Anatomy of a Kitemare: A Danger of Crossed Lines

[@wanderer6688]

Thanks for sharing, I’m completely shocked. Where I kite we all look out for each other and everyone helps each other launch and land and any issues always multiple people to assist. Sorry that happened. Bad for kiting for people not to help.

[@BDL22321]

That looked real rough, I hope you’re doing okay and recovery is well on it’s way. I’m pretty shocked no one came over to help or atleast ask if you’re okay..

[@AnswersFromGod_com]

When my kite falls and then flips before I can re-launch it, tangling my lines, I usually just do a self-rescue, get myself and my gear back to the shore, and then straighten out my lines.

[@glynbritton9792]

Glad I don’t kite at that spot, they seem really friendly and helpful........🤦‍♂️

[@pacificenduro8002]

That’s a Squamish for you everyone thinks they’re hot shit huge egos I go there 50 to 60 days of season I can’t stand most of them LOL

[@laens0r]

was thinking the same thing, nobody gives a shit - even when he's crawling to the beach the second time..

[@e.g.7977]

Euros

[@mingopalacio3637]

I don't understand why you didn´t use the Quick Release/ Eject.... I've noticed that most kiters allways try to avoid using the QR, even when they could be putting themselves in danger... Also, the moment you've asked for help, you got it... there is no way for them to notice your tangled lines from that far... Nice video and hope you are ok!

[@slappysurf]

There isn't a lot of time to react when these things happen, it's barely a conscious decision. Once things started to go wrong I identified the safe solution of making it to the water and committed to that. By the time I could have hit the quick release I would have already been running full speed on nasty rocks being pulled by the kite. The release of the kite would have most likely caused me to fall on the rocks due to the sudden loss of pull. The kite was also helping pull me towards the water faster than I could otherwise run. I actually had to ask for help twice, and I'm not expecting anyone to notice my lines but I can assure you they noticed me speeding off in to the water with a giant kiteloop and hitting hard, one of them even made a comment about it.

[@daniel76900]

@@slappysurf I think the first reaction should be the QR. I've seen people being dragged about 10 m on the beach and still not activating QR. Last week friend of us died because of the same shit. You know why pros make it to the pros? They don't care about material. First thing I noticed, you don't release even the bar. First thing, always always....release the bar, depower...than you got a fraction of time, and fee hands to grab the QR. Take a deep look on pro-videos...they always release the bar when something goes wrong. And man, helmets are not only for girls. You had much better luck then our friend (more than 8 years experience and a great kiter) but you never know when it's your turn.....take care and stay safe!!

[@chrismoore43]

I agree. When I come in to land I depower the kite (which he was still fully powered) and I keep one hand on the QR. It definitely sucks when I you become complacent and injure yourself or others. I hope you have a fast recovery.

[@KiterOlli]

He hast No Time for qr​@@daniel76900

[@normsbigwindow9379]

Thanks for sharing what is such a subtle way to get caught out and hope you’re healing well. Agree it’s disappointing about the support from the beach as well as the abandoned foil which is all kinds of unnecessary hazard. Leaving foils like this right on the water’s edge is nasty when it doesn’t appear anyone is launching.

[@bry8636]

I watched it again after reading your comment. What a terrible place for a foil. That would be life threatening if he got pulled into that Ginsu wing. Totally irresponsible. Even if someone doesn’t hit it, a kite or line could catch it. We need to police ourselves or others will do it for us and ban foiling altogether. Some people are oblivious and don’t think outside of themselves. Good call.

[@jamesdoakes4956]

@@bry8636 bruh what are you talking about? How about not going kite surfing when you clearly see how bad the terrain n spot is? Why would anyone else wanna risk themselves over Darwinism? It is what it is bruh I would never kite surf in this setting and if I did I wouldn’t expect help from anyone…

[@pavelm6436]

Thank you for such a good tutorial! I will keep in mind thus it’s always important to pull chicken loop for safety reasons any time it could seem to be useful. And here is wishing you a speedy recovery with broken hands and/ or legs. Good luck

[@Ryy22]

Thank you for sharing. Consider sending this to Kitesurf college tutorials, will reach a much bigger audience to learn from

[@sergemann5951]

Glad you ok. Thanks for sharing.

