strong conditions. Check the manufacturer's table to verify that your kite falls near the lower end to center of the recommended wind range.
7. Work on assisted kite landing and safe solo landing in time, INSTANT solo depowering/landing (should an emergency threaten), maintaining a good downwind buffer zone, awareness of the weather and your surroundings at all times. Make sure that you can body drag upwind to AVOID the need for a board leash (these can hurt you).
8. Work on water starting while you are still working with a good instructor, ideally in sheltered waters with steady wind suitable for your kite size.
Take your time and CAREFULLY accumulate experience under favorable conditions. If in doubt about conditions, sit it out. Rushing into excessive conditions or unfamiliar circumstances have led to problems in the past. Why repeat readily avoidable mistakes? Kiteboarding is all about fun, have a care and have at it!
.
__________________
SAFE KITEBOARDING GUIDELINES – July 7, 2004
The following ideas are presented to try to improve kiteboarder and bystander safety, to reduce complaints and attempt to preserve our access to ride. These ideas have been taken from the analysis of over 100 accidents that have happened worldwide over several years. Many of these accidents might have been avoided if a bit more knowledge and care were used. Kiteboarding can be hazardous to the rider and to bystanders, particularly if practiced without adequate training, safety gear, knowledge and caution. NOTE: Riders must accept that even if these guidelines are followed, that accidents, injury and even death may occur in the "extreme sport" of kiteboarding. Kites can exert very substantial force with little to no warning with sudden gusts, improper line attachment, mishandling, etc., resulting in dragging and/or lofting, possibly with no time to effectively react. And, NO “you may not always be able to just let go or kill the power of the kite,” as many accidents have established. Your ability to safely and completely depower & drop your kite and otherwise manage in an emergency will weigh heavily on your technique, preparation and reliability of your gear.
Kiteboarders should consider these ideas, area specific guidelines if applicable along with other prudent and safe practices appropriate for local conditions. Cutting corners or picking and choosing safe kiteboarding practices can seriously reduce the rider’s factor of safety and increase the odds of an accident. Seek local, competent knowledge regarding safe local practices as special precautions may be indicated beyond those discussed here. Safety automatically increases to some degree once the rider becomes both aware of and takes potential hazards seriously. By contrast, ignorance and indifference raise the hazard level substantially and have frequently been a factor in avoidable accidents. These guidelines have been updated frequently over the years, so please check the FKA website for the latest version. Don’t use old versions of these guidelines as important changes occur with new knowledge gained over time.
GENERAL SAFETY GUIDELINES
1. JUMP TO HELP KITEBOARDERS. Readily help other riders with launching and landing using reliable agreed upon visual and audible communications. Whether you are starting out or are almost a pro, your help may avoid a serious incident/accident and possible restrictions. NEVER grab the lines of a flying or powered kite. Get involved with your local association or club and with area riders to try to preserve access to kiteboard. If you see someone putting your access at risk by poor practices, grab several of your friends and have a friendly talk with the guy, show some interest followed by your concerns. Riders are solely responsible for their safety and that of effected bystanders. If you are new to an area or visiting, seek out local kiteboarders, shops and/or associations for local guidelines and tips BEFORE riding. Don’t ruin things for the local riders.
2. GET ADEQUATE PRO KITEBOARDING TRAINING. Kiteboarders, particularly beginners should seek adequate, quality professional instruction. Beginners must avoid crowded areas particularly as kite control is still being developed. Beginners should body drag out at least 300 ft. (60m) from shore prior to water starting and should always stay out of guarded or restricted beach areas. Be careful in your launch area selection and be willing to drive and walk a bit further to have more ideal conditions. Build your skill and experience carefully in side or side onshore winds less than 15 kts. ideally, you should advance faster and more safely for your effort. Riders have been injured for choosing poor launches when far safer conditions were relatively close by. Be particularly careful in new conditions and at the START and END of the riding season. Many accidents occur in these times even among experienced riders. In kiteboarding, “DISTANCE IS YOUR FRIEND,” so use it!
