. Its about best practise. Where possible get your launcher as close to the water as possible for the reasons both you and I have suggested, where practible.
. and with anyone who is not at least an intermediate give plenty of room for other kitesurfers, bystanders. I want best case scenarios, not beaches closed, that is my only priority.
OOPS, and another bit of advice, I used to teach most students, to hold onto the bar in the centre with only one finger of each hand. That way when things go wrong the fast flying kite with added bar-pressure will let go and everything will stop.
Before a water start a student has to be able to fly the kite with one hand, both ways, how are they ever going to put a board on otherwise. The IKO is just a start and theres always some steps that you can perfect due to local conditions that you can do. Any monkey can teach any monkey to fly a kite, its about Hobby Safety Standards. (OHS) in the workplace, if anyone is an instructor that is your Occupation. I learnt from Darren Marshall, a much better instructor than me.
I think everyone needs to htfu and just learn to reverse launch, even better try hot launching with the kite directly down wind! its the only way o become a man.... launching at the edge of the wind window is a thing of the past.
Hi peeps,
This is a simple problem with a not so simple answer. IKO teach to have the kite at the waters edge for two reasons;
1/ It puts the kite in the "cleanest" or least turbulent wind so that the kite will fly better than if it were in gusty wind affected by objects, dunes, trees or buildings.
2/ The kite will pull you towards the water if powered up. And finally, the kite doesn't have to pass through the Zenith to get you into the water. ie launch and go straight into the water with lite low.
Most of this information was born through necessity in the days of 2-line kites which had no "off" position. Problem is the rule doesn't fit all situations and IKO had never updated that rule nor many others from the days of 2-Line.
This is why most instructors I taught were taught to be "Intelligent, free thinking, independent instructors" using their brain and not necessarily using IKO rules verbatim. They are a good place to start if you have no prior learnings, but IKO/BKSA doesn't have all the answers.
The rules above are good, so long as the beach is clear of all obstacles and dangers downwind and on the land side of the launch. However this is rarely the case. Example: At Pinnaroo Point we always launched with kite at the water until the Council planted 6" Diameter pine log posts all along the dunes which you could be smashed into due to proximity of the launch position if things went wrong. The rule made it more dangerous for a potential accident. Instructors then had to re-assess the situation and explore options for the safest launch.
ALL good instructors should be able to carefully and intelligently weigh up the pro's and con's of each situation, choosing the safest option. Often, this can change on the day depending upon local dangers, wind direction, tides and many other things.
As I have said to instructors I have trained in the past; "The IKO is a skeleton or framework with which to begin teaching, it is not the bible nor should it be referred to as anything similar". It's a place to start in a sport which has too many variables to have a rule book which fits all situations. Kitesurfing isn't golf.
DM
pretty much oceanfire. Just wanted to highlight the prudence of sometimes sitting it out rather than treating every situation as a challenge that must be met.
(an affliction from which the male of the species suffers)
My first paragraph was not well worded. Did not mean to imply that your post discouraged caution, which clearly it does not. I should have included the words '...in sitting it out' somewhere in there.