[@szdorant]

Thanks for sharing. My thoughts on this: - don't do "risky" things like letting go of the bar if kite control is difficult for any reason - should be possible to put down the board nice enough with one hand, can be useful to practice this - may also ask someone to put down the board if it is a super light and sensitive one - in difficult situations it might be safer to leave behind the board / foil in the water, focus on exit and landing, and retrieve the board after

[@exumakitesurfing1]

glad you survived. that said, all of my beginner students know: 1) if your lines are crossed activate your chicken loop emergency release asap. 2) to request assistance landing, pat the top of your head multiple times instead of speaking or gesturing cuz 9.5 times outta 10, you can't be heard one line length away due to wind and surf noise. this could have easily been avoided if, as soon as you realized your lines were crossed, once you got a bit closer to shore fly your kite toward the water (not land) let go of the bar and deploy your chicken loop emergency release ... second 04 in the vid was your opportunity to do this. fyi: any time 1 steering line is crossed your kite will loop. when i started kiting in 2002 almost all kite brands had a tagline 'respect the power' near the inflation point.

[@slappysurf]

Your #1 rule will get people in to way more trouble than it will save. Had I popped my QR when this happened I would have been in a terrible spot with strong river current pushing me out away from the only landing spot. Kites fly just fine with crossed lines, I've flown them to land them many many times. The issue with this cross was very subtle and not apparent until it was too late, that being the tendency for the bar to flip when let go. While popping my QR once I was on the beach would have been acceptable, it's far from ideal as it's a very busy area with many kiters in that path. It's also unnecessary as the correct course of action would have been to simply stay right at the waters edge and land the kite from there instead of going to get my crocs before landing (I much prefer to have crocs on when dealing with kites on this sharp rocky surface though). As for patting my head, what makes you think I didn't try that? You can clearly see I only have one hand on the bar at that point in the video. If people are ignoring you patting your head isn't going to do anything to change that.

[@exumakitesurfing1]

the fact that your title is 'danger of crossed lines' and you respond with "kites fly just fine with crossed lines" and "your #1 rule will get more people in trouble than it will save" tells me you do not understand kite safety. if you had deployed your chickenloop emergency, you would not have a broken hand and bruised knee .... stay safe. fyi: kiting since 2002, iko and pasa level 2 instructor running my kite school 15 uears.

[@carlosguarate5225]

Without video you would still wondering what gone wrong... Nice video and analysis, both are great to learn.

[@huzcer]

Thanks for sharing. Usually because kiters need to ask for help launching and landing they are more proactive in offering assistance in return. Maybe not so much anymore.

[@nothanks6859]

Wow, real shame about the clueless kiters on the beach. Funny how attitude varies at different locations - I spent some time in Cyprus and had similar vibes, nobody would help land you etc. After a while I Iearnt to get a bit more 'assertive' - which meant bring the kite right down in front of someone and whistle at 'em :-p It's a karma thing, right? In kiting shit simply happens, even to the most experienced - and we need our brethren to help us out.

[@BrendenConway]

Easy fix, just unhook and reloop your bar while holding the center line. If you never take off your lines you can always recover. I suggest practicing on land.

[@mountainof7]

Would quick release have depowered the kite or would it have made things more difficult since he then wouldn't have his hand(s) on the bar?

[@joaopaulolopes8224]

Man, the worst part is the audience just ignoring you. Ive also needed help once and nobody gave a %#ht, sad day. Thanks for sharing.

[@sauce729]

I saw this happen to another person, except the ferry boat was in the way.

[@gencikrasniqi]

Damn, that Foil on the shore is a death hazard.

