More What Beginner Kiteboarding Really Feels like -- Bad Decisions and Self-Rescue Fail #2

A year after the first video, my riding is coming right along and I found myself underpowered and heading downwind. Again, I saw a great opportunity to practice self-rescue in deep water Again, I messed it up. I was super relaxed, had a sound plan, conditions were great, and I still made a couple of mistakes. Every time I practice self rescue in sedate conditions and make mistakes I learn a ton so hopefully this is the last fail video. :)
I hope my mistakes and experiences can help illustrate, for the beginner kiteboarder, just how much thought and practice should go into safety when kiteboarding. For a point of reference, at this point, I've been kiting for a while (but am still new to water). I have about the following under my belt:
5years of kiting
1 static kiting with powered foils on handles
2 on land / snow
2nd year on water
4 hours of lessons
about 15-20 sessions in Denver / Wyoming (crappy wind) -- maybe half of those I actually rode.
5 days in Baja with fantastic wind (game changer, that.) -- every day I rode.
I've punched out probably 25 times, but only 3 times in deep water (including this one)
I can stay upwind when powered, no problem, and can transition fine when I'm not too busy chickening out.
Water starts aren't even close to an issue any more.

[@davidfournier3355]

Wow! It took a lot to for you just share this footage with us, so thank you and nice job! You were cruising and then all of a sudden not a pleasant situation. The blessing and good news is that you were close to a shore line, maybe not the one you wanted but its land😁

[@MaxxSend]

This was like a horror movie, starts off happy and gradually escalates to terror lol. But not too bad, you got back to the shore safe, and you shared your lessons with us. Thanks!

[@ABESuperKiteDay]

That would have been a super 15m/18m sesh, I hate being underpowered. Glad you were ok in the end.

[@jason_farns]

Thank you for sharing an honest video and explaining where things went wrong. I'm just getting into this sport and this provides a good point of reference of how we can be taught the correct things to do, but actually doing them correctly in the moment when lots of things are happening takes practice.

[@max_999]

Are you now kiting well?

[@Marius426]

One recommendation for packing up. I usually kite on land and only packed one time in the water, it was also mostly an opportunity to practice it. But once I got to the kite, I disconnected my safety leash from the bar, and connected it to the kite. (The little loop where you connect the pump while inflating the kite). This way you dont have to worry about it powering up on tangled lines, and the bar is completely free. If you still have trouble with the lines, now you can use both hands to wrap the remains up. Even disconnecting the bar completely from the kite is an option then, and possibly hook it into the harness while it is already disconnected from the kite.

[@bram7659]

I’m just looking at getting into the world of Kite Boarding but these pickles have me doubting, I wanted to curse and cry for you. I take my hat off to you as I don’t think I would have kept my cool!

[@alexandermayerkirstein]

Your pain is our gain. Thanks.

[@123thekman123]

Common mistake: Rotating the bar around the central axis (hole in the bar/sheet lines) has very little effect on turning the kite. A base line reference orientation should be pretending the bar is only allowed to rest on a horizontal table in front of you. This force the pilot to push or pull only ONE hand towards or away from your body. This very small motion / rocking of the bar at the pivot point (the central hole of the bar) produces line off-set & induces kite turning. Change to this visual/neuro muscular relation and you will be able to sense the kite's path (without looking at the kite) then fly your kite out of trouble no matter how contorted you body position. Turning the kite is activated by distorting a neutral kite's rectangle parallelogram of +/- ninety degree angles at the bar to lines or or lines to kite. Rotation around a central axis does work well if your driving a school bus.

[@houseofdyer]

You know, I picked up that bad habit from flying in super light winds. It's not a mistake, its on purpose, but now it appears I do it all the time. The purpose of tilting the bar is, in very VERY light winds, it keeps perfectly even tension between the left & right lines throughout a dive or sining the kite. Coastal people don't have to deal with this kinda crap because if you get the kinda lulls / bad forecasts we do, you just stay home. In order to eek out every ounce of power you can from a kite through a turn, it helps a lot to have perfectly event tension. That being said, I was riding a couple of days ago and realized I do it every single dive and I need to stop, since I don't need that extra tiny bit of smoothness. Thanks for the tip!

