Hiya noobs 
Im featuring as the main character Noob 
so no tryin to cut my grass
Once upon a time on a kiteing adventure yesterday at Woodies perth...
Driving there we stopped at lights, Squall blasts thru, FWD shakin like crazy cant see out window because of rain - looked at each other 
must be a sign 
Got to the beach - woohooo got wind 
Set up my 9m c kite on middle beach, sanded it to death because of breeze connected lines then went back to the bar to double check ! A squall rocks through but no nasty looking storm cloud attached to it, the suns out, clouds in the distance...
I'll wait till it passes and double check bar & lines laid out 90deg to wind.
On bending down to check the quick release works - the bar on the sand is now accelerating away from me, WTF, I look at the kite, the squall had shaken all of the 'wet' sand off it 
and was now barrelling up over the sand dunes, flys up over a kiteniverous 
bush and stops safely on the other side, about 60m away in all.
An important lesson here
Though the kite was Wet sanded to death & leading edge had no gaps - I was extremely lucky not to have been walking my lines out ( standing inside as you do ) or things may have gone tragically [}:)] pearshaped 
In future high winds I will now be standing on the windward side of my lines to double check them
The fun continues..
Alls good, 3 of us with some cheering Poleys gather up the kite & walk back to beach - me mate looks at me n says must be a message in this somewhere ?
I say grinning Hmmm could be - though we'll wait for one more sign..
It starts Hailling -Doh!
Anyway, we went out had a ball for an hour or so, then put the kites down & sat out another squall. Finally had enough fun for one day, another squall chasing me in to the beach ' just one more run ' and ill land the kite was my plan.
A minute too late (the one more run got me [}:)] ) just off the beach, full depower, squall hits - landing not an option now as kite drag from wind force is too strong to attempt putting any power into it for lowering and its pulling me downwind bar pushed out and board against water...
Quick Release time no worries - though i double checked it, first pull doesnt work second pull does it flags to a rear line & starts spiralling
now im being dragged thru the water with a flagged kite 4 kiters hauling ass to stop it (cheers guys 
) up onto the sand - now im barefoot sand skiing because of the wind drag on a downed kite! ( maybe not enough Cookies )
My hand is now on the scondary release - but still im not worried as my kite has proven earlier that it can go flying off on little adventures by itself and be ok
The guys get to it first, alls good
An Important second lesson
When the winds that powerfull in a squall, you may get hauled down wind from a flagged out kite ! check both releases every session - dont take it for granted that they will work and give yourself enough time to go for a second or third pull.
Lastly - I was on a point that had lots of sand and dunes, no houses roads cars walls cliffs or bust your ass trees. What if there had been ????
I learnt something about Powerfull squalls yesterday - I hope from this you have too..
Thats why Im the feature noob in this story, so no cuttin my grass
Cheersz - SkyPirates ARRRRRR
I had a similar situation yesterday at about 1:30 PM I guess.
I was in the middle of the ocean when the squall hits.
I thought "its a perfect time for a high jump" (Mistake)
I jumped and then I started to thinking that "OK, now all we need is a safe landing"
~10 seconds after that I said to my self "screw safe part of it, just land"
with a very small pressure to the right side of the bar kite dived into water and it smashed me into water with an enormous speed.
I felt like I'm dying, the impact was so hard that I couldn't breath for a couple of seconds and then I tasted blood in my mouth.
I turned the kite right above my head but I was floating in the air and I didn't have any control on it, as soon as I got close to the beach I used the safety release and some one helped me land.
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My weight: 85kg + helmet + PFD + board
Kite size: 9m maximum depowered
Wind: ~20 to 28 knots
Squall: I guess +40 knots for about 4 minutes (1:30 pm)
Location: Leighton, wa
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Note: If I didn't have my vest on (PFD) I would have definitely broke my ribs.
I don't care that I look like a dork as long as it keeps me alive.
PFD, Helmet etc aint the things that keep you alive.
Avoiding kiting during squalls, knowing your gears limitations and common sense keeps you alive.
Imagine if you'd been knocked unconcious out there kite looping uncontrollably etc etc etc
LOL
PS Those big blck masses of evil will kill you, no sh!t
WTF are you doing out there with 9m kites
I'm 100kgs and was lit on my 6m, for 80% of the session (which was about 6 hours all up )I had about 8-10 inches depower pulled in.
3 or 4 times I had to go out too sea and sit the squalls out, which is no drama if you use the right technique. Saying that I would only do it in cross shore conditions, I would definately land if I rode in onshore conditions on one of those twin tip board thingy's.
I completely agree that if you are a noob (real one..) that you should not be out at all regardless of kite size as KiteHards post explains..
For the experienced kiters a 9m was fine if you like riding slightly over powered, as there were 4 of us on them having a ball for a few hours - high jumps F16s loops triple rotations on kites that were 'Tuned' properly and sitting out the Squalls.
No reason not to be on a 9m, if you dont have a 6 or 7m kite. Tuning & experience being the key words here!
for a few hours - high jumps F16s loops triple rotations on kites that were 'Tuned' properly and sitting out the Squalls.