[@andyrogers2578]

Angus.....thanks for sharing and exposing yourself to unhelpful commentary! This is a very useful video and I've had lines end up in odd configuration after a bad crash. My takeaway will be to never release the bar if I ever find myself in this position.

[@shreddagorge]

Good breakdown and I hope you're OK with a quick recovery. Were they just clueless? I've had this happen on the Columbia so I body-dragged into the sandbar with my surfboard on my spare leash. Folks are pretty attentive to what's going on and helped out; surprised not to see that reaction here. Thx for sharing the education - it's trippy when the kite flies opposite!

[@michanjose]

Thanks for sharing and hope you were able to recover quickly.

[@cedricmealin7420]

i know its not recommended but i prefer to untangle my line while in the water if possible.

[@shakirahadjih8844]

how do you do it. I've tried so many times but its just impossible. I get pulled, I don't see shit, waves etc

[@JorgeEgrejasFrancisco]

See video from Damien Leroy on untangling bar lines. It explains the how to (more difficult in deep water for sure...) 🤙

[@dutoutautout5399]

thank's for your video, is very important to share our error in order not to do again

[@ermanakbay]

Thanks for sharing, this is very useful for a beginner like me. May I ask why you didn't release the bar in the very beginning of the loop? Wouldn't that immediately have stopped the pull? I understand hitting the quick release requires a second or two which you didn't have, but releasing the bar requires no reaction time. Please correct if I'm wrong

[@slappysurf]

When things to wrong in kitesurfing you don't get a lot of time to react. My initial reaction was just to get to the water and once I was running full clip on the rocks the kite was actually helping me maintain stability so releasing would probably cause me to tumble.

[@MrBetolops]

Glad you got away just fine brother, it's allways scary. I would first of all pull the depower though, the moment you notice the tangled lines.

[@energymusic7641]

Releasing the safety loop is the best option instead

[@carlosixty6876]

just to ask : why you did'nt pull out the chicken loop?

[@slappysurf]

I've gone over it in previous comments

[@Nilz4FR]

Also. If my kite is tangled up like that: Stay in the water when you land on the beach.

[@cirurgiajoelhobh]

Thanks for sharing!

[@pacpacmia1362]

Thanks for the share of this bad experience 👍🏼. Sorry for what happened to you 😮

[@keepersofthefaith7522]

thxs for sharing you experience.

[@dashiernervt123]

Well that sucks. Your main problem was btw. that, because the lines were wrapped, the kite steers way more agressive to one side than the other. I was in that situation a coulpe of times. My strategy to stay safe is to mentally switch from autopilot, to active manual control. After years of kiting you don't think much about steering, you just do it. In such a situation this won't work, because your reflexes work exactly the wrong way. So what you shold do is: activly force yourself to not make any hard move on the bar, contantly watch the kite, always keep the bar sheeted out and finally if something goes wrong DON'T try to safe it. If you had done so, you would have released the bar in the instant your kite was going to the right (no attempt to safe it!) and it would have slowly landed on the water perfectly safe. This might sound like a hint from captain obvious, but it's actually quite hard to get out of trained reflexes. So keep telling yourself, just in your beginner days, make careful moves and in case let go of the bar, and you will end up fine.

[@skobichevskii]

why not release the chicken loop?

[@FreshWaterWindsurfer]

I am new to kiting so this was helpful. Glad you're OK and if I was there I would have helped! Question - when it started to go wrong (and then also having trouble landing after) why didn't you activate the quick release? Just trying to figure out what I should do if that happens to me.

[@slappysurf]

Things happen pretty fast and unless your hand is actively on your safety ready to release it'll take you about 2 seconds to figure it's time to punch out. By that time I was already running full tilt towards the safety of the water and the kite was both stabilizing me and pulling me towards where I wanted to be. If I were to hit my release at that point I would have fallen on the nasty rocks at full run speed.

[@FreshWaterWindsurfer]

@@slappysurf Makes total sense. It's easy for people to watch this, re-watch it, watch it in slow mo - then give their opinion. When in reality you have like a split second to make a decision. Thanks for the video and the explanation it has helped me a lot.

