Kitesurfing race gets SMASHED by 56 knot winds

Everyone survived.
This has to be one of those moments when I thought I was going to die. My legs were giving up and so was my back.
My Core XR4 10m was fully depowered. I was aprehensive of using saftey release as slack lines in gusty weather could be potentially worse.
Stoked to have finished the race!
#corekites #wellykitecrew #kitesurfing #kiteboarding #neardeath #mystic #downwinder #extreme #storms #insane #50knots #epicconditons
Music : Zombie Raiders - Wave Saver

[@Olga-iw9uf]

So much fun watching it! Thanks for the awesome vid!!

[@tarajordan1385]

A couple of suggestions from someone who lives on Okinawa outer islands and regularly rides typhoons and strong squalls. Try to keep your kite as lower as possible. Do not steer the kite too aggressively. Work on your feet positions If you are down-riding long distance,use a surfboard instead of a twin-tip. Get a small waterproof backpack to carry water,vitamin bars etc... Always wear a life jacket or a life vest,there is nothing lame about it. If you get stuck offshore,the vest could save your life. Safety first....

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for watching and thanks for the tips! At the initial stages of the race where there was next to no wind then big gusts I was trying to keep the kite in the sky. Fellow riders had to punch out and drift back in really gusty (0- 40 knots) to get back. Not a nice place to be with lines in the water. You are right further into the race though as my kite was way too high. Nice tips for longer downwinders too. This was a paid race in a harbour lol so didnt think we needed all that. But I guess you never know with mother nature. Hope you enjoyed the watch 😊

[@tarajordan1385]

@@lifeofgarrick Your video deserves a big up,because you have the humility to post something that doesnt present you in the best fashion. One more thing,do not pay attention to the ankle biting little bitches who tell you that you are a bad kite surfer. Most of these smugs probably never set foot on a board in the first place. You don't need to be a pro to enjoy yourself. Keep going.....

[@MarkC722]

That moment you know you have to much kite in the air and you become a passenger, scary stuff. Well done for getting back safe.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Haha indeed! And being a 'downwinder' in the middle of a Harbour was quite scary. There was supposed to be a rescue boat on the other side of Sommes. That's what I was holding out for. When I got there.... no boat... 😬🙉

[@tornadobillyahlers3072]

you did a perfect job at responding to those conditions low in the window and board in front glad no one got hurt

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks mate. My kite could have been a little lower when the wind was blasting through, but I'm just stoked I didnt lose my board that day. 🙏 Same here man - so happy everyone was okay!

[@darrensmac]

Great Vid mate :)

[@bobster9403]

Entertaining video!

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it.

[@ignaciosernacampillo9527]

I need to try this man! Awesome stuff and good job getting to the finish lol

[@lifeofgarrick]

Haha! I've taken a lot of advice on board since that day. The conditions were not right to launch and we should have noticed the huge front rolling in! I was blessed to finish. It was scary to say the least. But I do this sport for the enjoyment and what I get out of it. I learnt a lot and now my kite sessions are safer. Always have an escape plan.

[@BallBagNZ]

Oh the great carnage race of 2018. So many changes needed before this happens again.. so many people out that day who had no business riding. 20 rescues and almost all were people from out of town.. that was also regular wind for wellington harbour

[@Tobeon2]

Size 10 m2 at 56 knots and you surived !!!! Wow !!!!

[@theo8326]

crazy... i was out at the beach on a 9 m2 evo @ 40-50 kn gusts and I felt out control. Had to body drag back to shore

[@kniefi]

To be honest with you: ONE glance at those clouds and I would not have launched! I am just about 3min into the video - but with such cumulus nimbus-like clouds it is way better to just pack your stuff and wait in the car!

[@garrickarmstrong5016]

Thanks for watching the video! You are totally right! There have been some invaluable comments on this video highlighting the importance of micro climate conditions. This was an organized race - so a lot of us were putting our trust in the organizers to make the right calls considering. Fortunately everyone was safe after the race, but there were definitely some things everyone learnt after this hectic event! #blessed to come out the other side and be able to share to others what not to do 👍

[@marcol.6334]

Hey nice to see dave;) havent seen him in ages!

