Canadian dies in death loop drowning

I would suggest a few things:

1. Don't ever pass less than two line lengths from anything hard that can hurt you. If you end up with a malfunction then you want to be sure you're not going to hit something.

2. If you're being dragged under water then your primary concern is to get some air to breathe. Short of being totally tied up you can always bias your body and limbs to bring your face to the surface and grab a breath.

3. Once you've got that breath and no obstacles to hit then you can deal with the kite. The primary goal is to get rid of the tension on the lines. You can do that by activating the safety system, pulling on the depower line, or releasing the kite completely. If you can't do those then streamlining your body is a least worst position to be in until the kite stops.

I have struggled with a downed kite on the safety in massive winds and ended up cutting the lines. In retrospect I should have just released the kite at the start. The beach was huge and empty and once the kite released it sat on the water waiting for me.

I really think the "death loop" thing is over emphasising a symptom. You can be in a bad situation behind a kite for any one of a number of reasons. The fact that the kite is spinning is mostly irrelevant. The pull is in a straight line, mostly along the water and the power of the kite is greatly reduced compared to a properly flying kite.

The most likely cause of a kite spinning is a line being wrapped around a bar. The best way out of that is to pull the front leader to depower the kite. Then you can slip the trapped line off the bar.

Kites can can bow tie and spin, usually with a line over. In each case they have crashed on the water. In all but one case tension on a single line has released the line over and allowed the kite to be relaunched and flown to the beach.

I have had kite lines and bridle lines snagged on knots on bridles and pig tails. The kite has spun a bit then crashed where the snag has come apart.

It might be possible for hard bar ends to contribute to a trapped lines. There is no way a Cabrinha bar end could trap a line. Those ends are very soft rubber. The notch in the end is barely stiff enough to hold the lines when packing up.

5th lines often create extra new tangling possibilities and dangers... I don't think they are the solution.
Also what happens when it's the 5th line that breaks? I've seen this happen to a few people and they have no idea what to do, not to mention the kite is often designed only to fly properly with 5th line tension so they can't even kite back to shore.

IanDVNT raised another couple of good scenarios there.

This topic prompted me to check my harness and leash etc, as I imagine a few of us have.

Everything was in order, but out of curiosity I twisted my North leash up a few times and released, and it worked fine. But if I twisted it up more than about five or six times and then released it the pin was caught up in the line as long as it was under tension.

So has anyone else checked their leash? Have never had to release while under tension and twisted but would like to know it will work.

Will check my other brand of leash and see how it works, not trying to panic just be prepared.

There are some good ideas for reducing the likelihood of getting into danger so far.

Plain bar ends could be done and done cheaply. It could also be possible to have winders inside the ends of a straight bar so that you pull them out and lock them at 90 degrees when you want to wind the lines up.

Adam Koch with a straight bar (Image 28) on an AVS kite at the Slalom Worlds in Mexico.
http://www.prokitetour.com/event-photos.php?id=150&Day=4#

There is a proper quick release for one end of a windsurf spreader bar which works. Its the plastic clip shown here, but they don't show the spreader bar end that works with it. It releases using little force even under load. It was designed for windsurfing so it could snag a line under the lever and release accidentally, but if the spreader bar end was redesigned to create a recess for the lever to sit in, but you can still get a finger under the edge of the lever, its a solution to getting rid of a waist harness quickly and easily.
www.zerogravitydistribution.co.uk/patlove/hardware/wspreader.html

Hi windywander
I think that what people are referring to when the kite deathloops and you are still in the chickenloop when you trigger the primary release on the chickenloop and there a five or six twists in all Four or Five lines(depending on the kite) the single line that is you flagging line will not slip easily through the others and can bind.
I think it is unlike that the twists will be transfer down the leash but I do think it is interesting idea to see what happens and well done for testing it.
Sinces reading this thread I have been toying with the idea of putting a little piece of 80kg breaking strain line between the harness attachment and the leash then if i am being dragged by the leash and the force is greater than my body weight hopefully it will snap
PS I Never ride in suicide mode I am always attached to a flagging line