[@JamesLamb]

Ow! So far I haven't had lines wrapped this way. Those rocks look rough! When I was just starting I went to a place that had some odd airflow (shore wind different angle from offshore wind). I ran like you did, but only on sand - still twisted/jammed my big toe and it took about a year to start feeling normal. Those rocks look much worse! Hope you heal fast.

[@tmotten]

So much for the kite "community" on the spit

[@BurtReynoldstash]

Honestly I’ve been kiting for years (like 20plus) and never seen or had that happen before.

[@BurtReynoldstash]

I’ve watched this a few times, why couldn’t you just spin the bar the opposite way and unwrap the line

[@BurtReynoldstash]

This may have happened to me thinking about it, Im sure I would’ve just parked the kite at the edge of the window pushed the bar end flat against the line and rotated around. I’ve had when the kite rolls so that the two front lines are around the back but not like what you’ve got going on there.

[@slappysurf]

To correct this issue my black steering line needs to come down and around the bottom of my chicken loop (fireball in this case but same thing). Alternatively it could go completely around my body, but I don't like to put my body through lines like that. So I would have to remove my kite safety leash, unhook my fireball (aka chicken loop), pass the black line under the entire bar while holding the fireball with one hand without causing the kite to initiate a clockwise turn (because I'd be pulling on the black steering line). Have a look at the still at kzbin.info/www/bejne/fICrq5psbMysZ8k I too have been kiting for years and this was the first time I had encountered this style of crossed lines. If you want to experiment with it in light winds you could just do the opposite of what I said needed to be done to fix it and you'll be in the same situation. Just take off your safety and CL then pass your right steering line under the bar and up around the left steering line. This is definitely the kind of thing I do fix on the water, even in big conditions, but it's almost always a better option to have someone land your kite (or just hold on to your kite for 20 sec) and fix it that way. In this case I was done for the day and needed to go in anyway. I've flown many kites with crossed lines over the years and never had this situation where the kite bar wanted to flip every time you let go of the bar before. Another factor in my decision to not fix the crossed lines on the water was the location. I generally only like to fix crossed lines in shallow water with clear beach downwind of me because there is a very real possibility of accidentally letting go of the bar. In those conditions you can just walk to the beach and then run downwind to get your kite back. This spot (at this tide) there is only shallow water with offshore wind, which means if I mess up my kite and bar are going to get lost or trashed or maybe I'll have like an hour swim to get them and get back to shore.

[@BurtReynoldstash]

@@slappysurf I’ve seen that on land taking the chicken loop off and back through on the video. Guess I’m just lucky so far that I’ve not had that happen. Once you realized the line was crossed, couldn’t you pop the safety in the water reset and sort it. Thanks for putting this up, we can obviously all learn from your mishap. Happy kiting mate

[@BurtReynoldstash]

Apparently this has a name “ asymmetric inversion”

[@ozgurinsan]

why not qr after the initial loop?

[@slappysurf]

There was only the initial loop, by the time the loop was finished I was already in the water. If I were to pop the QR then I would have to swim back to shore with the kite dragging me off shore (this is an off shore launch). Much easier to use the kite to body drag back to shore, especially when my body is messed up from the incident.

[@ozgurinsan]

@@slappysurf ok , thats because offshore kiting is dangereous.

[@slappysurf]

Well this isn't "off shore" kiting, it's just that the launch is off shore. If I wanted to I could have been blown down in to the river estuary and then swam back through the muck to the road.

[@lucasmacewan]

late in the day. folks on the beach cold and want to go home. not noticing you are in trouble and need help.

[@kristiqntachev7139]

Quick release!!!

[@3sh00l]

This won't happen on a Dutch beach. We help each other.

[@JorgeEgrejasFrancisco]

Also in Portugal kiters help usually each other’s.

[@madsteeez]

Germany same

[@coderedex]

"I was quite disappointed nobody in the beach asked if I was OK or needed Help" - LOL. I would not be disappointed - people are natural Jelly fish, they could not give a damm for the most part.!

