My close call - Be Careful

[androka]

There is a chain wrapped around a log with a hook on the end. Its located at south end of beach.
Leo put it there last month. Unless someone stole it, happens all the time.

[le noun]

It is good to see that you are prepared to ask what was your best option and that you are ready to get bashed here.
Some people have too much ego to just do that.
Due to the lack of room at Berkeley, like others have mentioned, your best option since you weren't sure how to self land, would have been to go back in the water, pull your safety and roll up your lines.
Same once you got launched over the logs, as soon as you saw that this was not going the way you wanted, you should have pulled the trigger on your safety: your life and the ones of the bystanders is worth the $100 it's gonna take to fix your kite.
I agree with the rest of the crew in the sense that yes, if you're not comfortable with the entrance/exit of one spot, it is better not to kite there regardless of the spot being user friendly once you are in the water.
Injuries happen more often on land than in the water when it comes to kiteboarding.
Self landing in strong wind is tough since even if you correctly pull on your front line and land the kite flat on the edge of the wind window, if the surface is slippery, the wind will push the kite around until it catches wind again (usually, as luck would have it, right into the power zone...) and is easier to do if you can find a little wind shadowed spot ( behind the dune at racetrack or the behind the bushes at Sherman for example).
Tether launching and landing like you have been doing with your sand bag is slightly safer, or so it seems. In a gusty/shifty wind condition it can be as tricky as the kite could fly pass the wind window, crash, tumble its way downwind and catch wind again in the power zone, launching your sand bag up in the air in the process. So be careful with that technique as well.

So, yes, lesson learned, never rush to the water, if sketchy situation, the best you can do is pull your safety asap and worry about kite repairs after, and go practice self landing at OB. It is indeed a great place to learn since there are usually no bystander when it gets above 20 kts. lol.

[cleepa]

The answer is simple. If you are at a spot that may require self launching or landing, and you are not confident that you can safely do so, then you shouldn't be kiting there.

Again, like I said, there are safe ways to land a kite that don't require the ability to self land in a gusty situation. Not everyone that kites at Crissy for example can self land a kite, especially a foil, so why is that requirement necessary when there are other ways, safer ways to end your day?

How do you know ahead of time whether you are going to need to self land? If you get in and you can't land your kite, you have a big problem on your hands. Self landing is not hard to learn. as waves are good suggests, everyone over beginner level should be able to self launch/land. Unless you always plan to kite where someone is there to land you. But, stay out late enough at any spot and at some point you will have to self land.

[Aloha]

I like the park kite at edge of window, keep safety leash attached. Let go of bar, grab front lines to simulate the bar still being attached to you - unhook and drop bar away, and then slowly walk up front lines to the split (and move forward toward the leading edge as you go up the lines to keep the lines fulcrumed at the same angle as if they were attached at a fixed point at full line-length) and then end with a hard yank method.

If you don't make it to the Y split, drop the setup and steer clear of the lines and it's the same as punching out anyway. This is worth a shot over just going straight to punch out.

If you do make it to at least the Y-split but fail the yank-down, as long as you hold 1 front line tight - it's the same as the kite being punched out, and then you can quickly reel it in by that line and avoid it dropping back into the window into downwind obstacles

But honestly this kind of stuff happens to all of us I'm glad you came away relatively unscathed. I got completely yard'ed at OB one day trying to self-land in OP conditions but luckily had plenty of beach. This was before I knew about the method I describe above though.. Actually Nick ironically I think you showed up to check out the conditions just as it was happening to me that day too!

[mighty]

How do you self-land these single-line Cabrinha's without punching out? I can't figure it out for the life of me

[cleepa]

How do you self-land these single-line Cabrinha's without punching out? I can't figure it out for the life of me

Fixed object works for any kite. Given the first message in the thread, it's worth noting that I mean an immovable object! I always carry a leash with me - there's very often something you can attach a leash to to land your kite.

[bschwagg]

Don't understand why after the realization of the bag not being heavy enough you either tried to self land the kite or let go of the chicken loop / pop it. Flag the sucker and reel it in. Even after it took off. LET GO of it. That's what the safety leash is for , as everyone above pointed out. That's quite a few basic basic concepts that needs correcting amigo. Glad you're alright.

Homework - next time you go to OB learn to self land the kite the right way (no help of by-standers or sand bags). Plenty of beach to f*-up on.

That seems like sound advice when there's no other way to land. Or, it may be safer to flag the kite in the water if you're unsure.

I remember one time I tried this in hatteras on an old cabrina kite. The bar wasn't set up to flag on one line and it just ended up dragging me in a death loop. So it's smart to test it in a safe environment.

Having the center lines twisted a bunch of times also may create a death loop or like you said when the leash wraps the bar ends. Things to definitely check before trying to land it.

Thanks for sharing! We all have some crazy story, it's great to learn what not to do from someone else :]

[JimmyJack]

How do you know ahead of time whether you are going to need to self land? If you get in and you can't land your kite, you have a big problem on your hands. Self landing is not hard to learn. as waves are good suggests, everyone over beginner level should be able to self launch/land. Unless you always plan to kite where someone is there to land you. But, stay out late enough at any spot and at some point you will have to self land.

I go into the water knowing there are three possible options for exit. Option one, someone can land my kite, option two, I can self land as winds are dying off (not Sherman), option three, I put it in the water near shore and flag it out and reel it in like others have suggested.

I guess my main point is that I don't feel self landing is a requirement to kite at all locations. That is an advanced skill, but not a necessary one to kite in locations such as this place if you can launch safely.

Someone mentioned above that you need to be comfortable with the entry and exit, I agree, but I don't think self landing is a requirement to feel comfortable. There are other ways to end the day safely that make these location safe.

[edented]

Most schools aren’t teaching how to self land (or launch for that matter). We get out and going and from there we’re on our own to learn from experience and each other. We focus on learning to ride better, and if you primarily kite a crowed area, as most of us in the Bay Area do, someone will be there to launch or land your kite if you ask kindly, wait patiently, or look desperate.

As has been said, self landing is an advanced maneuver (some how we skip intermediate), yet you only learn it through trial and error in the process of becoming and ‘advanced’ kiter. ergo- go for it as a beginner/intermediate, get some scars and hopefully don’t jeopardize anyone or place in the process… And everyplace is going to have a somewhat unique situation with handicaps (gusts/sharp objects, no room for error) and bonus (wind shadows, tethering logs, wide open spaces). So your advanced skills at one site won’t necessarily translate to another.

Sounds like OB is the right place to set up and practice self launching and landing in gusty 25mph winds because there is a lot more space downwind. Maybe someone with advanced skills (or maybe a bunch of blind leading the blind beginners) wants to give up a session to be there to help guide a few people in their quest to ‘become advanced’ with self landing and launching.

I know I could use some more experience practice. Most of my 5 out of 6 times (thereabouts) of my self landing have gone according to plan using the sketchy ‘slam and yank’ process. I'd like to learn that graceful 'park on edge, unhook and walk up the flag line' technique.

[victor]

There is a chain wrapped around a log with a hook on the end. Its located at south end of beach.
Leo put it there last month. Unless someone stole it, happens all the time.

it took some work but someone stole it.