[@redmtn]

I second the old hang glider guy ! I flew hang gliders for many years and I’ve been kiting since 2011. By comparison kiters are nowhere near as focused on micro meteorology as the hang glider pilots - perhaps because the risks are perceived to be greater. However in my opinion kiting is equally risky - so I would love to see kiters more focused on weather prediction. I suspect this gust front was predictable - glad to see it ended well.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Darcy Lalor I third what the hang glider pilot said. Totally agree I need to do more homework on reading the environment before kiting. However this was an organized event - I feel a lot of us thought organizers would take reasonable steps proceeding such a race. From what I saw on all the forecasts howeve there was no indication it would get that bad out there.

[@redmtn]

Life of Garrick . I grew up on the Canadian prairies and don't know much about the ocean. One day I met the father of Robbie Naish. He's a life long surfer. I always remember he told me "theres no such thing as a rogue wave - you should know it's there". Seemed to work for Robbie so I always remembered that. Happy turns happy life :)

[@blaisest-laurent7246]

LOL @1:10 " as you can see, there's not a lot of wind, not a lot"

[@atosvr2]

just a suggestion: learn to read the sky a lot more. there were strong indications given by the clouds that you guys were launching into strong frontal conditions. i've been a hang glider pilot for 42+ years and am surprised by the apparent lack of readily available weather forecasting by the events organizers...i don't kite surf but i do kite ski, and the predicted weather forecasts are always number one on me and my cronies "pre-flight" lists...please don't take this as a lecture, but just as from someone that's been around a while...anyway, stay safe, have fun! :-)

[@lifeofgarrick]

atosvr2 awesome advice! I totally agree with you - when we were launching a local to that spot was warning us. In hind sight we saw replays of the launch and saw that front coming in... Maybe in an organized event like this you'd expect someone to be able to read cloud formations like you've pointed out. Advice taken in board - thank you!

[@TheRealJLS]

Hey, I have tried to learn something about reading the clouds but couldn't find too much lecture about it. Could you explain to me what indicates these strong winds in the videos? Maybe if we look at the sky at ~0:30

[@atosvr2]

this is probably a good start :-) www.amazon.com/Understanding-Sky-Dennis-Pagen/dp/0936310103

[@TheRealJLS]

Awesome, thank you.

[@Silair]

you looked at the wrong side ;-) Wind is coming from the right. But you see a Front, you can see some rain. When it rains, the Rain pushes the Airmass to the ground, so it goes "left and right", so it goes on the scene. In Front of the rain there's always wind. After the Front passed, wind will drop fast.

[@verticalnetwork1]

Nice!

[@kristiqntachev7139]

This is waaay overpowered kite... If that happens to me i would body drag with my board till the finish line :D

[@randyparker8590]

Scary as f..k.glad you an everyone got back in. I'm a surfer,offshore sailboat racer and used to windsurf in big waves.basically done it all except kite.ive been building kiteboards for some guys so I got some kites an gear.just about to go do my first go out...this video scares me but what the hell u only live once.cant say you made any mistakes the conditions were definately sketchy. Thanks for the vid! I

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks mate! We definitely could have seen the cloud formation in that front coming over. Also, where we were launching was crazy 🤦‍♂️ offshore gusty as and then big winds in the Harbour. That race was NOT well organized at all and dodgey to say the least. But we can always learn from near misses like this. Glad you are getting into kiting - it's an extreme sport but learning to read the conditions is great advice and definitely do your lessons before giving it a bash. You'll be safer and progress WAY faster 🙌 Enjoy it mate!

[@ninapaprocki487]

Yesss core kites are sick

[@MrKakbuhn]

And here you see your typical Core kiter in its natural habitate, ladies and gentlemen.

[@filippord3962]

Should’ve sent a kite loop

[@Kolar522]

I suggest one thing. A Ocean Rodeo Mako board, preferably one of the older ones that were hard. I still have one and it never got overpowered and always held as long as my legs could bear it. The concave design is something that i think alot of people really miss out on, but id say the ride is the smoothest of any board i have tried in 10 years of kitesurfing aside from hydrofoil.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Kolar522 awesome to know. One of the guys here uses one of these boards and raves about it. Will have to check it out.

[@josephk.1842]

Intense!

