Crissy Field Rescue

paulwhitaker · Post by **paulwhitaker** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:52 pm

You're making fair points.

But I think you're misunderstanding my intentions. I didn't want to get into a situation whereby the CG would have to rescue me. Although I'm greatful that they did at that moment because I needed them to. Moreover, I'm not proud of the fact that I had to get rescued.

As far as a "right of passage" let me clarify.

Riding at Crissy is a bit of a milestone for anyone kiting. It takes a long time to be able to confidently ride up wind and handle various situations. I don't think getting rescued by the CG is a right of passage.

The fact is, and I admitted as much on my blog, what happened was pure pilot error. I'm sharing my experience so other people can avoid making the same mistake I did.

I will go back to Crissy. Next time with a radio and a new wet suit. And hopefully not end up in the same situation.

paulwhitaker · Post by **paulwhitaker** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 7:03 pm

Jono, I edited my post with the following, I hope that addresses your concerns...

Lastly, and as "Jono" from the forums at BayAreaKiteBoarding.com pointed out... The Coast Guard isn't a kiter taxi service. They have an important job to do and although they will help you if you really need it you should do everything you can to avoid that situation.

Bulldog · Post by **Bulldog** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:21 pm

I've never ridden at Chrissy, and don't plan to ever. I usually ride at Sherman but last weekend I rode at OB twice, in crankin' gale force winds.

Lots of people are scared to kite at OB, I guess, but it sounds "safer" than Chrissy in several ways. I'm probably going to get reamed for saying this, because kite kooks anywhere are bad for the locals and I'm not a local there. But OB has a big beach and no rocks. You might (and a kook probably will) get lofted onto shore, but at least it's a big beach and a long way to the beach wall, with few peds to collide with. If you need to, you can do a long downwinder and walk your ass back. As long as the wind is side-on or onshore and you are still connected to your kite (even if it's down in the water), you are probably not going to get blown out to sea.

Even though the water looks scary, it is butter flat between the swells. You certainly won't get out there and have any illusions about your ability to do anything unless you can actually back it up. If you can't kite there, you probably shouldn't be kiting at Chrissy anyway.

Props to the two guys who did the upwinder from Chrissy to OB on Saturday. One guy came through the break on a 12 after everyone had gotten blown off the water on their 9s.

LionKite · Post by **LionKite** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:45 pm

Yeah and they came back the next day with all their friends to put on a really nice show: "hairball" suicide launches , kites falling out the sky left and right, shredded kite, lost board,etc...
Maybe not every kiter that kites Crissy(without a H for you Homers!) is ready to kite OB either!!!

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:54 am

No Pablito, you will not get reamed........
OB can be a safer spot in some respects, lack of pedestrians, large buffer between water and sea wall, and a large stretch of beach that you can get blown back to. However, it can be your worst kitemare as well. It is good advice for any newbie or experienced rider who has not ridden there to use their common sense when kiting OB. And if you are unsure about the spot, talk to a few of the locals.........Remeber, this is GGNRA area and if a few people complain to the Rangers, it makes it tough on all of us....Accidents will happen no matter what spot we are in, we just all want to avoid them through better understanding and involvement through the kite community.

Love that LionKite guy.....

kitechick · Post by **kitechick** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:05 am

Crissy....I kited there 2 or 3 times and then had an interesting kitemare, maybe it's worth sharing here:

I kite conservatively and safety oriented since many years and at Crissy never went far out or to the towers, kited in nice strong winds only and stayed not too far from the beach. And then...this one day suddenly the wind shut down, kites dropped out of the sky everywhere. Mine too. Crissy has quite a bit of boat traffic including the big ones. Tourist filled ships, ferries, containerships. One of those huge touristboats was heading directly my way and I don't think they saw me or my lines, not even the kite on the water. They could have probably not stopped or turned fast enough once they saw me. And this kite - without wind - did not care to relaunch. Only when this ship was about 100 yards away finally the kite popped out of the water and I got away from the boats path. Literally in the last minute.

Crissy is a spectacular place to kite but I don't need that much adrenaline and prefer to live and continue to exist in one piece. There are many other good places in the Bay with wind and water and fun kiters :-) and that was this story.

Happy Kiting!

Byr0 · Post by **Byr0** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:05 pm

LionKite, relax!

It is not like they were having kite issues to fuck with you.

"hairball" suicide launches"
Ovi did not have anyone to launch him while you were standing there watching him. So, he self launched...it was gusty, the kite bounced and he was fine.

"kites falling out the sky left and right"
Mikey had a bar issue with his RRD and unhooked to engage the 5th, Chip grabbed the kite without any issue. Not left or right, straight down!

"shredded kite, lost board,etc... "
Ovi was ripping an 8m strapless and crashed on a good size set. Of course he is fine, I have seen Ovi handle sicker shit in NorCal and Maui were he lived 2 years as the most utilized and respected instructor at KiteBeach. Good thing Ovi fixes kites!

No board was lost, see when he rides strapless and rips a strut off the kite in the impact zone, the board seems to get away. He does not use a reel leash...do you? He got his board when he came in.

I do admit Chip seemed to be out of his element at OB, he seemed very nervous on our down winder to sloat as he was busting out sick toe side floaters to Indy air back to green 15 off the lip. He is kinda new to the sport though.

Jeremie was getting pretty deep on the outside at Pacheco, smiling the whole time. Just like the day before on our Crissy>OB, he was on his 12. Huge airs off the ramps, connecting peaks. He handles it well.

Sorry, I did not launch you before Gail, I guess I was being a gentlemen. She was awesome, at 5'3" (rounding up) every lip she smacked was over head...nice!!! We need to encourage the women we do have in this sport through courtesy and respect.

"Yeah and they came back the next day with all their friends to put on a really nice show"
I like your sarcasm.

LionKite, it is not a show. Maybe next time you can stop watching, criticizing and actually help people out when they are not kiting as rad as you. Be a part of the kite community! We ride OB just as much as we ride Crissy, Sherman and the Coast. We ride where we find wind, waves and friends. This is not a Local or Homer discussion, logging days at one beach does not make you a good person to ride with or hang with. This is not about safety, shit happens..you deal. If you have friends, they help you deal.

Your posts seem jaded and salty, change it up and be cool, help a little and participate. At the rate you are going, you might become a Lion without a pride.

narly1 · Post by **narly1** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:58 pm

B..
WoW
iam tucheD..
in so meny waS..

chip hit one of the biggist airs ive seen on a surf board (he might of been toe side ...?)
at alameda today on a 7m...Ozone..

if your not a deAler.. you shouldnt be in thIs..(at ob, crissy, berkely .ect)
as shit happens ..and, we deal.

thanks byrO..

Bulldog · Post by **Bulldog** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:27 pm

I guess what was missing from MY post about OB was how cool, mellow, and friendly everyone was both days I was there. I knew alot of faces (and a few names) because everyone kites at Sherman sometimes, but I felt like I was kiting at my home beach. Everyone I saw there that day was dealing responsibly with the conditions (nukage, OPed) and helping each other out. To me, that makes as much of an impression as the waves, the wind, or the beach.

Like Charlie said, we all have had our kitemares -- they can happen whereever or whenever you kite. It's part of the sport, and I think it's great how most people are always ready to help out.

Fassn8 · Post by **Fassn8** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:52 am

Paul,
Glad you're ok! Thanks for posting this information on your blog. See ya on the water!

-Jason

BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Crissy Field Rescue

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