Punk ...............may be you can turn it into an assymetrical 
If a windsurfer hits something solid in the water he is going to damage his gear and possibly himself.
He is going to do what he can to avoid that.
If there had been a GoJoe on the board this probably wouldn't have happened.
just before we go further,
Lewis are you a folder or a scruncher?
as a folder you may need to find some order in all this greyness, various options are available that may help you in this disorganised world
as a scruncher you should be able to just move on and forget it
back to it posters
give the poley a pat on the back and buy him a beer, it gives you a great reason to buy a decent board
Thanks for all your comments guys.
To those of you who feel I am trying to lay blame you have misunderstood my intentions from this thread. This incident was clearly an accident, I can't imagine anyone intentionally smashing into a kiteboard. I am also not really concerned of the legalities of the issue - this is against the spirit of the sport - was more just after an indication of what's fair, and whether this could have been prevented.
The general gist of this thread indicates:
1. I am responsible for maintaining control over my gear
2. The windsurfer has an obligation to maintain control over his gear
3. The board would have been difficult to see, and the windsurfer would have had limited ability to manoeuvre, as he was trying to miss me.
When it's all said and done, it is my decision to operate on the water with expensive gear, and I accept the risk it may get destroyed.
As many of you said **** happens, and the fairest thing is to just suck up the damage ourselves. If anything the main points to take away are
1. As a kitesurfer you accept the risk of becoming separated from your board
2. If a kiter is in the water expect his board will be upwind somewhere. Options are to steer well downwind, proceed upwind with caution (slow down, eyes out), or best of all change direction and remain completely clear.
To those of you who indicated you'd just ride away or look for a biff on the water after something like this pull your heads in - accidents happen. You're probably the same people who slam your car door into me in the carpark and justify not leaving a note with your details coz the 'wind caught the door'.
Poley was in the kiters area. Plain and simple. When you take a risk you must be willing to pay the price. Full price. New board. Done.
Being a conscientious sailor I'd have seen your board.
I'd have stopped, picked it up, and sailed off with it.
Just one of those unfortunate accidents. It will probably be happening less and less in future because sailboarders are gradually dying out.
I'll never cease being surprised by which threads attract massive attention and opinion and which threads quickly disappear to page 2 with barely a whimper.
Is it all in the first post, or does it require a certain type of response to attract more traffic and opinion?
Your 2c?
If it were in open water- **** happens, bad luck
HOWEVER- If there are rules about divison of space, they are to be respected thus:
If you were in Poley area- U pay for damage to his board
If he encroached into Kite board only area- He pays repairs
All water users have a duty of care to other water users. In this case, the Windsurfer wasn't exercising sufficient care around a body dragging kiteboarder. Just look at the length of the cut! Modern wood core boards are pretty much indestructable - think how hard you would have to have hit that board with a hatchet or axe to re-create that kind of cut and then think how fast this dude must have been going.
Now I know that kitesurfing is the relative newbie on the block but that doesn't put us down the pecking order for more "established" water craft to run rough shod over us. Otherwise, I'd be out in a power boat mowing down every jet ski I saw... (kidding).
It's not rocket science to know that a kitesurfer body dragging is trying to get back to their board. Sometimes you can be separated by a decent distance from your board. The Windsurfer should have known this, and like policemen say about the law "Ignorance is not an excuse."
On the other hand, the colour of your board would have made it not so easy to spot. So, a lesson for all of us, is that given we tend to be separated from our equipment from time to time, we need to be aware how it appears (or doesn't) in the water to other users, and that should be a consideration when purchasing.
FWIW I don't think your board is totaled. It should be reasonably easy to fix with some fibreglass mat, epoxy and some diligent sanding. The board won't look the same but hey "chicks dig scars."
I reckon the guy owes you at least a slab for the hassle.
or to point or provide assistance or aviod being split slit oor hit by it.
Boards have very thin skins and if its a honeycomb core, are easy to damage. This was done by a kiteline.
There would be a different judgement IMO from outside the kiting community based on - if you used a Gojoe, the board will come back to you easier, is easier for the kiter to find and its obvious to other water users where the board is.
The argument 'It makes you look like a kook.' isn't a great defence in court.
i can remember as a grommet a guy wrecking my surfboard by running me over in the surf and when i complained he just punched my head in.
get your mum to buy you a new board for you this christmas
My view, for what it is worth, is that what really matters is not hurting people. Damaging equipment is a lot lower down the scale. The poley probably had his eye on the person with attached cocktail umbrella and did not notice the board. He did it right. Nobody was hurt.
I don't think it is reasonable to think anyone should know where a board is in relation to the dunked kiter. Regardless of what stupid zone someone is in.
Not hitting a person in the water is #1 priority, which is what the windsurfer achieved.
Dave