[@simperorweeb1450]

I've done wake board and love it. If this is anything like wake boarding I'll have to give it a try some time.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Better than wakeboarding in my opinion. No fuel to pay for and no waiting around. I did a 4 hour session the other day. Constant riding and boosting for 4 hours! Free of charge!

[@FUTBOLOCO90]

There's no comparison, you use a board but it's a whole different ball game.

[@carllaurin3707]

Don't keep the kite that high when overpowered then it's easier to hold it and you don't lift or kite drops in the gusts straight in to power zone..

[@garrickarmstrong5016]

Carl Laurin thanks for your great tip. In the beginning I pulled my kite up so much to try and stay above water. You'll see just before I get busted into the air and kite stalled that my 10m kite does a full flutter when it's at 2-30 in the wind window. These gusts were extreme from nothing to everything Haha! Hope you enjoyed the video. 👍

[@rudysf]

I second that - I learned kiting in 2000 with terrible kites - at that time wind range was about 3 knots or so and very limited depower so very often you got vastly overpowered. We learnt to more or less stall kites by flying them very low and "braking" with the board. Terrible technique which I had to unlearn later but comes in useful in situations like yours

[@paultempels1207]

😱😱😱😱🙏🙏

[@RedSkyHorizon]

Pure survival. 👍

[@lifeofgarrick]

Pretty much 🤣 I learnt from this experience that if the weather turns / frontal comes through and you're in on shore conditions - all good - punch out and wait for it to pass. But it only hit me while out there that I was far from any beach and rescue boat and there was no turning back! If I'm honest - I was just trying to get to the other side of Somes island to punch out and be rescued by the boat that was 'supposed' to be there. Hope you enjoyed the video 👍

[@jamiemarion8296]

Did you not see the dark clowds, generally speaking and to 100% of the time that means high winds. Wonder who launched that race and why anyone should be surprised by those winds.

[@garrickarmstrong5016]

Jamie Marion thanks for watching the video. I totally am not a seasoned enough rider to know about what clouds being wind. Myself and many others were all thinking the organizers would postpone the event if they felt like the winds would get a bit dangerous, but it appears not. Many others have commented on the could being a clear sign of what to expect and it was totally right. In hindsight it's a mix of competitiveness, ignorance and group mentality which may have brought about this situation. I hope you enjoyed the video- I was stoked to be alive 🙏

[@Keeblly]

Please learn about it now? It is really important to know about it...

[@lifeofgarrick]

MuchaDiLaman thanks for watching. Totally clued up about fronts now. I'm blessed to have come out the other side of this and have another chance to gain more wisdom for next time.

[@mortonuhv]

too bad you didn't use a 6 ... could of actually had fun

[@garrickarmstrong5016]

mortonuhv indeed - RIP 6 meter 🙏

[@xpelcapecod]

Crazy! Cool video but I probably shouldn't watch videos like this when I'm trying to get into kiteboarding this summer. lol

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for watching! Please take this video as a good learning curve. Some comments on this video are gold! The race organizers and riders alike should have been able to read the mico climate. The giant front coming in is a pretty good sign things are going to pick up more. Kitesurfing is still my favourite sport I've done because : I can fly Its affordable Its transportable Great communities formed Make sure you book lessons and then take it from there 🤗

[@sauce25]

Wow people race twintips? That's cool

[@s2oooo]

I've been out in those conditions with a 5m Evo with my modified double depower line's, pulling all depower to get back upwind .10m sod that lol . Could you have not held the kite nearer to 12 to stop you accelerating? .Or was you trying to get around the island.

[@lifeofgarrick]

s2oooo dont get me wrong. It wasnt 56 knots the whole race. But that was the highest recorded gust during the race. You're probably right if I left the kite above me it would have just picked me up and dropped me in the water which is fine. But I got to a point where I had to keep trying to edge upwind to stay well away from some island and get around it. I couldn't go back because of the lack of wind and huge gusts closer to where we launched. Trust me - I wont be doing this again!

[@buzzkites9871]

The warning signs were definitely there before the start but I guess group enthusiasm took over and everyone must have thought someone with expertise was looking at the weather. At one point on the downwind leg I wondered it the smart play would be to body drag while holding your board? Great video and it sure was a relief that everyone was safe and get to play another day all the wiser for the experience!