3. KITEBOARD WITHIN YOUR LIMITS. Know your equipment’s limitations as well as your own. If you aren't 100% healthy OR IN DOUBT, DON’T FLY! You should be comfortable with conditions and your gear otherwise, don’t launch and “live to fly another day.” Always maintain an energy reserve while out kiteboarding. Hydrate regularly and wear adequate exposure clothing (wetsuit/dry suit), to deal with unexpected time in the water. Cold water kiteboarding requires additional critically important precautions as compared to warmer conditions and are beyond the scope of these guidelines. Don’t kiteboard alone or further from shore than you are readily able to swim in from.
4. USE A KITE LEASH, QUICK RELEASE, HELMET, IMPACT VEST and other reasonable safety gear. Make sure you have proper safety equipment, such as a tested, well maintained kite depowering leash securely attached to your body, a good well fitting helmet, impact vest, gloves, whistle and hook knife. Most kiteboarding fatalities involve head injury. A good helmet for kiteboarding, MAY aid in reducing injury and improve the chance of survival in many but not necessarily all impacts. A helmet is NO excuse to kiteboard carelessly. Regularly test and maintain a reliable chicken loop or kite depowering quick release. Relying upon manual unhooking alone to release your bar is UNRELIABLE based upon the accident experience. The rider needs to understand and accept that in an emergency, this quick release MAY NOT be accessible or function correctly in the critical seconds of the emergency. It is up to the rider to avoid the emergency in the first place and to aid proper function of the release through practice and maintenance.
5. LAUNCH, RIDE AND LAND WELL AWAY FROM BYSTANDERS. Give way to the public on the beach and in the water at ALL TIMES. Be courteous and polite to bystanders. Complaints have frequently led to bans and restrictions on kiteboarding in some areas and continue to do so on a regular basis. NEVER launch, ride or land upwind of nearby bystanders. Work to keep a minimum 300 ft. (100 m) buffer zone from bystanders.
6. BE AWARE OF THE WEATHER. Is the forecast and current weather acceptable, free of pending storm clouds and excessive gusty winds? Color radar can sometimes give a clue as to violent storm/gust potential. Are seas and wind condition within your experience, ability and appropriate for your gear? New kiters should practice in lighter, side or side onshore winds. Onshore winds have a much higher injury rate even among experienced riders and should be avoided. Offshore winds should be avoided in the absence of a chase boat. If storm clouds are moving in, land and thoroughly disable your kite well in advance of any change in wind or temperature, if necessary totally depower your kite by using your kite leash while still away from shore. Lightning can strike many miles ahead of storm clouds. Learn about unstable weather in your area and work to avoid squalls and storms through TV, radio and Internet information. Consider organizing an alert air horn and flag signal for your launch as a warning to riders of pending unstable weather.
PREFLIGHT CHECKLIST
1. USE GOOD LAUNCH AREAS. Make sure your launch is open, FREE OF DOWNWIND BYSTANDERS, hard objects, , poor or slippery footing, nearby power lines, buildings and walls etc. within at least 300 ft. (100 m), and preferably more particularly in higher wind. Too many riders have slammed into walls, parked cars, trees with better launches not so far away at all. Some riders have needed in excess of 600 ft. (200 m), to regain control in violent dragging or loftings in higher winds. Avoid kiteboarding near airports and in low flight path areas, complaints have led to restricted access in some areas. Never fly your kite in the path of low aircraft in flight, moving your kite low to the water at the first indication of inbound aircraft.
2. WHAT SIZE KITE ARE OTHER RIDERS USING? Check to see what size kite other kiteboarders are rigging and get their input on conditions. Try to select a kite size for the lower to middle part of the wind range. Do not rig too large a kite for conditions and carefully consider advice of more experienced riders. Failure to act on prudent advice has cost some riders severe injury and even death. If you don’t have a small enough kite to safely launch, DON’T!