[@123thekman123]

The bar rotated on both the kite's and bars central axis yields lines that form a duel spiral (double alpha helix). Like a double lead threaded screw tensions on lines are very similar. Therefore, there is no net induced kite turn (rotation) and zero gain in apparent wind (power). A great addition toward smooth kite turning speed is to move the hands as close to the center a possible. This reduces the need of great distances for your arms to push and pull the bar while getting magnified distance results at the ends of the bar (change in line tensions). Reduce the work required by the arms by recruiting much your stronger shoulders & core muscles with anterior-posterior translation of the shoulders. Similar to proper kayak paddling technique; trade less hand & elbow movement for shared action of shoulders, scapula and core. This will provide much more power to the angle deviation of the bar. This yields reduce extremity fatigue and smooth kite turn efforts in tune with flow of the entire body's skeletal kinetic chain. More joints involved but less demand on every segment.

[@fifis101]

This a bloody good video! Very well put together with the words.

[@etherform6620]

its way more terrifying when it happens on the open ocean in huge swell as you drift ever closer to the break.. you suddenly wish you had never seen a kite

[@dannyisrael]

😂😭

[@lovetofly32]

Lmao! I was thinking the other day as I got to shore after I got up on the board the first time. I wonder if anyone else has the thoughts of "why the hell am I doing this?!" When you cant get the kite relaunched and you're drifting twards a not so good area but then when you're all packed up you're looking forward to the next time! Lol

[@HaIPeHaOP]

I remember crashing my kite just at the inlet of large pond when the tide was going down quickly. I've located my board which was just next to me downwind so I focused on launching the kite to body drag to the board. 10 seconds later my board was gone taken by strong current towards very rough ocean... It took me around 10 minutes of body dragging to get it back eventually but I was so freaking exhausted I couldn't do anything else but getting back to the shore. Luckily it was right there but I can't imagine being that exhausted and stuck 300m from the shore...

[@nschive]

Hahha just like me the first time 😆 thanks for sharing!

[@stokakrishna]

Your biggest mistake was unwrapping lines and going back. Never go back. Just continue

[@jimmyjames1411]

Kiteboarding is the most difficult sport I’ve had to learn. It is a nightmare to learn and progress bc it can feel pointless bc you’re not great and don’t see the end of the tunnel

[@houseofdyer]

Jimmy JAMES and then it clicks and you feel like a GOD. :)

[@nunogirao8097]

And the final mistake. Releasing the lines from your kite. Now you end up with your lines in a yarn of hell. Keep the lines connected, extend them and with a bit of luck everything will be ok.

[@houseofdyer]

Many mistakes that day :)

[@JamesLamb]

Fluke's Kitesurfing has a good video "Simple Kitesurfing Self Rescue Procedure" that goes through line securing steps.

[@davetimmerman9066]

So after the first 200 meteres the conditions made you feel able?

[@timraiman929]

Thank you for posting this! I have been hunting for other examples of real world beginner troubles... to compare with my real world troubles as well. The biggest problem I have as a beginner, is not having a full quiver to choose from. *sigh* Most expensive sport ever.

[@robwilkinson8497]

shop around. I bought two kites a couple months ago, a 6mtr and 9mtr so I can go out in stronger winds. Both came to around £700 sterling. They were brand new and 2015 models. RRD 'Religion' 6mtr and RRD 'Vision' 9mtr. watch out for heavy discounts in some retailers too. I have seen as much as 70 percent reduction before.

[@pipebdez]

@@robwilkinson8497 Where do you shop? what brands? can u post the link to the site? thank you in advance!

