Learning Kiteboarding Turns & Self Rescue Kitemare at Lake Isabella Kite Surfing Social Distancing

A great windy day then a gusty day at Lake Isabella, winds were between 20-35mph. The lake was open but not for camping and I was working the 11m Switchblade in the afternoon. I am 267lbs and was getting worked later in the day with all the gusts. I was working on my turns toeside then all hell broke loose. I felt like the Kook of the Day, Can you say swim for it! It all turned out well with the help of my buddy Michael to the rescue :) Kite Knife might be a goo idea, and I was thankful to have my Dakine type v inflatable pfd Lifejacket although I didn't have to use it, it was nice to know it was there! Kitesurfing an approver Sport for Social Distancing in California Mikey Mike

[@LTLevine]

Nice work on progressing! A tip: at 6:18 you have the popped chicken loop in your right hand and grab the bar with your left. If you had focused on only getting the loop closed and back in place, letting the kite just sit sheeted out you would have likely not had much of what transpired afterward happen at all. Remember that (generally) the kite won't pull (as much) when the bar is fully sheeted out. This is the principle behind anchored launches and why riders doing unhooked tricks often ride with their kite in suicide (or semi-suicide) so when they crash (which happens a lot) they can quickly get things back under control without having to release to the safety line. Holding onto the loop, without touching the bar, will just let the kite get to it's most relaxed position (other than being actually flagged out). A few other notes: Based on the position of your trim strap being up hard against the cleat (11:31) it looks like you had the kite trimmed for riding (powered up) most of the time this was all going on; even before trying to rearm your loop it might have been a good move to try to adjust that trim position - dropping even more power from the kite in it's resting position at the end of the lines. This is likely part of what gets you when you are holding it by the loop and it gets away from you (11:48). Again - as others have noted - the key to all of this is leaving the bar alone - basically if you bring the bar closer to you it's a request to the kite for power. Don't do that. :) I think the key points here are: 1) Don't engage the bar until you have the rest of the situation sorted out. 2) Practice getting your loop in and out until it's boring and you can do it without thinking about it - both in and out of the water. Good form is really to work that release/reconnect of the loop every time you go out because you know everything is working that way. fwiw I usually ride waves with a ring/slider so I literally have to work the loop every time I hook in. 3) If you can safely (without getting all tangled up) get the sheeting adjusted (shortening your front lines) it will help in reducing the pull from the kite when it does engage - then trim it back to where you want it for riding (letting the front lines lengthen.) 4) Always, always, always ride with a knife. it's a $10 investment that can literally save your life. You really didn't need it here but once you are in a situation that you genuinely have no other path it's a little late to go buy one. Truth is that in 25 years of riding I've not had to cut lines but I had a good enough scare; I let my kite ride a little too close to the water in 3 meter waves off the coast of Brazil and ended up with me inside my lines (very scary) I went to cut my lines and the next wave literally took my knife away but also magically untangled the whole mess. I actually ride with two knives on me in conditions like that now - one on my harness and one in a knife pocket on my wetsuit. I hope to never need either of them. Sharing videos like this is super constructive, thank you for that (it's great for the community). Also, as a guy who spent years riding the next size (or two) up from what all the little tiny people were riding, I really appreciate seeing more of 'us' out there enjoying the sport! Keep up the progress!

[@andreasmannott2171]

Hey! glad you are well and got back with all your gear... thanks to the video there is a lot you can learn from this situation that most beginners/ intermediates will get into. if you have the chance, sit down with an instructor, pay him for an hour of theory lesson and go through the whole thing and have it explained to you by someone that is trained to do so. there is a lot you could take away from this for next time (which might happen someday). have fun!

[@WibovanNoort]

I would say only mistake was that you kept grabbing the bar. Just let the kite flag out, half hitch of the flag line around the bar, wrap the flag line on the bar so you don’t get tangled, assemble the chicken loop with the kite flagged out, no power, hook in the chicken loop and undo the half hitch and gradually let out the flag line. Key is don’t touch the bar until you are hooked in ready to go. I also recommend to practice reassembling the chicken loop on land.

[@WibovanNoort]

Oh yes and of course check that the bar is not tangled n any way before letting the flagging line out.

[@caasen123]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have learned a couple of things from your challenges. Happy Kiting!

[@collider4378]

Next time wrap your flag line around your bar a few turns like you were self rescuing. Then take care of the chicken loop. That way no pressure and your kite shouldn't power up. Also, you were grabbing the bar instead of the centerline, you want to hold it right above the CL. Even if it launches you can hold with one hand and steer with the other. I got used to doing that last year when I got a rope spreader - I have to completely release then re attach if someone wants to borrow my kite. I went through a phase last year where I was hitting my chicken loop on my board and releasing almost every session... felt like such a kook! Yesterday I ended up with my kite in the drink when I rode right into my lines, 20 seconds into my session while I was messing with my trim. Unfortunately it's a foil, and usually I can recover in the air, but this time it twisted into a mess that took me an hour to untangle. Was a nice day on the beach though! Great to see you back, stay safe :)

[@collider4378]

oh yeah... and maybe think about gloves. Those lines can hurt on a windy self rescue like that. I use Gill sailing gloves all summer, they've been fantastic.

