Kiter vs Marine Helicopter - Guess who wins?

[kitenaked]

Frank it's cool of you to post on the board and that a fellow kitesurfer is out there keeping us safe!

It must be known however that I am currently strongly resisting the urge to post a picture of a military photo shoot that I have in mind following to your post (out of respect to avoid bastardizing the thread)

Mahalo!

-Phil

Post it.

Chris

www.kitenaked.com

The Wainman Hawaii Source

[Endopotential]

Hi Frank,
I owe you and your crew a huge one for saving my butt!
I'm glad I got the marine radio - it should be required equipment for anyone sailing at Crissy.

Yes, I know I should have wrapped up my lines. But when the kite pretzelled, my lines became one huge knot. I was all I could do to hang onto the kite for the body drag back home. When you guys got me, it was gusting so hard that there was too much tangle and tension in the lines for me to wrap up the bar. Which forced me to unfortunately punch out. Between sacrificing my kite and saving myself, I chose the latter.

But you guys were all awesome. Getting to be part of your training exercise was kinda fun, and made for an even more memorable afternoon.

Thanks again,
David

[baypirate]

I vote for unintentional... they looked to me as being on a photo shoot (or maybe PR?) mission, and maybe even wanted to take a closer look/snap of the kiters (we make for such an... attractive nuisance, especially at the bridge). Bit surprised the driver didn't leave a wider margin for his rotor downwash.

I think they were Navy, not Marines, and had some additional patches and stuff. They buzzed me too on their way back (was heading back to Anita), gave them a couple of jumps - that's how I read the insignia and thought I saw a photo cannon on one side.

[sketchywind]

Hey David,
Glad to know you contacted USCG with your marine radio. When we noticed your self-rescue situation, we contacted USCG Station Golden Gate and they were aware of your emergency call on Channel 16. Good job punting the gear when you realized that it was impeding your self-rescue attempts. You did the right thing by choosing your personal safety than dealing with your tangled kite and lines. Your kite and bar aren't worth endangering your safety. My crew learned new strategies on retrieving a loose kite, so it was a great training opportunity for us as well.
Have fun!
FH