Tragedy at Ocean Beach

[bkkowta]

My thoughts go out to his freinds in family RIP Scott

[kiteman's friend]

Hello there. I just wanted to say how awesome it is to see such an outpouring of warm hearted words from so many people. I was only fortunate enough to know Scott for a couple of years, but I'm so very thankful. Always a smile on his face, even during the hardest times. After spending time with his parents these past few days,it's easy to see where he got it from. He is and will always be an inspiration for me.

Be safe and have fun :-)

[sattia]

My deepest sympathies to Scott's family at very side time.

I have something to share that has me a little rattled.
I was out at Waddle today, around 3pm there was only one person out and by the time I rigged and launched I has the water to myself. On my first tack all of a sudden my saftey on chicken loop lets go, and I am holding on to the kite with just my hands. I am trying to figure what to do. Do I dare jibe or do I let the kite come down hold on to my board and try and get the attachment back on.
I decided to go for reattaching myslef, I played around with bar and main line for a little and managed to reattach it. Manager to relaunch the kite but the wind was also coming down. 5 seconds later my safety goes off again, and I put the kite down. By this time I am getting close to the break and I decide to just float on in, and get back to beach.
Everything is fine for a while trying to keep tension on on the lines and expecting the surges when the waves grab the kite. At this point I am where the break is and decide to let the board go and let it float back. I am trying to be cleaver by catching the waves and body surf (I think I was trying that too with the board at hand ... I can't remember anymore). Anyway I get caught by the wave and I just relize that I have cuase the lines to go slack and my body is heading towards the lines. I try and keep pretty flat. The same wave now catches the kite and I know that I have the lines wrapped around my right leg between the calf and the ankle. I am being pulled with a tremendous pull and it hurt. I know that I need to wait for the pull to stop and untangled fast. I did ...
Anyway I get back and relaunch and think I have the safety stuff fixed and thinking that I will do a very aggressive upwinder, the thing comes undun again ...
I decide that it's time to walk back scratching my head on what is going on with my bar and lines ...
I talk to some of really good guys and one guy adjusted some tension hex screw uparantly the screw was almost all the way out. After I got dressed I went to thank the guy, and decided to share the line wrap on my leg, he looks at me and tells me about Scott and this weekend.
I am never on any kitesurfing forums but here I am, shaken and saddened by Scott's story, not only was a fellow kietsurfer and probabbly a kindred spirit but were both born the same year ...

I do carry a knife on my harness that picked up a long long time ago, I don't know if it sharp. I did have the thought that I could grab it when I was being dragged but also knew there would have been a chance I would drop it. Now that I think about it when there was tension and being dragged it would have been impossible to get to the line ... the only hope is between the sets if I was still wrapped in I would start hacking at the lines ... Anyway I am stopping by a suba place tommorow and getting a knife and somehow I will also tether it somehow or put a loop on it or something, and I am definitely going to pick up a new bar and lines ones that don't have that tension hex screw thing.

I will conclude with my thoughts going out to Scott's family RIP.

[jono]

The most spiritual human beings, assuming they are the most
courageous, also experience by far the most painful tragedies: but it
is precisely for this reason that they honor life, because it brings
against them its most formidable weapons. --Nietzsche

[Greg]

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away-


R.I.P. Scott-
I will watch their back

[maxsteamer]

Life is but a song we sing.. that fears the way we die..

[funmilton]

RIP Scott Micheal Murray

I will never forget that day and the people I have met because of it.

[OliverG]

RIP Scott

Still up from last year:

http://scottmurray.bayareakiteboarding.com/

[Greg]

RIP Scott-

Be careful everybody,
Greg

[funmilton]

RIP Scott Michael Murray

You will always be remembered-