Hmmmm, do i detect a board leash/reel leash in those photos?
And this is the KBV President?....
Smacks of hypocrisy, don't ya think?
www.kiteboardleash.com
How is it hypocrisy?
Glad to see you boys down at the state titles, and event 100% run by volunteers trying help the sport progress. Cheers x
http://www.kiteboardleash.com/index.php?page=testimonials
Oh wow there has been a death....... But no hypocrisy (gotta love autocorrect)
What is interesting is the images they posted are not from leash incidents. This image is a boating accident image from Harry Potter after they jumped the tasmania ferry wake on a thunder cat so I am pretty sure it's false advertising and I'm pretty sure the image is being used without his permission, as is it likely that all the other images are as well.
I know, I may have come across as harsh, but all of the Australian Kiteboarding associations, from the national body AKSA (now Kiteboarding Australia) to the state based associations which operate with AKSA like SAKSA, NSWKBA, and KBV (at one stage, I've been kiting 10 years, and definitely read it on their website in the early days) discourage the use of board leashes due to their inherent danger of injury.
Check out their Codes of Conduct, as follows:
NSWKBA - Safe Kiteboarding Guidelines – A Code Of Conduct: Launching and Getting Underway, Point 5: Board leashes are dangerous. All kiteboarders are encouraged to master body dragging for board recovery. Use of a board leash is dangerous and is generally discouraged due to the hazards of board rebound or wave driven impact. http://nswkba.memberlodge.org/coc
SAKSA - Code of Conduct - Safe Kiteboarding Guidelines: Launching and Getting Underway, Point 5: Board leashes are dangerous.
www.saksa.com.au/?page_id=363
hy·poc·ri·sy. noun \hi-'pä-kr?-se also hi-\. : the behaviour of people who do things that they tell other people not to do.
Not trying to be an prick, but more a practice what you preach situation, especially at such a prominent location such as St Kilda, the hub of beginners in Victoria. They see the KBV President with a board leash, they may assume that's the done thing.
I've seen countless kook-outs this summer, with bus-loads of beginners rocking up to local spots on both Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula beaches for "ride days", kites dropping like flies, kooks unhooking and handing kites to even bigger kooks who proceed to loop the kite and crash it down onto unsuspecting young parents with a baby... I've seen it all this summer, and the kook-outs have to stop, or this sport will be outlawed.
Board leashes are dangerous, and not only lead to kook-outs, but make minor kook-outs all the more dangerous. End rant.
I'm usually not a big fan of controversy and I do think that everybody should be able to do more or less what they want, so if the KBV pres wants to ride with a leash because he cannot be bothered body dragging, his issue.
Still, riding in ST kilda pool (where it is quite impossible to loose a board) while throwing jumps (i.e. precisely when the leash is dangerous) would probably not require a leash. So yes, it is quite strange to see a leash on those pics... especially coming from someone expected not to be controversial...
Coil Type leash safety modified
Hi all I just notice some comments regards the use of Kite leaches.
Generally these comments are absolutely correct in that generally there is an increased risk of the board coming back at a kiter , and they should not be worn thus the recommendation not to wear one. However..
Surfboard type Leash: these in my opinion should never be used as they are extremely elastic and the leash can flick a board back very dangerously
Coil Type: This is the type I use. I have actually modified mine with a section of doubled up 8mm shock cord near the attachment to the board to prevent any board spring back.
The problem that I solved ( eg 7 years of using this modification with no issues) was only when the cord fully extends, at that point the webbed cord could spring the board back. The adaption of the shock cord (tested various lengths and diameters) prevents this from occurring.
Personally I also always wear a helmet when kiting regardless of a coil leash or not. In addition
I always wear an impact vest, with a kite safety knife.
Rick
Wouldn't it be easier to learn how to body drag than to spend seven years experimenting with leashes.,
Coil Leash Additional Safety and actions; fyi
Hi all
I think this is a very healthy conversation as we are all on the same page in relation to safety , and wanting to make kiters aware of the potential dangers. We may not agree on all issues, but this is a good example , where I will actually contact the manufacture and put fwd my modifications. As the comments are correct we all need to self educate and help others.
Ps two other significant modifications I made (interest from my engineering days trying to improve things); fyi, are
a)?I attached a 80cm 3 mm spectra line from the coil clip to the mount on the back fin so the board will not actually retract back to the kiter, ie extra insurance. This also prevents the 8 mm coil web from extending while kiting.
b)?Also to prevent the coil getting tangled behind the coil and preventing it from retracting I threated a 2mm line from the centre screw to the upper 30mm webbing.
Part of the back ground for these modifications was due to the fact that I have rescued on 3 separate occasions kiters at Torquay Point Danger ( where I kite a lot, and where typical winds are offshore to the point) who have lost their boards and could not body drag back , mainly due to a situation where the wind drag is greater than the drift of the board back to the kiter. Yes I don?t need at the pond, but the coil is secured to harness, and in its current form is safe for my use. Ps yes I can body drag, pss it wasn?t 7rs of development , I modified the coil over a weekend about 7 years ago. Psss hopefully others will also see me wearing the helmet and impact vest and adopt
.
I shall also put these suggestions on KBV web site, facebook, SB , and suggest to all shops that they provide these modifications regardless of if the manufacture adoptions them or not. In additional I shall amend the recently printed KBV safety guidelines ( see attached) that I re wrote, and personally dropped off at the kite schools. All feedback from this to refine the next edition.
Tah all
Rick
President KBV
I welcome any further discussion 0437 85 9933