There was no signs of squalls for the first 2 hours and wind was about 25 knots which is good for a 9m kite (jump on every single wave) but as I mentioned the squall hits for about 4 minutes and If I haven't jumped I would have passed it safe and easy.
6m would be fun though.
AND
If I didn't have my PFD on I would have increase my chance to end up unconscious.
Nothing to do with your name according to your profile its Alex.
Its your whole approach.
Your a kn disaster waiting to happen and unless you pull your head in your gonna get seriously spanked.
Hopefully the spanking that was handed out by mother nature on Saturday will encourage people to fly a smaller kite that suits the the upper end of the expected wind conditions. Don't rig a kite that is big enough to keep you going in the lulls just so you can stay upwind.
Read the forecast, check the conditions before leaving home and evaluate at the beach. Rig a kite that you can handle when that 40% stronger gust comes through. Just looking at the fluctuations on the graphs for Saturday, you can see that winter breezes are a lot different animals to a summer seabreeze.
IMO, unless you weigh 120+kg, flying a 9m kite on Saturday was just silly.
Flying 9/10/12m kites in strong winds can be done, I'm sure quite a few people have and it is fun. Although once you ride a smaller kite(7m) in the same sort of wind you will realise that can go upwind better, boost higher and be able to handle yourself on land a lot easier. Large kites fully depowered fly like dogs, heaps of drag and usually turn like a truck. Small kites are the way to go.
Enjoy
Matt
Unfortunately no matter how much advice you give sometimes it just falls on deaf ears ...... 
after leaving the water being on my 7m which was more than big enough , a huge dark squall coming ( reason for landing the kite ) advised a guy ( who looked like he needed advice lol ) with his 12m that maybe he might want to re-think launching his kite with impending squall only minutes away , he proceeded to walk up the beach and then attempt to self launch , then requiring one of us to run up the beach and help sort his kite out ...... .
This was also after explaining to him that I had too help someone being dragged down the beach earlier when a rain squall hit ....
I mean , really WTF
I cant say i'm experienced with 2yrs, but there is nothing I hate more than "repeat saving" .
I havent got a scott-free record (who has), but I think the idiots are the ones who set up big kites, and then dont stick the squall out in deep water and try to land. Only for it to take 3+ people to hold down a kite and rider... what's really annoying is when they are repeat offenders... Wake up guys-someone is not always going to be able to save you. (or one of those people is going to get hurt on ur kite strings trying to help!!) Why fly a big kite?? A smaller one is way more fun as they move quicker!!!
I was the first one out at woodies on sat, nice lil 5m, but i still cut it quick smart back to shore before the front of a storm cloud hit. I kno my limit and my 60kg's still goes flying on that little "toy" in those winds, I'm happy to sit it out for those 5mins. Open your eyes-it's not hard to miss the squalls!!
Jessie
p.s. experience or no, if its really windy or gusty is it that hard to launch and land towards the water. Its so much safer for you and the launchee, and i don't understand why many people dont??
then requiring one of us to run up the beach and help sort his kite out ...... .
Saturday arvo at Brighton. Brilliant sunshine and out to sea the wind was 30 knots gusting 35.
Huge holes in close to the beach so depending on where you are riding there's a range of 10+ knots to 35+ knots. If you have the sense to stay out in the clear air it's not too bad.
I've just been riding for 2 1/2 hours on an 8m. At times it was survival kiting. Everybody else that is out is on an 8m. Most people come in after a couple of runs because it is hard going.
Chappy stands on the hill and waves his wind meter about (danger sign number 1). Asks me and mate what it's like. I tell him it's very strong and pretty ****ty but ok if you're careful. Mate agrees. I'm an ok kiter but mate is seriously above average (wins competitions).
Chappy decides it's only about 17-18 knots and he's going to put up his 12m. (it's at lease 25 knots in the lulls offshore.) We obviously have no ****ing idea what we are talking about (even though we've been kiting for 10 years each and just been riding quite comfortably in the conditions from hell.)
Everybody else is riding 8m and putting in a fair bit of effort to keep their **** together. A few spankings were dished out. Monster whitecaps as far as the eye can see.
Chappy pumps up original Switchblade 12m (ie. horrible old kite ... inversion beast from hell ... but strangely not faded for something so old.) Launches kite. Spontaneously inverts twice and smashes onto the beach narrowly missing some bystanders.
Amazingly he launches for a third time and makes it out into the water. Fortunately he doesn't do too badly once he's riding along ... except for the occasional blowup ... and the wind was picking up as I left ... and everybody else is blasting around well powered on 8m kites.
Unless you set yourself up as the beach policeman all you can really do is politely suggest and advise. Unless someone is a total and obvious dork you can't really give them a massive lecture about why their plan is wrong (Excuse me. I know everything there is to know about kiting and you know nothing. Put your kite back in the bag.)
Chappy obviously knew how to drive a kite and stuff. It's just his basic judgement and sense of self-preservation (and consideration for others) was lacking.
)and ol mate was pumping up his 12. it was time for a break anyway, so i went in and spoke to him. I was polite and nice and suggested that it was probabily not a good idea in on shore conditions with the road near by to be on such a large kite.. he then explained that he was just learning and wasnt sure if he should go out. so he eventually agreed and packed his kite up and went home.