[@lifeofgarrick]

Buzz Kites you've summed it up perfectly! I was attempting to lie down at points and stick my board out. My goal was not to lose my board especially above the island. I didn't want to risk being pulled downwind onto it with a flagged out "overpowered kite" on rocks. Definitely wiser and definitely stoked everyone was safe!

[@Ivan-yo4hy]

I think there was some "what, are u a pussy?" talk. I bet every1 knew it will be nasty :)

[@lifeofgarrick]

Ivan you are probably right. Being intermediate I was just aiming to finish the race. I thought he bigger 10m would help me get out to where the wind was and then depower and Bob's your uncle. Nek minit...

[@Ivan-yo4hy]

Ah i wish i had balls to go out in 40+ -.- One day... :)

[@lifeofgarrick]

Ivan make sure it's not a downwinder and make sure you go on a tiny kite with lots of help around if needed. Thanks for watching!

[@hamishptwc7253]

just a tip, at 2:37, move the kite more left buddy by another 2 seconds, and more down, thats why it fell out of the sky, just intuition. just another tip, @3:15 you are not leaning back enough, stand on that back foot more, and set the kite a little higher, just a tip. oh, lol just as I wrote that, at 3:23 you went in, yep saw that coming too :)

[@lifeofgarrick]

hamish ptwc Haha thanks for the tips. I normally would be leaning back more. Although due to being that overpowered it was literally a struggle to lean back and dig heals in with the strength of the pull through the harness. Tips taken on board still 👍

[@pigskin1000]

haha..."fuckin, fuckin fucked" bout sums it up nicely.

[@pierreolivier787]

Take you some fun in this condition ?

[@josephk.1842]

Intense.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Indeed! Learnt a lot that day... 🙏

[@johnietaylor1817]

on ya peps, to cold for this old man but summers coming

[@MaR-vx6sf]

That's the point when you should leave the water to the windsurfers ;)

[@lifeofgarrick]

All the windsurfers before us got smashed 😂 out of 100 odd sups, windsurfers and kiters about 5 or 6 of us finished Haha!

[@MaR-vx6sf]

Life of Garrick haha yes 50 knots is a lot but still you have less power in the smallest sail than in the smallest kite^^ wouldn't go out there with a SUP though😂

[@themplar]

Why? Did the water turn pink and produced oestrogeen?

[@MaR-vx6sf]

themplar stfu

[@themplar]

haha so touchy.. Didnt expect windsmurfers to have periods. ;P

[@kitingkai]

😱 6km body dragging! Sounds like a body drag race instead of a normal one 🤣

[@lifeofgarrick]

Hahaha! Justin is a legend bro! Made of tough stuff that dude!

[@kitingkai]

@@lifeofgarrick I bet he is! Some times you just need to do what you do!

[@neilbeaton9498]

2:45 is the one of the most frustrating things about kiteboarding. The kite launches up nice and then the wind dies down and kite crashes right down to the water. I don't know if there's a good way to predict when the weather will do that

[@lifeofgarrick]

Hi Neil! Thanks for watching the video. I totally agree with tour frustration. What you've described right there is gusty wind. To avoid this try kiting in a spot where there are no obstacles between you and where the wind is coming from. 2:45 is a perfect example of what happens (not recommended to do) when you kite in offshore wind conditions. I am in the wind shadow here as the wind is coming over land. That means my kite will be super powered from a big gust to no wind and falling out the sky. You'll notice it was so extreme that when I relaunched I got launched out the water. Really crazy and no recommended conditions right there. So we are after constant wind. That is the key. That is found with no obstacles in between you and where the wind is blowing from. Hope this answers your question. 👍

[@neilbeaton9498]

@@lifeofgarrick Thanks for your help. Never thought about it that way. I've always noticed that the most consistent winds are at a big open beach

[@hamishptwc7253]

core has a lot of depower huh. lucky you had it on the least power setting. pull a jump, that slows you down a lot :)

[@lifeofgarrick]

hamish ptwc I had to try keep my course up wind to try get around the island. When going downwind to eastbourne I thought about doing that - but if you catch an edge and lose your board I would have joined Justin in body dragging 6km to finish.

