It's Kitemare O'clock

luke · Since 06 Jul 2005 399 Posts Obsessed

It can be confusing to new people in the sport. There is a lot to learn and almost everyone is willing to give advice.

Some confusion with board leashes might arise from this simple fact:

Some of the best kiters in the world wear board leashes when kiting at certain locations.

And, some magazines have shown these world class kite surfers using board leashes on the cover of their magazines within the past year or so.

craz z · Since 01 Dec 2008 130 Posts Montana Stoked

Youkai, Your not completely alone.

A leash isn't the worst thing in the world and a blessing in the right conditions.

However if you're in the gorge or hatteras I can see why everyone hates them. Higher winds increase the potential for injury exponetially. Its normally just not worth it.

(whats the answer for the current issue at hand right now)? dunno tough call. lose the board i guess or leash it.

I happen to kite in montana where the wind isn't always or ever in the summer nuking like the gorge. Without a boat and flukey winds my leash is always ready to be used or not used depending on conditions.

I've been fortunate not to sustain any injuries only minor and do see why the leash is put down all the time. Its not a matter of if it will get you its when and where your board is going to kill you or mame you like other pics and horror stories.

the go joe and tire thing is nice an all to help locate the board but if your body draggin down wind and cant get near the board whats the point on lighter winds.

I don't get the looking cool vs. staying safe with regards to no pfd or helmet not all of us are that strong at swimming and some that think they are could get a deadly lesson quick.

sounds like your progressing quick and making decent decsions based on your experience so I wouldn't let all the naysayers get you down. You could be looked at as kooky but definetely not a newb thats gonna get hurt or hurt someone else. its your body your life you've been warned about the risk of doing it so who cares other then you.

(aka don't take it personal cause its not its always a chance to let everyone say no way jose to the leash.)

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 854 Posts Seattle Opinionated

kiting with a leash always reminds me of this photo.

btw since the topic of directionals with leashes in waves is coming up. I'm no expert but I suspect they are doing this because if they get separated from there board it could be a much more serious problem with waves pounding down on you and or your kite while your board happily rides a wave all the way in to shore.

pdxmonkeyboy · Mon Jun 20, 11 3:00 pm **Re: Risk**

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

kochease · Since 03 Jul 2008 760 Posts In Ft. Stevens, OR Opinionated

I can't count how many times I've been beat up by my surfboard just surfing. Even just surfing you have to pay attention to your leash. My biggest injuries are fin cuts. Fins have sliced me good enough that I have had to get stitches, ruined many wetsuits and left me several big bumps on my head. Everytime I go over the falls or get taken out by the lip I take a mental note of my board position and were it is as best I can. Just be aware of the risk..

I don't use a surf leash when riding straps kiting but if I'm strapless I use a 10ft surf leash so I don't get my ass kicked in the waves and risk a kitemare dragging into surf beating down on top of you. Like other have said, depends of location and conditions.

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

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

I'm pretty sure I could dig up the picture of the 6 staples closing the 3" gash in my head from my kite leash days. My torn hamstring from my board leash forcibly giving me the splits wasn't much to photograph, but the months of rehab sucked pretty bad. I was a slow learner. Kite leashes were what they taught back in 2002. Ditch the leash, take your emergency room savings and invest in a couple spare boards or a GoJoe. You should have enough left over to get a PFD and a helmet.

dancingwind · Since 18 Jul 2007 321 Posts Obsessed

holly · Since 09 Jul 2006 440 Posts Hood River Obsessed

Reaper356 · Since 10 Dec 2006 781 Posts Salem / LC Oregon Opinionated

my $.02 - and I think this is getting at the original point of the post:

The Columbia current / waterlevel has been really sketch lately ...
I've done a fair bit of kiteboarding in sketchy situations, seen and had bad things happen. You need to ask yourself "Will this be fun or will it be survial / lose your shit / kitemare" situation.

If the answer is no, there is a brewery in town I believe?

A.K. · Since 01 Jul 2006 190 Posts Stoked

In the Gorge you will notice that some of us carry the reel style leash with an emphasis on "carry". We do not ride the board while leashed. It is for low wind senarios where kites are down in the water for 10 minutes because of no wind and we do not want to worry about the board. We can just clip in to keep it nearby.

In high wind or over powered situation its too dangerous to be leashed. But in these senarios there should be plenty of wind for you to get your kite back up and body drag to board.

