Self-rescue to Ft. Point - worked, but don't try

baypirate · Post by **baypirate** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 1:51 am

First off - a big THANK YOU to whomever grabbed my board in the swell at GG today (Sun 3/29). I know how tough that is and the wind was getting iffy, I owe you big for taking the chance and the time!

I'm posting this as more like as a "don't try this at home", as I'm not sure my self-rescuing today at Crissy should EVER be considered an option, although it worked out quite smoothly (this time).

So, I dropped my kite in the shadow of the south tower, by the time I could relaunch, the swell twisted the kite so the lines were crossed (center lines crossing back lines). I could still fly the kite after a fashion, but my dilemma was how safe is to ride all the way back with the lines crossed? I didn't want to play chicken with the bridge foot either, so I let myself drift right outside the gate and considered whether to radio the CG.

As background, a few weeks back somebody working at Ft. Point let us through the normally fenced off area under the bridge to show some out-of-towners "the views". There is a tiny "beach" there, lots of big rocks but it happened to be low tide so it kind of stayed in my memory.

I remembered it today and decided to body drag close to it, and just call CG if it looked too risky. There is a ~50ft opening clear of rocks, but not much land depth to the wall. With one hand on the eject throughout, I self-landed the kite right on the waterline, swam the remaining line-length and literally walked out of the water.

Now, I probably got lucky, not only because I happened to know that spot, wind was light and tide low. Yet big rocks litter the shore, concrete walls are less than a line length away and surf breaks shoulder-high onto the "beach". I didn't even contemplate launching back out of there to ride home, I think that would be really insane. Some other form of "escape from Ft. Point" was next, as you're on the wrong side of fences. After some foot recon, I packed the kite, headed up the hill, found a more jumpable fence and ended it up in the parking lot of the bridge vista point.

Besides the couple of misdemeanors committed, I'm pretty sure self-rescuing to this spot is not advisable, but wanted to share this just in case.

What's a good advice on what to do once the kite twists and is flying on crossed lines? Thanks again to the folks keeping an eye out for my adventure today.

adamT · Post by **adamT** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:08 am

My kite did the same thing to me the first time I was out at Crissy. Kite inverted and lines were twisted. It was pretty freaky having my kite go bonkers behind that pillar...

My Solution:
I got my kite in the air and with my board long gone (bad tide flow) and my kite flying funny I ended up body dragging back to the beach.. I had a pretty clear shot at the beach, so it seems safe, even after I did it, and it was kind of fun, but cold.

Happy Ending:
My Friend Whit. grabbed my board for me...

baypirate · Post by **baypirate** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 10:11 am

oh, yeah, on the board - didn't lose it when I dropped the kite, I carry an extra leash for self-rescue so while struggling to get some wind in the twisted downed kite I put the leash on board. Once kite was up (barely flying though), I reached for the towed board to use it for body drag, but I somehow (stupidly) grabbed the leash by the release and the board was gone (funny enough, yesterday I dry-tested all the releases right before that...)

I really hope whomever fetched it for me reads the forums, because that was big favor, swell was pretty big yesterday and wind already marginal to fool around getting somebody's board...

starboard · Post by **starboard** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:32 pm

Next time you are at Crissy Field ask a local rider for some advice! They can provide you with very important tips to make your experience safe and fun. I am sure you could of avoided dropping your kite in the first place. The wind, currents, and tides are all of the utmost importance when riding on SF Bay. Know your surroundings and kite safe.

kitedancer · Post by **kitedancer** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:57 pm

I did the same thing last August - went too close to the South Tower, kite went down, I drifted a little, trying to relaunch. Finally relaunched and the Kite was inverted with crossed lines. At that point I was having a minor panic attack. Luckily a local rider (Thank you Chris!) grabbed my board for me, and simply told me, if the kite is in the air, kite back. So I did. I am NEVER going near the South Tower again!

~Lisa

jetlag · Post by **jetlag** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:51 pm

Tom Gore is the one that grabbed your board. Definitely not a safe place to land (Ft. Point on the outside), there are usually waves against the rocks and brick wall but you got lucky. Whenever your kite is flyable (even with crossed lines) you should fly it back to the beach.
If someone local from Crissy is there we usually will try to grab the board and bring it downwind.
As the other poster said you should know all there is to know by talking with a regular before you launch. It's great at Crissy when all goes well but most of us know what to avoid and what to do when things go wrong.
Happy kiting.

OliverG · Post by **OliverG** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:54 pm

About 4 years ago I on NW wind, got caught in a shadow of South Tower and the kite reacted violently, luffed, blem up, fell down, powered up and bam, chicken loop gone. Watching the South Tower say "Sayonara!" on a 4-5 knot ebb followed by C.B. riding by shouting, "You better get your sh*t together fast!", I figured I better and did just that. Keeping my board on my feet I wound up my bar best as I could to get to my kite fast, although many yards of loose lines were still around me.

I grabbed my wingtips and body dragged using my board for some distance in strong wind toward Ft. Point, to the extent that I though the pull of the wingtips from the kite were literally going to break my fingers, but letting go was not an option. Long story short - I made it to Ft. Point, but in the last 20 yards lost my board - a surfer paddled over and brought it to me, he was awesome. But just before that, I was getting hammered and pounded on the rocks before I made it to beach. The lines got wrapped around my ankle, the kite was on one side of the rocks, me on the other. The force of the waves pulled me back into the water, the lines tighter and tighter on my ankles. The waves receded for a moment and I managed to claw most lines off of me and crawl up the beach. The kite was blown open in two, but I was safe!

Don't get caught in S. Tower shadow!

baypirate · Post by **baypirate** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:17 pm

Thank you all and please convey my gratitude to Tom for the board.

Yup, both times I got myself in trouble at Crissy were this kind of "unforced errors".

Ollie - I hear you on watching the tower saying "sayonara", the speed at which the ebb takes you out through the gate is pretty amazing...

CdoG · Post by **CdoG** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:52 pm

Both Times...WTF.
what you didnt get it the frist time....?
"unforced errors"
you mean your lack of good judgement

what are you doing there in the frist place...?

you see kiters that have been paying dues there
for years...

lacasaverde · Post by **lacasaverde** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:01 pm

Eh Narly, good to see you back to your ol' self!! ;)

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Self-rescue to Ft. Point - worked, but don't try

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Re: Self-rescue to Ft. Point - worked, but don't try

Re: Self-rescue to Ft. Point - worked, but don't try

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Re: Self-rescue to Ft. Point - worked, but don't try

Re: Self-rescue to Ft. Point - worked, but don't try

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