3. CHECK & REPAIR YOUR GEAR BEFORE YOU FLY. Check your kite for tears or leaky bladders. If you have leaky bladders or tears in your kite, repair them before flying. Check ALL kite, harness, and control bar lines, webbing, pigtails, bridles, the chicken loop and leaders for knots, cuts, wear or abrasion. If the line sheathing shows any breaks or knots, replace them. The pigtails should be replaced no less frequently than every 6 months on inflatable kites. Inspect and test your quick release. Frequently, mentally and physically rehearse pulling your quick release in an imagined emergency situation. Make sure your flying lines are equal as they will stretch unevenly with use. If they have knots that can’t be easily untied, replace your flight lines. Do not casually make changes to manufactured equipment. What ever you do must work reliably in what conditions may come.
4. AVOID SOLO LAUNCHING. Solo launching and landing are NOT recommended and should be avoided particularly in stronger winds. Launch with a trained assistant, using reliable audible and visual signals. If solo launching make sure your kite is properly anchored with a substantial quantity of sand to avoid premature launch. Never use untrained bystanders to help you launch or land. Riders have been severely injured by making this easy mistake. Rig your kite for solo launch at the last minute and launch without delay AFTER CAREFUL PREFLIGHTING as serious accidents have happened in only minutes during this stage. If you leave the kite unattended, wrap up your lines, deflate the kite’s leading edge and roll it up. It is best to place the kite in a bag to avoid UV and wind damage.
5. CROSSED KITE LINES CAN WRECK YOUR DAY. Launching with crossed or snagged lines has maimed quite a few kiteboarders as the kite tends to fly up at very high speed, dragging or lofting the rider into a nearby hard objects faster than they can react. Walk down your lines and examine them carefully. Pick your bar up and carefully look down the lines for twists, tangles or snags that could cause the kite to be dangerously uncontrollable. While you are holding your bar up look down the lines, shake your bar to make sure the center lines are connected to the leading edge of the kite. Be particularly careful, slow and methodical in high winds. Multiple, careful preflighting in higher winds is strongly advised. Rigging "Kook Proof" connectors on our kite and lines is easily done with most kites and should be rigged on all your kites and bars.
LAUNCHING AND GETTING UNDERWAY
1. LAUNCH & LAND UNHOOKED WITH A GOOD BUFFER ZONE. Avoid hooking in or connecting with your quick release, while onshore or near hard objects. Practice LAUNCHING AND LANDING "UNHOOKED" or not connected to your chicken loop. Pull in your trim strap or rope entirely or to a point that will allow stable kite flight with existing wind conditions, to properly depower the kite before launching and so that you can readily hold the bar and release it if necessary. Always maintain minimum clear downwind buffer zones, particularly while flying unhooked. Physically and mentally rehearse managing emergency situations including just "letting go" of your bar. Connect to your quick release once you are well offshore. Question: IF you have a proper buffer zone AND your kite properly depowers upon release, WHAT is the downside of launching unhooked? That is considering you could be spared from a real slamming one of these days if you stay hooked in during launch and landing.
2. KEEP IT LOW & GO! … to try to avoid lofting or involuntary lifting. In general, DO NOT bring your kite much above 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) from the ground and NEVER to the vertical, within 300 ft. (100 m) of shore or any hard object at most launch areas . Never launch, fly or land upwind and close to the shore or hard objects or stand on the beach for extended with your kite in the air. This careless practice has killed and maimed riders. This practice MAY reduce the chance of lofting but may also promote dragging and serious injury in gusty/strong wind conditions. So, if you are dragged be ready to totally depower instantly using your kite leash and ideally before the dragging starts in the first place. HAZARD AVOIDANCE IS THE KEY along with rapid preemptive, rehearsed actions. Do not fly your kite near vertical or sloped surfaces that can cause uplift and sudden dragging/lofting (walls, buildings, hills, tree lines, etc,). Avoid thermal generating areas as sudden thermal lofting can occur. Launch in the appropriate part of the wind window to avoid “hot” or over-powered downwind launches. Make sure that there are no bystanders within your downwind buffer zone or close by in general.