[@omnesomnibus2845]

Top five finish, that's not bad.

[@garrickarmstrong5016]

Omnes Omnibus thanks for watching the video. It was great to finish top five but felt way better to be alive! Great learning experience and I love hearing people's feedback on what I can do to be safer in future races/ sessions

[@LotetaCartel]

56 knots on the 10meter xr5? maybe 36 knots maybe 46 knots but 56 knots ... Good vid tho I really liked 🤟🏼

[@lifeofgarrick]

Loteta Cartel you are right. 56 knots was highest recorded gust. None of the forecasts predicted this kind of wind. At one point during the race there were rainbows all around me indicating water droplets being picked up into the air. The international airport reading changed their forecast to gusts of over 40 knots later in the day... This is a xr4 10m... 😭 #budget

[@LotetaCartel]

Life of Garrick I have kited a few times over 50knots and always on a 4m kite and 40-44 on 6m meter kite , I have a 10mxr5 core it has alot of depower , on boots all depowerd the max I have manged to kite with it was 31-37 knots , glad all of u made it in one piece

[@lifeofgarrick]

Loteta Cartel all your above points are valid and im guessing you weigh about 90kg like myself. I'm not saying I can kite with a 10m kite in 56 knot gusts. Probably not even with a constant 30 to 40 depicted in this video or even the conditions you can ride a 10m in. But due to lack of wind at start and not being able to turn around and head back; I found myself in a pretty frightening position - it's not a situation I feel most have been in (and one I'd ever want to be in again). Bare in mind this is an intermediate rider trying to finish a downwinder race which got hit by some unforeseen conditions. Kudos to the kite for holding up. I'm also going to do an honest review of the harness I got last minute before this race as I feel my old one would have broken my back from the tension. Thanks for your comments and observations - I really appreciate them.

[@johnnykhawand]

I would say also looks like 40 - 45 knots, not sure but since you are already going downwind and don't have the problem of struggling to stay away from shore, maybe pointing the board down so there is no tension on the lines would have been easier on your legs.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Johnny-Anthony Khawand you are dead right mate. However in order to finish the race we had to make it around that island. If I had known sooner that the wind had picked up that much I would have aborted and gone straight with the wind to eastbourne finish. However once at the stage where the island was getting to a stage where it was down wind of me I really had to keep far upwind of it This island didn't have any nice sandy beaches on it either - just nice rocks 😖 Thanks for your response - you are probably right it was 40 to 45. 56 knots was read on one of the guys kites ahead of me. Was probably a gust (still not what I wish for anyone who is attached to a 10m..)

[@jeroenjansen2709]

WTF? It was a disaster from the word go.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Indeed... Some really good comments I've pinned to the top which have some really useful content and glaring warning signs to point out. Hope you enjoyed the watch and can take something away from it.

[@jeroenjansen2709]

@@lifeofgarrick True. Thanks for posting it.

[@robwilkinson8497]

I always check the internet weather and then the local recorded met prediction before heading anywhere near the beach. As for the Board issue, why not use an inertia reel? yeah I know its a sore subject for many but straightforward riding isnt going to bring a huge risk. Lost my board a few times in deep water and its a royal pain in the arse when you lose sight of it..plus wind could be picking up which makes body dragging upwind nigh on impossible.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for watching! We, race organizers,myself and kite buddies all checked weather and it didnt read it would pick up anything like it did. However there was an obvious front coming in which is my biggest learning curve from this event. I totally understand why you would use a reel. I wouldn't because if you get pulled in gust there is and has been plenty of cases where the board pings back and hits you in the head / eye / nose which poses a bigger threat than body dragging to land. Plus I wouldn't want my board attached to me if I used saftey release in the water. Chance for that to tangle in lines and make your life much harder. Hope you can see my point of view 🤗

[@MennolAbeesports]

Thats sick dude, next time keep the kite low :)

[@lifeofgarrick]

Menno l'Abee thanks for your tip mate

[@Skullkid999-]

kite looks pretty powered up to much tension on the front lines

[@lifeofgarrick]

You're exactly right! I was on a 10m Core XR4, fully trimmed and getting yanked across the water. You don't see most of the gnarly (slightly upwind) tack to get around that island in this short edit. I can assure I was seeing rainbows all around me and both my legs were starting to give in. To be honest with you - I don't reckon I would have been able to complete this race without my Mystic Majestic X harness. The hardshell harness in conditions like this is a lifesaver.