[@RepairPlusplus]

@@robwilkinson8497 I began with a 10 mtr f-One kite and f-One bar. for 650 euro 3 years old, a board for 150, wetsuit etc total for about 1500 euro. Bought a 14 mtr f-one 2019 model last year. A proper impact vest from Mystic , a new board and a proper pump for the kite. Total spend: 3500 euro and i'm still learning. not including the 5 lesson i had at 120 euro a piece. its an expensive sport. ;-)

[@benjaminkozma389]

Let’s discuss the important subject of self rescue technique. If I’m understanding your in video comments (of wrapping up the first excess of the 3 lines before wrapping up the tensioned line) I think this is very dangerous. As soon as you shorten the the 3 loose lines you run the risk of the kite re-powering. I think what you did in the video is correct and you only wind up the excess of the 3 lines once you get to the kite. I’ve been kiting 15yrs, so I have self rescue experience. Honesty all of my self rescues are with an alternative technique of swimming along the flag line all the way to the kite. Once the kite is secured then wrapping the lines. Either way you’ll have slack lines around your feet, but it’s okay as long as the flag line stays under tension. With the alternative technique you secure the kite much faster.

[@houseofdyer]

Benjamin Kozma good point, for sure, but getting wrapped in the lines isn’t a great alternative, especially in a lake where there might be things under the water that your lines could snag on. I think it’s situational, but you should always be acutely aware of how much tension is on all 4 of your lines at any given point in a self rescue.

[@benjaminkozma389]

Dave thanks for the discussion. I hear your point about the risk of snagging lines. I think it’s quite unlikely in the lake situation shown since kite lines tend to float. But I’ve been in a self rescue situation in Vietnam with miles of fishing nets on the surface where snagged lines started pulling me under the water. I still think in most self rescue situations it’s best to get to your kite ASAP then roll the lines (especially if conditions are not benign). There are techniques to not get caught in lines while swimming (don’t kick with your feet at all) that work quite well. It’s a bit of a controversial topic of if you should roll lines before getting to kite or after. I think most advanced riders in practice will swim first, then roll. But I know that’s not how it’s taught. Things are quite different in waves/high wind vs. somewhat benign conditions shown here or how it’s practiced in kite schools. I still think rolling excess of the 3 lines on the bar is a bad idea. However it depends a bit on your bar and if there is a stopper. On the Slingshot bar you have, I think there isn’t a stopper on the flag line, so rolling a little bit of excess may be ok. People need to know their bar setup though and be very careful about repowering the kite while rolling lines. Great video though - thanks for posting!

[@JamesLamb]

I'm not experienced, but I know one of the priorities is not getting tangled in the lines. Also if there's a chance of boats around, you don't want a line snagged which will potentially drag you in a way that could be worse than the kite pulling you. So there are reasons for wrapping the line as you go.

[@denislafrance84]

The thing is'' you'v keep your calm and learn something

[@Ivan-yo4hy]

Yeah thank god it was light. Them lines around gopro o.O But its always safe to hold on to a kite (attached bypass leash to it) even if ure tangled. That way if wind picks up and gets kite somehow powered, it wont drag lines but u, and u can always deflate it or submerge it. Plenty of time to untangle on the beach!

[@qmoroz]

Hi Dave. Next time you are underpowered try not to pull the bar so hard when kite goes up. Pull only when directing the kite down and let the bar go a bit when it goes up in the air. And to go upwind, when board have enough speed, try to keep the kite lower in power zone and kinda "drag" your shoulders backwards from the kite.

[@houseofdyer]

Awesome. Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely give that a whirl the next time the goddamn weather cooperates enough to get a session in :)

[@hamishptwc7253]

correct, pull in when the kite is going down, let out a little more when kite is going up.. ride slow, ride upwind, edge as much as you can for the most board speed you can without stalling. balance makes perfect. its a lot to balance so its easy to find yourself going downwind in light winds.

[@houseofdyer]

I think, with that board, it didn't matter how I flew the kite, to be honest. There was just too much rocker to stay planing AND upwind. I ended up selling it and have never had a day like this since.

[@mgallagher1001]

I too appreciate seeing a realistic experience. I'll make a lot of mistakes, to learn from, but why not learn from yours too? So, I noticed that you think that next time you'll wrap up the 3 slack lines so they don't create a mess when you get near the kite. But won't that negate the mechanism that kills the power of the kite? I'm concerned that if we take out the slack we re-equate their length with the tight one, thereby allowing the kite to power up if a gust should hit. I can see how you'd want to get the lines cleaned up before handing the kite, so perhaps it will work to take them up with you are closer to the kite, but not quite at it. At least then the lines are short and a powered kite won't pull as hard.