3. GET OFFSHORE AND STAY THERE. Go offshore at least 300 ft. (100 M) WITHOUT DELAY after launch. Stay beyond 300 ft. until time to come in. If there are substantial waves where you need to put on your board consider body dragging outside the breaker zone first. The fun is offshore, danger to the rider & bystanders is near shore where most of the hard stuff is located.
4. YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY. Yield the right of way to all others in the water. Riders must yield to others when jumping, to anyone on your right hand side and to launching riders. When in doubt, STOP. Kiteboarders should not jump within a buffer zone of at least two hundred feet (60 m) of others and objects that are downwind. Always be aware of the position of your lines relative to others, line cuts can be severe and tangled lines with another kite, deadly.
5. BOARD LEASHES ARE DANGEROUS. All kiteboarders are encouraged to master body dragging for board recovery. Use of a board leash is dangerous and is generally discouraged due to the hazards of board rebound or wave driven impact. Injuries have happened with both fixed length and reel leashes. Wearing a helmet and impact vest is always advised but may not provide adequate projection against board impact as the boards can and have violently hit any part of the rider and have penetrated helmets. If there is risk of your loose board hitting bathers, find another launch.
6. DON’T GET LOFTED! Lofting or involuntarily lifting is one of the greatest hazards of kiteboarding. Avoiding unstable weather, keeping your kite low and getting offshore without delay are only a few of the measures necessary to avoid this threat. If despite all precautions you are dragged or lofted a short distance AND have time to react, depower your kite as soon as you start to pause. You will likely be dulled by shock so mentally rehearse totally depowering using your leash immediately under such circumstances. Total depowering using your kite leash, ideally should occur before you are lofted, still offshore and away from hard objects. Multiple gusts can hit over a short period and you may be lofted a second or third time, so ACT to totally depower your kite using your kite leash as soon as you can. DO NOT ASSUME that you will have a lull between loftings, sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. If you are air born over land, it is uncertain how and if you will come out of things. Focus on controlling your kite with small control inputs to avoid stalling the kite. Some have advised keeping the kite overhead AFTER you are lofted and to try to gently steer towards the least hazardous are to impact. Other riders have said that reversing direction or transitioning after lofting has helped to reduce forward speed. It would be wise to accept and plan for the fact that YOU CAN BE LOFTED AT ANYTIME you have a kite in the air.
LANDING
1. USE ASSISTED LANDINGS BUT … SOLO DEPOWER USING YOUR KITE LEASH IMMEDIATELY IF NECESSARY! Approach the shore slowly with caution. Keep your kite low (ideally within 10 to 20 ft. of the surface), to try avoid lofting. Take care to avoid causing an accidental jump in well powered conditions while approaching the shore. Arrange for assisted landings at least 300 ft. (100 m) from bystanders, power lines, vertical surfaces, etc.. NEVER use non-kiteboarders for assisted launches or landings, as use of bystanders has resulted in severe rider injuries. Use mutually understood hand and voice signals to improve launch and landing safety. Riders have been killed standing around looking for an assisted landing when gusts have hit. IF IN ANY DOUBT, DEPOWER YOUR KITE USING YOUR KITE LEASH even if you are still offshore. ALL riders should be comfortable with depowering their kite using their leash immediately even in deep water and swimming in to avoid being lofted or dragged in sudden gusting winds.
2. PROPERLY STOW YOUR GEAR. Properly anchor (or ideally deflate your leading edge and roll up your kite), disconnect and wind up your kite lines. Do not allow your kite to be accidentally launched. Kites should be placed in a safe area well out of bystander and vehicular traffic.
© FKA, Inc. 2002,2003,2004
LOCAL KITEBOARDING GUIDELINES FOR ______________________________
(e.g. necessary area specific precautions and restrictions )
1.
2.
3.
