More Downed kites at the event site - be quick

MarkWorth · Since 02 May 2011 149 Posts Hood River Stoked

I have been watching kiteboarders have big problems relaunching their kites at the place where the water comes over the sandbar.
Please note:
The water passing over the sand bar is moving quickly to the west. If your kite goes down, do not put your feet on the sandbar and stand still, your lines will go slack immediately and the kite will be swept toward you.
Instead move your feet!
Keep line tension by walking away from your kite or swimming with the current.

There is a place where the kiter is just west of the sandbar but their kite is above the bar.

Do Not Drop your kite in this zone.

The wells island eddy will hold you as the water coming over the bar pushes the kite toward you regardless of how hard you swim away from the kite.

If you might hit the water with your kite, stay away from the western edge of the sandbar.

4Stringer/KipWinger · Since 27 Apr 2005 541 Posts Hood River Addicted

Appreciate the heads-up. Perhaps we can have someone post a photo of the general area and mark-it with a circle or point to the area. I'm having a difficult time understanding exactly where you're referring-to.

MarkWorth · Since 02 May 2011 149 Posts Hood River Stoked

jperry · Since 07 Nov 2008 190 Posts Stoked

rig a size bigger then normal so your kites does not float towards you when you do crash.

been fool proof for me. I crash my kite ALOT.

dancingwind · Since 18 Jul 2007 321 Posts Obsessed

Thanks Mark for the info and illustration. Witnessed a bunch of kiters as well having difficult time relaunching at these spots. Interesting how water dynamics change with high water levels.

Onad · Thu Jun 16, 11 10:55 am

Great heads-up Mark! Thanks!

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1489 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

Likewise if you're anywhere near the spit/hood river and get separated from your board - it will get swept upwind way faster than you can body drag to fetch it.
It happened to my kite buddy 2 nights ago. It took me 10 minutes to find the board ..... it was 150 yards upwind from her.
She launched from the Marina, was kiting in front of the spit, went down and her board got swept towards the event site at mach speed.

Blazeheliski · Since 30 Mar 2011 659 Posts Mosier Addicted

It is pretty much like that all up and down the Columbia right now. Last weekend at Stevenson, I saw 2 guys crash their kites and the current pushed the kites towards them creating a ton of slack in their lines. Both kiters eventually got themselves positioned so that they could relaunch - but they had to work at it. Another very experienced kiter lost his board. It took off in the current. He grabbed his surfboard and kited all the way down to Cascade locks to chase after it - but it was gone.

Look at the lost and found section - lost boards from Jones to far East Gorge the last couple of months. And those are only the reported ones.

Deapblu · Since 23 Jun 2008 27 Posts Portland

Another note about the event site.

The past few days the wind has been out of the southwest causing an almost off shore wind and creating a wind hole about 50 yards off shore which, in addition to contributing to downed kites around the sand bar, makes getting into a landing position a bit tricky. When coming in it helps to come in hot and as up wind as possible without encroaching on the windsurfing area and bleeding off speed closer to shore. Trying to work upwind from abeam the event site takes a few tacks.

Also a friendly reminder, as a point of etiquette with as small an area as we have to launch/land and unpredictable winds, close to the bowl is not the best place to be loitering/boosting. As evident from this thread, people are having a rough time landing as it is. (how many have had to swim the last bit or get towed in?) There will be plenty of time later in the year when the Sand Bar reappears. There were several people talking about this at the event site over the past few days, but I haven't heard anyone talk about it recently on the forum.

MarkWorth · Since 02 May 2011 149 Posts Hood River Stoked

A few experienced kiters have found a second very difficult to relaunch spot over the last few days. This spot is not as extreme as the one listed above but it's the same setup. The water moves quickly across the shallow sandbar in front of the marina then slows as it crosses the deeper channel of the hood river. If you are in the hood river channel with the kite down in the faster water over the marina sand bar you better be quick. Any hesitation in re launching will give you slack lines. If your kite does not relaunch "on the bounce" kick off your board and swim or walk away from the kite imeadetly. You need to move before the slack allows the river to eat your kite.
Note: this only happens when you and a downed kite are in different current speeds. If it seems to happen everywhere it’s because we are all losing perspective on how fast we need to move toward the wind to avoid slack. After three weeks of trying to stay way down wind the idea of going to Portland at the necessary speed seems wrong.