[@ericmnr]

Which kite size did you fly that day?

[@lifeofgarrick]

10m XR4 👍

[@gregfischer3342]

I really like it to be over-powered but 10m in an average of maybe 35-40 knots before you reached the wind shadow of the island would be to much for me:)

[@lifeofgarrick]

Haha! I'm exactly the same! It took me a while to realise just what kind of situation I was in when I didnt have any depower left and still had to make it all the way around the island 😥

[@gregfischer3342]

But everything gladly turned out good so we have this cool video;) Definitely something cool to see. Do you always ride Core?

[@tingalayo3403]

good vid...Music? Not so much! :) I got caught in 40 kts once with a 12m and it wasn't fun!

[@garrickarmstrong5016]

Tingalayo Haha! I tried to find something to mimic the amount of fear I had! I'm glad you can vouch for the fear experienced. Out of 105 windsurfers, SUPers and kitesurfers only 5 of us finished. This meant that having rescue boats to help you if anything went wrong went right out the window... that was my mental saftey note through the whole race gone Haha.

[@ryancoxey1327]

This does not look fun, but it does look very dangerous!

[@kitingkai]

Better that you didn't lost your board!

[@Bearsarefurry]

you're the reason i'm scared to learn how to kitesurf

[@lifeofgarrick]

Best sport in the world! Some really constructive comments on this post highlight things to watch out for. This was a prepared race where the organizers should have paid more attention to the conditions. As a participant my aim was to win - and then it turned. I guess the unknown sometimes makes the sport so much more exciting than turning up to a cricket pitch on a perfect Saturday morning. 😆

[@TheProHunting]

Rich kids with rich kids problems

[@MaciejPiotrowski]

why didn't you put the kite on on the water on the wing tip and waited out and let go of the bar ???

[@lifeofgarrick]

Maciej Piotrowski thanks for watching! I didn't do that as by the time I realised the wind wasn't going to drop I was above the island which didn't have anywhere safe to flag out kite etc. I tried lying down and letting the kite pull me so I could stay upwind of the island until I got around it that's when I prayed it would be easier on the back and legs Haha! Hope you enjoyed it.

[@MaciejPiotrowski]

That was scary stuff. I had similar situation but was able to let go of the bar and let the kite stay on wing tip until gust was gone. Glad you all are ok.

[@MaciejPiotrowski]

Tanks for message. I'm not a pro film maker or youtuber so I would suggest asking someone who is more experienced then me. Just record and post whatever is important to you. You do a great job.

[@nedster63]

Yep. Learn to read the weather. That front was dead obvious with the cloud formation. Glad no one was mangled.

[@lifeofgarrick]

Totally agreed. Someone mentioned it in a comment earlier - it's like the group enthusiasm took over. Maybe we were all waiting for the officials to make the right calls?

[@nedster63]

Life of Garrick that happens dude. Better to be on the shore wishing you were out there than the other way round. Thanks for sharing the experience....

[@lifeofgarrick]

nedster63 trust me mate! After this experience - amen to that! Haha! Thanks for watching 👍

[@TheKiteDiary]

jesus that's gusty af.

[@lifeofgarrick]

TheKiteDiary hence my lovely language at one point in the video Haha!

[@hatch707]

0:59 is the big ono

[@lifeofgarrick]

🤣🤣🤣

[@FUTBOLOCO90]

Hahahaha, as you can see there's not a lot of wind (background noise = wooooffff bllluuuuuffffff bluuuuuuufffff)

[@daanvandenbrink7534]

Wtf is this dude doing, no way 56 kt😹😹😹

[@jedi_bara]

Why didn’t you depower it ?

[@lifeofgarrick]

HyDr0 SkyLium thanks for watching. I had it full depowered after I got picked up from big gusts and kite stalled. You can see when big wind hits my depower fully pulled in. I didnt want to use safety release as there were no rescue boats around me at the time, I as FAR away from any shore and then there was an island directly downwind or me with nothing nice for my kite to land on. Had the conditions got worse or had I felt like I was in trouble I would have pulled the first release and prayed the wind. My kite buddy 19 pulled his release and couldn't wind his lines in due to the force of the wind.