An example follows:
LOCAL KITEBOARDING GUIDELINES FOR BOCA RATON, FL
The following guidelines have been prepared to aid kiteboarding safety and access privileges at the City of Boca Raton Beach in the vicinity of Spanish River Blvd. These practices and other appropriate procedures should be followed while kiteboarding off this beach.
1. New kitesurfers must seek adequate, proper instruction BEFORE or while kiteboarding here.
2. Launch and land north of lifeguard stand #20 located due east of Spanish River Blvd. No launching or landing is permitted at guarded beaches.
The following ideas are presented to try to improve kiteboarder and bystander safety, to reduce complaints and attempt to preserve our access to ride. These ideas have been taken from the analysis of over 100 accidents that have happened worldwide over several years. Many of these accidents might have been avoided if a bit more knowledge and care were used. Kiteboarding can be hazardous to the rider and to bystanders, particularly if practiced without adequate training, safety gear, knowledge and caution. NOTE: Riders must accept that even if these guidelines are followed, that accidents, injury and even death may occur in the "extreme sport" of kiteboarding. Kites can exert very substantial force with little to no warning with sudden gusts, improper line attachment, mishandling, etc., resulting in dragging and/or lofting, possibly with no time to effectively react. And, NO “you may not always be able to just let go or kill the power of the kite,” as many accidents have established. Your ability to safely and completely depower & drop your kite and otherwise manage in an emergency will weigh heavily on your technique, preparation and reliability of your gear.
Kiteboarders should consider these ideas, area specific guidelines if applicable along with other prudent and safe practices appropriate for local conditions. Cutting corners or picking and choosing safe kiteboarding practices can seriously reduce the rider’s factor of safety and increase the odds of an accident. Seek local, competent knowledge regarding safe local practices as special precautions may be indicated beyond those discussed here. Safety automatically increases to some degree once the rider becomes both aware of and takes potential hazards seriously. By contrast, ignorance and indifference raise the hazard level substantially and have frequently been a factor in avoidable accidents. These guidelines have been updated frequently over the years, so please check the FKA website for the latest version. Don’t use old versions of these guidelines as important changes occur with new knowledge gained over time.
GENERAL SAFETY GUIDELINES
1. JUMP TO HELP KITEBOARDERS. Readily help other riders with launching and landing using reliable agreed upon visual and audible communications. Whether you are starting out or are almost a pro, your help may avoid a serious incident/accident and possible restrictions. NEVER grab the lines of a flying or powered kite. Get involved with your local association or club and with area riders to try to preserve access to kiteboard. If you see someone putting your access at risk by poor practices, grab several of your friends and have a friendly talk with the guy, show some interest followed by your concerns. Riders are solely responsible for their safety and that of effected bystanders. If you are new to an area or visiting, seek out local kiteboarders, shops and/or associations for local guidelines and tips BEFORE riding. Don’t ruin things for the local riders.
2. GET ADEQUATE PRO KITEBOARDING TRAINING. Kiteboarders, particularly beginners should seek adequate, quality professional instruction. Beginners must avoid crowded areas particularly as kite control is still being developed. Beginners should body drag out at least 300 ft. (60m) from shore prior to water starting and should always stay out of guarded or restricted beach areas. Be careful in your launch area selection and be willing to drive and walk a bit further to have more ideal conditions. Build your skill and experience carefully in side or side onshore winds less than 15 kts. ideally, you should advance faster and more safely for your effort. Riders have been injured for choosing poor launches when far safer conditions were relatively close by. Be particularly careful in new conditions and at the START and END of the riding season. Many accidents occur in these times even among experienced riders. In kiteboarding, “DISTANCE IS YOUR FRIEND,” so use it!
3. KITEBOARD WITHIN YOUR LIMITS. Know your equipment’s limitations as well as your own. If you aren't 100% healthy OR IN DOUBT, DON’T FLY! You should be comfortable with conditions and your gear otherwise, don’t launch and “live to fly another day.” Always maintain an energy reserve while out kiteboarding. Hydrate regularly and wear adequate exposure clothing (wetsuit/dry suit), to deal with unexpected time in the water. Cold water kiteboarding requires additional critically important precautions as compared to warmer conditions and are beyond the scope of these guidelines. Don’t kiteboard alone or further from shore than you are readily able to swim in from.