MY CONCLUSION:
-carry a reel leash if you want
-don't connect the leash while riding
-alway wear a helmet when "carrying" a leash

EXTRA CREDIT:
I wish there was a safety release of the reel leash at its attachment point on the harness.

MarkWorth · Since 02 May 2011 149 Posts Hood River Stoked

You need to break the tricks into simpler moves that you can to pull off 70% - 90% of the time.
If you are working on advanced tricks and don’t want to “waist time” going after your board, you are approaching the sport from the wrong end. Learning is a series of small discoveries, not instant gratification. Although all kiters learning new tricks crash, the crashes need to be controlled. Think of it as bailing out part way through. The kite should not touch the water and the kiter needs to make a safe reentry to the water.
I have seen a board go through a helmet and tear the scalp away from the skull. 12 staples fixed the scalp right up, but if the board had connected instead of glancing off the dude’s scull, he would have died right in front of me.

Aeolus · Tue Jun 21, 11 9:51 am

Hey Youkai....those river current conditions sound pretty stiff up there... seems like there is a lot of adventure in just mowing the lawn....keep a good sense of humor man...it's just kiting.... Laughing

sucks to lose shit though...

It's always a balance eh.... between kiting in a speedo and wearing this suit....not a kiter out there that could not have used a suit like this at one time or another...the swinging log to the head reminded me of the leash thing...some sweet clips in here...

Link

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2027 Posts Windward

you know I've had a few cracks on the noggin,
and some near drowning expierences,

blows to my head seemed fun in comparision,

Yes if super powered and doing twiddly d's and whope-t-do's
a board leash should be your last resort .
Larger boards don't require so much power , inadvertant kiteloops are not so powerful ,however a short static leash attached to rear of the harness does not get much run at you ,might want to get a vest and helmut to keep an eye on your 6

But when you are so far down it's dark,, and you have wait to see which way you float ,to know which direction to swim you'd give everything to be attched to a safety device

hoarhey · Since 20 Jul 2008 63 Posts the corridor

For pdxmonkeyboy: to see several pictures of pros wearing leashes just get the new issue of SBC kiteboarding. Is that guy on the cover boosting with a board leash? Is that ian alldredge? Is he a pro? Is ryland blakeney a pro? Page 34. Ian again on pages 42-3. Is that ben wilson on page 44-45 showing you how to do an unstrapped backroll with and ankle leash???
Yes it is.
Bottom line: riding with a leash is up to the individual. There is an appropriate time and place to use them. But instaed of giving people the "board shaped hole in our face" propoganda try something like, "be careful because some people have gotten hurt riding with leashes attached to their board."

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

Here is a copy of the 8th reason out of the 13 or so reasons that a kiter might want to use a leash. This is taken from an analysis I compiled for a thread on KF, listed on page one of this thread. I am not a proponent of routinely wearing board leashes, but I find the topic interesting. It surprises me that the many other problems related to board leashes are not discussed.

Below is a point that emphasizes the fact that board leashes protect other water users... as real surfers and true watermen have know for years. We kiters are kind of new to the game.

My only advice to the kiter, in this thread is: Don't use a leash in high wind or when you are practicing tricks... and if you do use a leash, make it yourself...one meter long with a release on each end.

( Cool

It is the LAW:

Here is a typical ordinance (law) from Bogue Inlet Pier, North Carolina:

ec. 5-54. Leashes on surfboards required. No person shall use or operate a surfboard or other similar device in the Atlantic Ocean unless a rope or leash having a minimum length of four (4) feet is physically attached to the surface of the surfboard and the opposite end of the leash or rope is looped so that the leash may be placed around the person's ankle or wrist for control of the surfboard or other similar device while in operation or use in the Atlantic Ocean.(Ord. of 2-10-09, § 2)Sec. 5-55. Penalty. Violation of any of the provisions of this article shall constitute an infraction punishable in accordance with section 1-6.

I don't think that we have seen the last of board leashes. Why? Because it seems that a major trend in kiteboarding is toward wave surfing, and the requisite kite-surf-board, complete with its sharp pointy nose and big knifey looking fin.

Let's face it, real surfers don't want us in their breaks, and when access problems occur, and then the attendant meetings and negotiations start occurring, in an attempt to prohibit the banning of kitesurfers, by the authorities...Do you think that the legitimate surfers are going to support us, when they find out that, even though, they themselves, as surfers are required by local ordinances to wear leashes,...that we kitesurfers feel that we have a God-given right to be exempt from restraining our surfboards, because "they might hurt us".?