[@jedi_bara]

Hi, yeah i saw that later on the video. I think i didn’t see it because it was caught in between the lines.

[@cataranciuc]

You should not be on the water in those winds with your skills. You cant launch fully powered, where are your kiting 101 lessons? You cant ride fully powered in gusty conditions, not because the kite wont handle it but because you will be tired in 1 minute than panic settles in. Be smarter next time and stop propagating videos like this, you teach a lot of new riders that no skills in high wind is not dangerous.

[@jedi_bara]

cataranciuc i agree, it was suicidal.

[@jedi_bara]

Plus its core and we all know that core are the most unpredictable kites on the market

[@elpretties5635]

1st. stupido race director without any glue 2nd. you obviously never saw or experienced 56knots...maybe that have been 30knots in gusts 3rd. good you came home! 😀

[@BDL22321]

The wind was all weird and wanky from the start!

[@lifeofgarrick]

251/252/252/76 amen....

[@N1ghtf4ll666]

u could have depowered the kite before starting it would have saved u time to reach your board and would have been a lot safer bro ^^

[@thibaultbreemersch6673]

Says *extreme gusts* but also *flies his kite af full power*

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for watching! From where we launched which was offshore conditions (really not ideal and dangerous) there were extreme gusts. From 0 knots to roughly 30. I had my kite fully powered up through this "wind shadow" to give it the best chance at staying airborne through the lulls. Literally there was someone on a 13m at the start who had 150% power to his kite falling out the sky and inverting on itself. Do you have a recommendation for flying a kite in a wind shadow or where there are big gusts and lulls?

[@si85451]

Downwinders suck unless there is surf.

[@DuzBee]

No wind? What the great storm clouds in the distance didn’t mean anything? Bahahahahahahahaha!

[@lifeofgarrick]

We learnt a lot from that day! =) I was still very intermediate when we did this organized race. I guess we were hoping for the race organizers to use some wisdom when it came to these obvious warning signs. That coupled with the offshore conditions! Hope you enjoyed the video non the less.

[@MrBradmon]

Not one big ass jump...WEAK!!!

[@600RReasons]

a tip for you mate try using the depower line next time

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for watching. I had my depower line fully used up. Do you mean holding the middle lines as well?

[@600RReasons]

Life of Garrick sorry mate I couldn't see the depower on the vid it looked to me like its fully on most of the time

[@lifeofgarrick]

600RReasons don't be sorry! You are not the first person to say it. Making me wonder if there is anything else I could have done!

[@tempelotraxanas]

no way 56 knots

[@theo8326]

how do you know? Looks like 50+ knots

[@N1ghtf4ll666]

To be honest this is not close to completely overpowered this is just someone doing a lot of wrong things at once... when the first gust came in he did everything wrong the bar was 50% powered he steered the kite backwards directly through the power zone up to 12” I mean what is he expecting even in low winds he would have a crash like this... The next thing is that his kite position is to high so he had no chance to get power on the edge of his kite board. And get lifted on every small wave... he is not kitesurfing In this video he is fighting against his kite... And obviously he is not used to handle big kites in strong winds so no beginner should be afraid of this because if you listen to your coach or the other kiters around you with experience they could easy tell you that you won’t have fun with this kite in that Wind condition... and due to it beeing a race if he was an experienced kiter he would have actually know the kite is too big for fast racing when starting it. So if he is smart he pump up a smaller kite and finish first after because everyone else was struggling to get to the finish line ;)

[@lifeofgarrick]