4. USE A KITE LEASH, QUICK RELEASE, HELMET, IMPACT VEST and other reasonable safety gear. Make sure you have proper safety equipment, such as a tested, well maintained kite depowering leash securely attached to your body, a good well fitting helmet, impact vest, gloves, whistle and hook knife. Most kiteboarding fatalities involve head injury. A good helmet for kiteboarding, MAY aid in reducing injury and improve the chance of survival in many but not necessarily all impacts. A helmet is NO excuse to kiteboard carelessly. Regularly test and maintain a reliable chicken loop or kite depowering quick release. Relying upon manual unhooking alone to release your bar is UNRELIABLE based upon the accident experience. The rider needs to understand and accept that in an emergency, this quick release MAY NOT be accessible or function correctly in the critical seconds of the emergency. It is up to the rider to avoid the emergency in the first place and to aid proper function of the release through practice and maintenance.
5. LAUNCH, RIDE AND LAND WELL AWAY FROM BYSTANDERS. Give way to the public on the beach and in the water at ALL TIMES. Be courteous and polite to bystanders. Complaints have frequently led to bans and restrictions on kiteboarding in some areas and continue to do so on a regular basis. NEVER launch, ride or land upwind of nearby bystanders. Work to keep a minimum 300 ft. (100 m) buffer zone from bystanders.
6. BE AWARE OF THE WEATHER. Is the forecast and current weather acceptable, free of pending storm clouds and excessive gusty winds? Color radar can sometimes give a clue as to violent storm/gust potential. Are seas and wind condition within your experience, ability and appropriate for your gear? New kiters should practice in lighter, side or side onshore winds. Onshore winds have a much higher injury rate even among experienced riders and should be avoided. Offshore winds should be avoided in the absence of a chase boat. If storm clouds are moving in, land and thoroughly disable your kite well in advance of any change in wind or temperature, if necessary totally depower your kite by using your kite leash while still away from shore. Lightning can strike many miles ahead of storm clouds. Learn about unstable weather in your area and work to avoid squalls and storms through TV, radio and Internet information. Consider organizing an alert air horn and flag signal for your launch as a warning to riders of pending unstable weather.
PREFLIGHT CHECKLIST
1. USE GOOD LAUNCH AREAS. Make sure your launch is open, FREE OF DOWNWIND BYSTANDERS, hard objects, , poor or slippery footing, nearby power lines, buildings and walls etc. within at least 300 ft. (100 m), and preferably more particularly in higher wind. Too many riders have slammed into walls, parked cars, trees with better launches not so far away at all. Some riders have needed in excess of 600 ft. (200 m), to regain control in violent dragging or loftings in higher winds. Avoid kiteboarding near airports and in low flight path areas, complaints have led to restricted access in some areas. Never fly your kite in the path of low aircraft in flight, moving your kite low to the water at the first indication of inbound aircraft.
2. WHAT SIZE KITE ARE OTHER RIDERS USING? Check to see what size kite other kiteboarders are rigging and get their input on conditions. Try to select a kite size for the lower to middle part of the wind range. Do not rig too large a kite for conditions and carefully consider advice of more experienced riders. Failure to act on prudent advice has cost some riders severe injury and even death. If you don’t have a small enough kite to safely launch, DON’T!
3. CHECK & REPAIR YOUR GEAR BEFORE YOU FLY. Check your kite for tears or leaky bladders. If you have leaky bladders or tears in your kite, repair them before flying. Check ALL kite, harness, and control bar lines, webbing, pigtails, bridles, the chicken loop and leaders for knots, cuts, wear or abrasion. If the line sheathing shows any breaks or knots, replace them. The pigtails should be replaced no less frequently than every 6 months on inflatable kites. Inspect and test your quick release. Frequently, mentally and physically rehearse pulling your quick release in an imagined emergency situation. Make sure your flying lines are equal as they will stretch unevenly with use. If they have knots that can’t be easily untied, replace your flight lines. Do not casually make changes to manufactured equipment. What ever you do must work reliably in what conditions may come.