[@TheChupacabra]

Oooooooo man I didn’t see it on first watch

[@jelmerth]

he are you oke? thx for this lesson btw

[@slappysurf]

Yeah, I'm fully recovered now.

[@scottklandl488]

Don’t blame the other guys on the beach for this guys f’up. What are they supposed to do. Scream” you’re an idiot put down your kite immediately here” that’ll help. Guy screwed up. When he figures out what he did and comes in controlled there is no reason to jump. Way too many people have gotten involved in kiting in the last decade who don’t have the cool to handle something that can rip you 20’ off the ground. Kites are too safe and people treat them that way and expect safety systems to save them when they can’t. Dude here got one little yoink. That was tiny, an every day walk in the park, own it and move on, that is no kitemare. You handled it well. You did one loop realized something was f’d up and let go. You’re better than. Most kiters. Not a kitemare. Try getting dragged for 3 -10 minutes getting a fraction of a breath from a wave drag. Having a split second to unwrap a line from around your neck before the kite powers up again or losing two fingers as you try to sort a line tangle. Count your blessings and understand the power your dealing with and step up your assessment at each and every minute

[@rainbowtrout9743]

I allways help other kiters what self centered people there are in this world

[@deniszhuravlev9874]

This is one of newbie mistakes. 1. Wrong first connection 2. Or improper storage of a rolled bar. This is easy to prevent. Just straighten the lines and check that everything is in order before launching the kite.

[@CharleswoodSpudzyofficial]

Thats the thing with kiters. We don't help one another enough. At my spot we have this saying, "ehh, I have walked farther"

[@M9Diry]

“Kitesurf community are really friendly “ unfortunately I’m not seeing a lot of evidence of this

[@Nilz4FR]

after the crash. pull the f* release buddy!

[@creativekitesurferCo]

Yeah that was just shit luck, and a silly simple mistake... But that's a shit spot to fly if that's the locals!

[@caballerocanarias5183]

I Hope That everything is fine! But what a shit kite Community their!

[@IgnacioCarnicero-du6gr]

Next time release the chicken loop

[@raygun2163]

It would be good if Mackiteboarding and some other professionals did some posts on, help and consideration on Launch and Land.. I think here in the UK, we have more camaraderie. Perhaps one of those "Butt Scratchers" on the beach will be in the shit themselves one day.. Kama..

[@kevinrearick3985]

Glad you made it through relatively unscathed. You must have inserted the kite at some point during the session. I really hate places where kiters have forgotten how danger lurks in this sport and are so inconsiderate. Almost everyone I know how has made it up the learning curve to be a good kiteboarder has stories about an ass kicking they endured. To see a crowd of obviously knowledgeable and potentially helpful folks and no one steps up to be of assistance! Disgraceful IMO. Where did this happen? I want to cross it off my list of places to visit.

[@slappysurf]

This was at the Squamish Spit, near Vancouver, BC. Sadly the access there has been gutted so you probably wont end up going anyway.

[@bikextheworld4223]

No one helping should be fined sad

[@ABESuperKiteDay]

I would have come over to help you dude. Glad you were ok.

[@omanovitsh]

Next time, you should untangle your lines while still on the water using this technique : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXKUoZh7rt6Vhbs

[@Olisplumbing]

Whats a Kind of kitedudes ‚shame on them!!! Hope you are ok! Come better to Germany for kitesurfing ,we all Watch out , we are surfers!❤ ( sorry my Bad englisch)😊

[@rule56]

quand tu as les lignes croisées tu poses ton aile avant de ranger ta planche surtout. Erreur humaine

[@tornadobillyahlers3072]

what crap community there... where you patting your head tho? Sometimes people arent sure if your just taking a break...just trying to find some reason not to judge them. Good vid ...had that same thing happen to me when my kite inverted.

[@drewby4563]

I thought kiting was supposed to be self sufficient ! So sort your stuff out properly ...