Thanks for your insights and hope you enjoyed the video. I disagree with your first point regarding the start and where I was flying the kite at 12. The start to this race was very unsafe and extremely gusty winds 5 knots - 30 knots (atleast). I get yanked out the water sending my kite through the power zone to 12. Not best practise I know - but it was my only way to prevent the kite stalling. I think I did a good job out of 30 or more (experienced / iko instructors) to be one of 6 or 7 kitesurfers that finished the race? The start was so gusty that only around 10 of us actually made it to where the wind was actually blowing. Keeping the kite at 12 actually gave my kite enough time to stall and catch the next gust - preventing it from rolling/inverting and making things even more dangerous which happened to many other skilled kiters. This brings me onto your next point I disagree with. Had I gone with an 8m or 6m I would have been like everyone else in the beginning (who didnt leave the beginning) who had their kites stall and roll into the water, with gigantic gusts of wind then pulling their slack lines tight... they ended up drifting downwind, trying to saftey release and wind lines in right up until the next gust spun the bar out of their hands and injured caused injuries due to sheer force of wind. By this stage they gave up trying to self rescue. That's when boards went missing downwind and police and saftey services were called in to search for missing kitesurfers and stray kiteboards floating far downwind. So a big kite is not a wise choice in high winds I agree. But it was the right choice to get past the total lack of wind at the start and get out to where the wind was more constant. I totally agree with your point on my kite positioning. Very rookie mistake! Had it been lower to the water like you say I could have been able to dig my edge in better. Again I was a rookie only kiting a year at this point and didnt realise this. But very good point to mention. All in all it was a dangerous race and the weather conditions changed so fast heightening the risks. The reason I posted this video was to learn from the many people like you who know more than me. But also to create awareness and help other beginners learn from what not to do and learn from experienced comments. Emergency services wouldn't have been called out had this race been as simple as dropping down a kite size and not keeping the kite parked at 12. Again thanks for sharing your points. 👍

[@ArubaSailing]

Thats when you windsurf..

[@f4nbergen]

Why did you not JUMP you could JUMP over 20 Meters

[@lifeofgarrick]

Haha! I was only kiting for about a year or so at the time this happened. Dont think I have the courage like the pros have too 🤣

[@f4nbergen]

@@lifeofgarrick 😂🤩

[@christianoeing5463]

Never 56kn. 😂😂

[@lifeofgarrick]

Christian Oeing 56 knots was recorded on one of the leader kites

[@sacredlight2110]

Not 56, Even gusts at 50 are absolute madness...

[@mtumix]

56 kns are you kiddin me? Never ever. Plz calibrate your measurements...

[@petrsson]

You should go back to kitesurfing school and learn a lot about weather plus how ride with right size of kite in condition like this one...👎

[@CarstenElevatePro]

size is not everything... shame

[@lifeofgarrick]

Size isnt everything- it's how you use it - yes yes, we know! But what if you knew how to use your BIG size.... Let that sink in for a minute - 😐🤔

[@CarstenElevatePro]

@@lifeofgarrick does not look loke you know how to use your big size. more like allmost out of controll...

[@lifeofgarrick]

@@CarstenElevatePro yup, in this video you're not wrong 😊 Still managed to finish a race many others didnt due to conditions. The problem with a smaller kite was trying to get out of the offshore wind shadow at the start of the race without your kite stalling into water. I may be wrong - but I believe my 10m helped get me to where the more consistant wind was. Hope you enjoyed the vid 😊

[@some_randomninja]

looks like the most annoying sport in the world for your arms

[@lifeofgarrick]

SomeRandom its actually not too bad if you're not this over powered. All power through your harness.

[@terencestotz3059]

as a windsurfer, this is why i avoid kiters. most are not real waterman and possess limited safety skills. just people who saw the colorful kite and thought, "that looks kool."

[@hatch707]

lol plus you don't have anything that actually floats when it all turns to crap

[@lilhuskyluv]

hatch707 your kite floats... the leading edge is pumped full of air and acts like a sail and buoyancy aid

[@lilhuskyluv]

Terence Stotz real Waterman...? Not all kitesurfers are real Waterman... this is a little bias don’t you think? Most kiters I know used to windsurf and got sick of carrying a massive board around with them. Kitesurfing becomes more convenient and great fun. Both excellent and exhilarating sports. Why not do both.

[@KimBowNC7]

This guy barely knows how to kitesurfer !!! LMFAO.

[@jimmyjames1411]

Kim CHAN yeah I was like how many times do I have to watch you crash

[@lifeofgarrick]

Kitesurf* Thanks for watching. I hope its taught you a few things 'what not to do' when you're caught in a frontal system.