My 2 cents in this very sad situation:
Everything happens fast when things go wrong. Your practice of release, in my case I employ a 1,2,3 method. Let go of the bar, let go of the chicken loop, let go of the leash approach. It is drilled in my head. I ride in waves alot. Big pounding beach breaks. Very little reef. Things go wrong from time to time. Keeping a clear head as many suggest only comes with ALOT of water time. Many of us are experienced watermen who took up kiting after being surfers, free divers, fishermen, etc etc. We have years of ocean time. That buys us time because we have been at some stage in critical positions. It is easier for us to cope due to experience.
I cant say enough about checking your gear every single time you go out. It is your preflight check list, just like they do when pilots fly. This is one of the primary reasons why air travel is the safest way to travel bar none. It is safer than walking. They check everything before commencing take off. Find your own way of doing this and do it every time. It might just save your life if your chicken look is jammed full of sand and won't flag.
I personally set up my kites to flag to a single line. I have had to eject out of looping scenarios several times, but I always do it quickly. If it loops more than three times uncontrollably I have ejected my primary safety. I have only had to eject the leash in bigger surf and could swim in or ride my board before it actually hit the beach. These actions are automatic.
I have a knife, I can get to it easily, but have never (thank goodness) had to use it. Have come close when I was underwater with lines wrapped around my body and harness being dragged, but managed to free myself before I had to do that. While I wrestled with my lines my mind was already reaching for the knife, it was one step ahead.
When I first started kiting I looked at every kitemare on the internet. I wanted to prepare myself for what could go wrong and how I would deal with it. If you are new and just starting out, I suggest you do the same. This helps train your mind to react.
After saying all that, know your limits! It's okay to say no even though you might not have kited in months and are hanging to get out. If a spot is known for being dangerous in certain conditions than give it a rest. There will be other days.
Condolences once again to the kiters familiy...

Hi all,
I almost always ride suicide but usually just attach my leash to the ring on the side. I have been starting to attempt handle passes and have been attaching to the handle pass line that runs across the back of the harness. However, I only attach here if I'm trying handle passes, which I don't do if I'm overpowered.
I have had one instance where I have dropped the bar mid handle pass and it wrapped around the bar end and started looping. It was probably 22 knots on my 9 so right in the middle of the power range. Even though my leash was attached to the line on the back I still managed to release the lot off the leash after about 4 kite spins when it became obvious that I was heading for the sand rather quickly and that the kite wasn't going to stop spinning anytime soon. I'm sure it would be much harder if fully powered or overpowered on the kite, or if it had spun for longer and I had lost orientation.
Rowdy, how do you suggest progressing to handle passes if you can't connect to the handle pass line? You would attach to this line all the time surely?
Also, what is the point in having a line cutter in this instance. You can't reach the bar, and you can't cut through a leash with a line cutter...

Cheers,
Sam

Ha, I have counted to 60! While I generally agree with the fact there is less to think about, having had my legrope wrapped around a reef and could not get to my leg to pull it off had me trying to problem solve. Problem solved itself after three waves and me being under the whole time. Also,surfing in massive beachbreaks in Mexico with black sand it was dark and hard to work out which way was up in all the turbulence. Calmness does count and the counting method works really well! And you are absolutely correct that 10 can seem like a long time.

I checked my harness today and found the spreader bar half cracked through where it links to the webbing strap. Glad I checked as that snapping on a windy day would not have been a lot of fun. Thanks for the replacement Kim!

I been using Ross Clarke-Jones's idea of imagining dancing with a bunch of super hot chicks at a club during a hold down - works pretty damn good for chilling out, and if about to eat **** big time and I know it, I hyperventilate real fast.

Ok so now I'm thinking about getting a knife. Who wears one and where do you keep it?

I have a Mystic Warrior and the little line cutter in there would only help if you can cut kite lines (yours or someone elses) wrapped around you & within reach. Totally useless in a death loop scenario, although I'm not convinced a bigger knife would be much help there either.

Better to take fewer slower deeper breaths if you can manage it. And only hold 80% - 90% of lung capacity instead of 100%. You will find you can hold your breath for longer when it's comfortable for your diaphram and lungs. Max capacity is uncomfortable.