[@houseofdyer]

So I actually had a chance to test out this theory yesterday when my kite inverted and wrapped a tip and had to legit self rescue. I did the same thing I always do, locking the flag line first. Then, as always, there were lines floating everywhere, except for the far side steering line, which was still pretty tight (must not have a lot of extra length on that side for this kite/bar combo). So I hauled in a little extra of the flag line, and then grabbed a handful of the floating lines and wrapped it all until there was 1 line tight and 3 lines that were slack, but not a floating mess. Then of course the wind picked up and I had a hell of a time wrapping it, but it worked way better than any of the other times. It appears my practice and your feedback has paid off. :) And yeah, don't ever wrap those other three lines until they're all tight. I just meant to get less of them floating around you and on the bar, instead.

[@mgallagher1001]

Ok then. I appreciate the clarity on that, and the field test. I wish I got out as much as you seem to be able to.

[@houseofdyer]

+Michael Gallagher hahaha. I wish I got out more. June 26th, then August 28th. 2 months between sessions seems actually quite sparse.

[@vladimiroff3919]

why do we need this video? looked himself at home and erased

[@cian4380]

English please

[@thorineichenschild2692]

I started like this, too. I had a 15m Trans Thunder with a 136cm North X-Ride. :D

[@Inferno_17]

I'm doing my first lesson tomorrow and this is good to see that it doesn't all work out as planned haha. I've been wakeboarding and snowboarding for 20 years so I hope that helps to make it an easy transition, but kite control will be my weakness

[@houseofdyer]

Awesome!!! Have a great time! Wakeboarding will help. Snowboarding wont' :). Just remember a few things... 1. Keep your eyes on the kite while you're mucking about with the board. It tends to misbehave quickly when you're first starting, and you don't *really* need to look at your feet/board. 2. When water starting, make small corrections with the board, not the kite. 3. Keep the kite 'quiet' while you're learning -- zipping it around all over the place will cause you endless amounts of trouble, so focus on stability and predictability. Have fun!

[@bearlemley]

Inferno How did it go?

[@brianbailey7128]

Thanks for posting.

[@robwilkinson8497]

good honest account there. My basic rules for myself are: never go too far from base, always think 'what if' say a wind change of direction, keep clear of open sea unless I know I can be rescued (lucky as I have options for closed waters like lagoons etc) though kiting on an open sea with the swell is just an incredible thing to do. Board leash..now this is a sore subject for some but having lost my board and getting taken downwind (yeah I know you can bodydrag upwind and do the whole zigzag thing to get to the board) board is hard to see, and if upside down it drifts much slower. I wont use a leash in shallow water of course and wont bother doing jumps and stuff either.

[@M9Diry]

Really? Leave the board on your feet ?

[@jbcaptain11]

i am a avid kitesurfer from Southern California, i am moving to laramie next year to attend the university. How big is the scene in the are, how is the wind?

[@stevewilson8146]

Why not sit on the board to at lease get a lil bit of afloat

[@Vladimir_pobeda]

Что за чушь. Даже волн нет. Да не было тут никакой опасности, хоть вокруг планки их намотай... Вода как на блюдце..

[@hamishptwc7253]

biggest mistakes you didn't swoop the kite all the way to the water when water starting and you did no kite loops to get yourself powered up. :)

[@houseofdyer]

Agreed. I was a little too timid at that point for kiteloops. I'm better now. :)

[@brianbailey7128]

Did you deflate and remove lines right out of the water for safety concerns or just done for the day?

[@houseofdyer]

Just done for the day. The part I DIDN'T record was that I was actually almost 2 miles from where I needed to be on super hot, sharp, rocky asphalt. I made it about half a mile before my feet started bleeding. Always bring your booties in Colorado. I totally owe @coloradokitesports a huge one for the teva rescue that day. :)

[@svenvandekamp794]

keep your hands close to the bar goddammit

[@svenvandekamp794]

in the middle* haha

[@houseofdyer]

Ha! Keep YOUR hands close to the middle of my bar .

[@Qjmigo]

Bro you dont even know when to pull and push the bar, and also you are twisting the bar. With that wind you cant ride bcs you re doing mistakes. I can tell that if you made these things properly the session could be good.