[@directsound]

I didn't think of that because I wasn't going to self rescue but it all make total sense now thanks for the feedback 🌴🤙🏻😎😷

[@directsound]

Thanks for the tip I might just have to do that! 🤙🏻🌴😷

[@collider4378]

@@directsound Yeah - you just want to lock it down so kite doesn't try to take off. These are the kinds of things you never think about (and aren't really taught), just comes with experience I guess. You did a great job not panicking... and having a plan B (getting to the island in the middle) was great. Like Pitter Pit says below... I'm just arm chair quarterbacking - when you're out there and your kite is death looping it's a whole different ball game. You did great staying out of real trouble. I've had my lines wrap around my bar before... it's not fun. Can't wait for your next vid :D

[@elennane1133]

@@collider4378 Yeah, Collider has it correct, but typically when you hit the release, you're in a situation where you can't fix the chicken loop. A self rescue should have been the first move. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJaTkmVqjrCBbKs once on the beach you could sort out our lines.

[@pitterpit9964]

I would assume that your prob got worse because you touched the bar and steered the kite, so that it powered back up. First assemble the chicken loop w/o touching the bar.

[@pitterpit9964]

But who am I to give u tips! It just was a thought of mine while reviewing the scene here from the sofa ... w/o that strong wind!

[@directsound]

Once you let go of the flag line in to grab the bar you have to hold the flag line or it will slide back out... it was tough to hold the flag lines under pressure and try to reconnect the chicken loop OMG what a pain in my A$$ Thanks for watching. MM

[@directsound]

Yes it was just about panic mode but I worked through it.... this time. Always a good learning opportunity! 😁😎🤙🏻🌴

[@SENIXCNTR]

Hey Mickey Mike, nice thanks for sharing. I have been there before. Scary sometimes

[@Andreas_K_]

You did well. Really smart to let go when u death looped the bar, most people don’t know what to do. Learn your chicken loop assembly. Otherwise you can hold a kite just above the chicken loop and then assemble the loop. Kite will pull a little but not anything you can’t handle. That’s how people swap kites in the water. Cheers kite more and this will be nothing in the future.

[@FUTBOLOCO90]

Nice video, a lot to learn from it, next time focus on your flag Line, hold it close to you and the kite will never power back up and you'll have all the time to re assemble your chicken loop, also drop some weight, that's not playing on your favor my friend, regardless I'm glad to see you got out safe and with all the gear. Cheers!! Great video.

[@EveMcWinston]

Kite knife? really? Just take a deep breath, figure out your situation and think about what to do...

[@ActionSportsMaui]

That wasn't the classic-cliche "trigger the QR with the board". This is what happened IMO. You fell back underpowered and then oversheeted the bar until the stopper hit the bar, then you kept pulling the bar toward you, thereby unhooking the CL. You can see that it was still closed, up until your right index finger opened it (the CL) at exactly 6.06. I rewatched it a few times to be sure. This is a fairly common problem "accidental unhooking", and is very common if you do not use the "chicken finger". But even a properly placed chicken finger can be thwarted by accidental unhooking. Here is the video timestamp of your index finger opening the QR collar.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6LHknZ3fKdsis0 I rewatched this video yet again to try and see the state of your CL before the unhooking. To see if you had used the Chicken-finger correctly or not. But unfortunately, the camera angle was too high (next time maybe look down more please). But I did hear the audible "click" as your QR opened. 6:48 climbing the line. Tip: you should pull the line to your right side to keep it clear of your body. 6:55 The decision to fix the CL. Tip: This is a critical risk assessment, reattaching/resetting the CL should only be attempted in light wind, after much practice. As it can go horribly wrong. Sometimes better to not attempt to reset it. 7:00 Do not grab the bar. This was a mistake, as grabbing the bar repowers the kite. It is better to grab the CL instead. (Then allow the safety line to slowly re-feed back thru the CL. While making sure it isn’t wrapped around your legs etc.) 7: 10 You said it your self “it is hard to hold the bar”. It is better to grab the CL with both hands and then try to reset the QR. (It is maybe impossible to reset the QR with just one hand.) 7:40 you said it yourself. You should have had a kite knife. So true, you must always carry a kite knife. I always carry at least 2. (maybe this experience will motivate you to always use one). 8:35 you grabbed the bar again (mistake). Should have grabbed the CL. 11:14 finally grabbed the CL only, and was attempting to reset the QR (this was the right decision). But this is “resetting” is what you need to practice many times on land so it becomes second-nature muscle-memory. 11:40 It looks like your steering line is wrapped around the right side of the bar (not good). So you have to always look out for this sort of thing happening, as this is a kite-loop waiting to happen. 12:00 Sore hands. Wear gloves and you have much better success handling the kite lines. (I wear them for this exact reason. And they have saved my hands, fingers, skin many times.) 12:54 resetting the CL/QR again. Finally success. 13:29 you let go, but you could have hooked back in. and then carefully fed the lines back thru. But letting go is also a valid choice. 14:06 The lines are getting wrapped around you hands, This is very bad. Do not let this happen. (Never wrap the lines around body parts). 14:32 You finally noticed the tangled side line, and then experienced the inevitable death-loop. 14:47 Decision to cut your losses. This was a good decision to stop trying to reset/relaunch and simply paddle in. You maybe could have made this decision a bit earlier, after say “three tries/fails”. (You were lucky that the wind was so light as this would be totally outcome different in strong wind). Takeaways: Practicing resetting your CL. And go to the store to buy some kite knives for yourself and your buddy mike. And maybe get yourself some gloves too. (Note: youtube videos are not good for learning kite safety techniques. Instead, I recommend people get lessons from a certified instructor. These tips above are all things we regularly teach in lessons). Ride safe and thanks for sharing.