Keep Your Eyes On The Weather!!!

Any experienced kiteboarder understands the importance of following weather reports very closely and prior to launching, making sure that the weather will remain relatively consistent throughout the session.

When a front moves through, wind speed and direction can change drastically. This is when kiteboarding gets dangerous. The graph above is from Saturday, April 11th from the wind meter at the REAL slick. Notice the spike in wind speed at 5pm. I am very sad to report that this spike claimed a life. Details are still emerging but what is known for sure is that my friend Keith, who was very close to the scene and struggling to maintain control of his own kite when the front moved in, watched a lifeless body being dragged across the water by a kite. He yelled over and over to get the kiteboarder's attention. Once he safely secured his kite, he called 911.

Yesterday afternoon details started to emerge that the guy was boosting himself and on his final attempt, lost control and came down hard on the water. The impact may have killed him. We don't know yet.

I've been caught in these situations myself. Most recently, I was forced to let the kite go blowing across the sound to ensure my own safety. One of the coaches at REAL raced to retrieve the kite on a jetski once the front was passed us.

But I was warned that the front was coming! As I left the demo center, Brandon told me to be careful. He said I had an hour before it was supposed to hit. I wish I had brought a watch! As predicted, the sky got dark, the wind spiked from 20mph t0 50mph at which point I lost control of my kite. Imagine being dragged by an elephant. All I could do is eject. And I did.

LESSON LEARNED: Check the weather! Don't just prepare for the current weather, but for the weather an hour and two hours from now! And if you know a storm is coming..and this one on Saturday was being forecasted ALL DAY...keep your eyes on the sky! Consider taking a smaller kite and a big board if you know the weather is supposed to change! OR...just wait until the forecast looks more stable! And know the eject features on your bar very very well!

This was preventable. That's what's most sad.