4. AVOID SOLO LAUNCHING. Solo launching and landing are NOT recommended and should be avoided particularly in stronger winds. Launch with a trained assistant, using reliable audible and visual signals. If solo launching make sure your kite is properly anchored with a substantial quantity of sand to avoid premature launch. Never use untrained bystanders to help you launch or land. Riders have been severely injured by making this easy mistake. Rig your kite for solo launch at the last minute and launch without delay AFTER CAREFUL PREFLIGHTING as serious accidents have happened in only minutes during this stage. If you leave the kite unattended, wrap up your lines, deflate the kite’s leading edge and roll it up. It is best to place the kite in a bag to avoid UV and wind damage.
5. CROSSED KITE LINES CAN WRECK YOUR DAY. Launching with crossed or snagged lines has maimed quite a few kiteboarders as the kite tends to fly up at very high speed, dragging or lofting the rider into a nearby hard objects faster than they can react. Walk down your lines and examine them carefully. Pick your bar up and carefully look down the lines for twists, tangles or snags that could cause the kite to be dangerously uncontrollable. While you are holding your bar up look down the lines, shake your bar to make sure the center lines are connected to the leading edge of the kite. Be particularly careful, slow and methodical in high winds. Multiple, careful preflighting in higher winds is strongly advised. Rigging "Kook Proof" connectors on our kite and lines is easily done with most kites and should be rigged on all your kites and bars.
LAUNCHING AND GETTING UNDERWAY
1. LAUNCH & LAND UNHOOKED WITH A GOOD BUFFER ZONE. Avoid hooking in or connecting with your quick release, while onshore or near hard objects. Practice LAUNCHING AND LANDING "UNHOOKED" or not connected to your chicken loop. Pull in your trim strap or rope entirely or to a point that will allow stable kite flight with existing wind conditions, to properly depower the kite before launching and so that you can readily hold the bar and release it if necessary. Always maintain minimum clear downwind buffer zones, particularly while flying unhooked. Physically and mentally rehearse managing emergency situations including just "letting go" of your bar. Connect to your quick release once you are well offshore. Question: IF you have a proper buffer zone AND your kite properly depowers upon release, WHAT is the downside of launching unhooked? That is considering you could be spared from a real slamming one of these days if you stay hooked in during launch and landing.
2. KEEP IT LOW & GO! … to try to avoid lofting or involuntary lifting. In general, DO NOT bring your kite much above 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) from the ground and NEVER to the vertical, within 300 ft. (100 m) of shore or any hard object at most launch areas . Never launch, fly or land upwind and close to the shore or hard objects or stand on the beach for extended with your kite in the air. This careless practice has killed and maimed riders. This practice MAY reduce the chance of lofting but may also promote dragging and serious injury in gusty/strong wind conditions. So, if you are dragged be ready to totally depower instantly using your kite leash and ideally before the dragging starts in the first place. HAZARD AVOIDANCE IS THE KEY along with rapid preemptive, rehearsed actions. Do not fly your kite near vertical or sloped surfaces that can cause uplift and sudden dragging/lofting (walls, buildings, hills, tree lines, etc,). Avoid thermal generating areas as sudden thermal lofting can occur. Launch in the appropriate part of the wind window to avoid “hot” or over-powered downwind launches. Make sure that there are no bystanders within your downwind buffer zone or close by in general.
3. GET OFFSHORE AND STAY THERE. Go offshore at least 300 ft. (100 M) WITHOUT DELAY after launch. Stay beyond 300 ft. until time to come in. If there are substantial waves where you need to put on your board consider body dragging outside the breaker zone first. The fun is offshore, danger to the rider & bystanders is near shore where most of the hard stuff is located.
4. YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY. Yield the right of way to all others in the water. Riders must yield to others when jumping, to anyone on your right hand side and to launching riders. When in doubt, STOP. Kiteboarders should not jump within a buffer zone of at least two hundred feet (60 m) of others and objects that are downwind. Always be aware of the position of your lines relative to others, line cuts can be severe and tangled lines with another kite, deadly.
5. BOARD LEASHES ARE DANGEROUS. All kiteboarders are encouraged to master body dragging for board recovery. Use of a board leash is dangerous and is generally discouraged due to the hazards of board rebound or wave driven impact. Injuries have happened with both fixed length and reel leashes. Wearing a helmet and impact vest is always advised but may not provide adequate projection against board impact as the boards can and have violently hit any part of the rider and have penetrated helmets. If there is risk of your loose board hitting bathers, find another launch.
6. DON’T GET LOFTED! Lofting or involuntarily lifting is one of the greatest hazards of kiteboarding. Avoiding unstable weather, keeping your kite low and getting offshore without delay are only a few of the measures necessary to avoid this threat. If despite all precautions you are dragged or lofted a short distance AND have time to react, depower your kite as soon as you start to pause. You will likely be dulled by shock so mentally rehearse totally depowering using your leash immediately under such circumstances. Total depowering using your kite leash, ideally should occur before you are lofted, still offshore and away from hard objects. Multiple gusts can hit over a short period and you may be lofted a second or third time, so ACT to totally depower your kite using your kite leash as soon as you can. DO NOT ASSUME that you will have a lull between loftings, sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. If you are air born over land, it is uncertain how and if you will come out of things. Focus on controlling your kite with small control inputs to avoid stalling the kite. Some have advised keeping the kite overhead AFTER you are lofted and to try to gently steer towards the least hazardous are to impact. Other riders have said that reversing direction or transitioning after lofting has helped to reduce forward speed. It would be wise to accept and plan for the fact that YOU CAN BE LOFTED AT ANYTIME you have a kite in the air.
LANDING
1. USE ASSISTED LANDINGS BUT … SOLO DEPOWER USING YOUR KITE LEASH IMMEDIATELY IF NECESSARY! Approach the shore slowly with caution. Keep your kite low (ideally within 10 to 20 ft. of the surface), to try avoid lofting. Take care to avoid causing an accidental jump in well powered conditions while approaching the shore. Arrange for assisted landings at least 300 ft. (100 m) from bystanders, power lines, vertical surfaces, etc.. NEVER use non-kiteboarders for assisted launches or landings, as use of bystanders has resulted in severe rider injuries. Use mutually understood hand and voice signals to improve launch and landing safety. Riders have been killed standing around looking for an assisted landing when gusts have hit. IF IN ANY DOUBT, DEPOWER YOUR KITE USING YOUR KITE LEASH even if you are still offshore. ALL riders should be comfortable with depowering their kite using their leash immediately even in deep water and swimming in to avoid being lofted or dragged in sudden gusting winds.
2. PROPERLY STOW YOUR GEAR. Properly anchor (or ideally deflate your leading edge and roll up your kite), disconnect and wind up your kite lines. Do not allow your kite to be accidentally launched. Kites should be placed in a safe area well out of bystander and vehicular traffic.
© FKA, Inc. 2002,2003,2004
LOCAL KITEBOARDING GUIDELINES FOR ______________________________
(e.g. necessary area specific precautions and restrictions )
1.
2.
3.
An example follows:
LOCAL KITEBOARDING GUIDELINES FOR BOCA RATON, FL
The following guidelines have been prepared to aid kiteboarding safety and access privileges at the City of Boca Raton Beach in the vicinity of Spanish River Blvd. These practices and other appropriate procedures should be followed while kiteboarding off this beach.
1. New kitesurfers must seek adequate, proper instruction BEFORE or while kiteboarding here.
2. Launch and land north of lifeguard stand #20 located due east of Spanish River Blvd. No launching or landing is permitted at guarded beaches.