3rd Ave kite accident today

[athorsness]

Iím still kind of out of it (hit my head really hard) but Iíll give this my best shot now and return when I am fully mentally back, to fill in..

Got some questions about my experience in the sport of kiting. Ö Ok ya, I would consider myself a beginner. My situation is/was as follows:
1. I picked up the sport and got pretty good very very fast.. .It only took 1.5 months to get to the point I was actually trying to pull more and more airÖ I think I was getting about 3 ñ 4 ft after only 1 week on the boardÖ This was my attraction to the sport.

2. I never practiced releasing the kite in real situations. IE Kite in the air.. I did go through it on the ground so I knew what needed to be done if I did need to release the kite. But never really went through the mental or physical practice of going to the release in a crisis situation. Ö Working on a plan for practicing this safely without having to go chasing after oneís kite for an hour, or slamming innocent bystanders.Ö

3. I did go through the power point presentation on 3rd avenue I found on line. But unfortunately did not remember the part about being careful when coming back in.

4. My original kite, the Turbo 2, depowered much more than the kite I was flying when the accident happened (a Raven). Still waiting for warranty work to be done on the T2 kiteÖ (now in the 5th week of waiting) I had felt the Raven didnít really depower as readily as the T2 a couple days before this accident. I made a mental note to remember thisÖ This mental note must not have sunk in and I obviously did not realized I could not depower enough to be safe in the situation I was in with this new-to-me kite. Again I don't remember anything about coming in or the accident, so It is really hard for me to speak to what exactly I was thinking. I can only go on my mental and physical awareness I have with the sport and come up with what happened from there.

5. I did not take lessons at wow (answer to someoneís question). But was given great instruction elsewhere. I totally blame myself for this happening not my lack of good instruction. I also suppose I would have avoided this if I had been fully conscious of the danger of coming back in so close to the rocks.

[carnold]

Adam-

One of the first things we teach when giving lessons is how to release the kite, and students get to try it a few times. All in all, you may be the best advertisement for lessons in the bay area.
Come down to alameda when you get a chance. The shallow water and steady wind means you can practice releasing your kite without fear of extra work or danger to others.

By the way, I think a lot of us appreciate your candid awareness of your mistakes. I think you are using your mistake to really educate the beginner community, so thank you. Cheers

Colin

[MehYam]

Just curious - helmet?

[Live2KITE]

Adam - warm wishes for speedy recovery.
Best Regards,
Evan

[KiteRider]

wow crazy story.

Good to hear that you are doing better and thank god nothing worse happened to you.

Beginner a beginner myself, I find landing on or near that upper launch pretty tricky especially on windier days.

[athorsness]

Yep Helmut......
Gear:
Helmut
4/3 Wetsuit + life-vest
Dakine Nitrous Harness..(nice feeling harness by the wayÖ)
Board: North Dragon (134)
Kite: Raven (12)

[athorsness]

Hello again .

I have still not been back to 3rd ave to check for my backpack (yellow orange turbo 2 backpack) and my pump. Does anyone have them. I heard they were sitting out on the mud for about a week.

Also I have someones blue robe.. Thanks for letting me borrow it. The person gave it to me when they cut my wetsuit off.

Adam