SaveTheWhales said...
' just one more run ' and ill land the kite was my plan.
A minute too late (the one more run got me [}:)] )
Heard that before i nearly got dragged to Rottnest. On a 'one more run' dont wanna do that again
Ooooh - cat amongst the pigeons
Great way for everyone whos curious - to learn the Pros & cons of 'actions' they will ultimately decide on for themselves... regardless of what we say !
In regards to 'my' short story & 9m comment only. I will clarify my statement a little further than I personally thought would be necessary, to cheer up the cherubs who are confused
Experience.... an OdD thing for it means many different things to many people.
We'll start with the short story shall we 
In my 'short' story, I purposely omitted huuuuge amounts of detail because it started with " Once upon a time " and it had a simple real life message in it, with some humour, of events that actually occured - instead of 'Dont Speed its the Law' !
Safety Comes First - Period
Fact 1 The story took place at the Woodies Point with side shore winds on the North & south where I was kiteing + the usaull wind shifts variations and would not have been kiting 'anywhere' else otherwise in these conditions !
Fact 2 If youve ever seen me sand a kite in strong winds - youd think I was trying to bury it and also put it along the leading edge so wind cant get under it. It got blown off the beach into a risk free sand dune reserve because of a 'clear sky squall' in the time it took me to walk 20m to the bar for double safety checks on the chicken loop release & Line attachments. Had I noticed the flattened out white capping coming towards me, I would have also sat on the kite till it passed also - a 6m wouldnt have been any different.
Fact 3 Not one person has commented 'noob or experienced' on the couple of hours of complete controlled fun doing loops & trick stuff and when we all ' sat ' out the squalls as they neared ???? Oh thats right WTF were we doin on 9's again !
Fact 4 It was litterally 1 minute too late in landing my kite. As I came in to the beach I fully depowered the kite! but did not attempt it out of concern for other kiters on beach, opting to head back out a little to clear them & give myself more room & time to pull the safety in case it didnt work 1st 2nd or 3rd time at which point I would have steered myself back out to try again with more room. It was all a well rehearsed procedure that I followed which is why i wasnt fazed by it - and if that didnt work, my razor sharp diving knife would, no stress.
Fact 5 The quick release worked obviously, and the guys who jumped on it were a little suprised by it too. Secondary Release was at the ready - just in case, no stress but was amused at the bit of sand skiing. Once again, no public at risk of a runaway kite on the peninsula. Sanded the kite & went & helped another couple of kiters who pulled the safety as well - but further out on smaller kites !
Fact 6 Whoever thought I was riding a 9m kite overpowered with the depower strap on full has got to have been watching too many Len 10 dvds or old 2 line kiteboarding videos
That aint me - I'm the first person who will pull the safety regardlless of conditions if im out of my comfort zone... I pulled it to land the kite as I was borderlining my comfort zone, I was a minute late but in the safest place possible, with kiters ready Thats EXPERIENCE - nothing to do with kite size !!!
Obviously there are many riding styles & hopefully you now understand ,that there are those of us who can do it top end... and have a ball doin it
Those who know me have always wondered at 75kg - how the hell do i rip it up on a 12m when there barely hangin onto there 9s - so using a 9m maxed out is like a ??? for some others
P.s Being a 100kg only means you eat more cookies than me
Cheerz - kite for fun and safely within your personal limitz
From what I see this is an incident report which helps us to pass our experiences to each other without the pain.
Apparently when ever you send these reports everyone start to blaming you!
Just read your responds to this report and see if our incident reports are more helpful for our fellow kiters or your harsh responds.
...
dont take me out context "idiot"!! i said the idiots are the repeat offenders! The ones who basically just don't seem to learn, I dont mind helping out everyone, as we cant see every squall coming, its the guys who dont seems to have any "self preservation"
Oky doky, I haven't time to read all the posts but 10 points for admitting your bad decisions and passing on the info STW. Unfortunately I have to deduct 5 of those on Darwinain scaling adjustments. All the indicators were there you just had the blinkers, earmuffs and blindfolds on. Ever thought about running for parliment?
Definately not wise have a 4 line C in overpowered conditions. Do you have the option of adding a 5th line? If so DO IT! Don't listen to turkeys who say "Oh never ride a 5th line in the surf." BOOLSH!T!! Safet 1st, 2nd and 3rd - minor potential for kite damage a long way behind in 4th. Know-it-all-heros can kiss their @rse goodbye and the nerds will triumph with pocket protectors raised high above the dunes!!
BTW I am still sporting a sore foot from the last time i said "one more run then pack it in" in cr@ppy conditions 6+ weeks ago... sigh. Wasn't overpowered - rather underpowered with a nasty set with my name on it. I knew as soon as I thought "one more run then pack it in" it was gonna get me.
You want more time on the water? Then look after yourself and maximise your fun credits I reckon.
Live (hopefully) n learn (ditto) STW.
Idiot,
As i said earlier
Idiot,
I presume your forum name comes from being called "Idiot" on numerous occassions.
I suspect it is being used as an adjective, not as a nickname.
