Report from the Herald Today.





Coroner calls for new rules after kitesurfer's death
27.04.05 1.00pm
Coroner Peter Dennehy is calling for new regulations to safeguard kitesurfers, following a man's death. At an inquest in Hastings yesterday, Mr Dennehy asked whether it was possible for those governing the sport to "come up with something which may save a life in the future". Douglas Wisor, 31, died on October 16 last year when strong winds dragged his kitesurfer across Te Awanga beach and slammed him into a caravan at the Te Awanga Holiday Park. Hastings Police Sergeant Brent Greville told the inquest it was found the quick release safety mechanism on Mr Wisor's harness was not in the operating position. Sean Moffett, a friend of Mr Wisor, said it was common practice for experienced kitesurfers to disconnect the safety mechanism to allow for greater manoeuvrability. Mr Moffett said that, had the mechanism been operating, Mr Wisor could have reduced the kite's power as soon as he was picked up by a gust of wind. Despite this, it would not have changed Mr Wisor's landing, Mr Moffett said. "In the conditions, a gust came, he was picked up before he realised it, he was probably 15 to 20 feet (4.57m to 6.09m) in the air...I don't believe there was anything wrong with the gear," he said. "It was just a freak accident.' Mr Moffett said he did not believe there were any formal rules in place governing kitesurfing, as there were always new developments and the equipment used changed every year. Mr Dennehy found Mr Wisor died from multiple bodily injuries. Mr Wisor was a talented winemaker who had spent two years at Dry River in Martinborough, before moving to Havelock North's Craggy Range Wines. - HAWKE'S BAY TODAY

The safest way to land and launch a kite is to do it unhooked and to have it to the side at all times until you are in the water.

Sorta like wearing a seatbelt in a car... except the opposite effect.

Dunno if it should become law (hows it gonna be policed?) so probably not. But it's just common sense really. no matter what comes along you are out of danger being unhooked and kite to the side.

As for on the water fatalities and injuries/accidents... that comes with the territory but can be minimised by being aware of the weather and making sure your gear is working properly.

Of course the other option is allowing kiting only in certain weather conditions.... once again anyone with brains would choose to do some other wholesome activity while it's flashin and bangin upstairs... like attachin a one line kite to a few sticks of TNT and flyin it high in the sky... when the lightnin strikes... KABAMM!!

What i'm hopin doesn't happen is that we have to get kitesurfing licences where we have to pass a weather test and also a test on flyin a traction kite. IT should allready be assumed that most people getting into this sport do their homework first so that they know what they are gettin themselves into... but of course most of us don't :twisted:

Anyway i indulged in a great sesh at a nice and quiet Shakers today.. fled before everyone else came and missed the 5pm rush hour. Yopu gotta love it when someones dog gets let loose and starts terrorising those flightless birds up there. i personally wouldn't mess with them... those beaks look like they can take out an eye :twisted:

Heres hopin for keeping kiteboardin law free

Licenses aren't a bad idea although i bet more people die cycling than kiteing per year and they don't need a license. Bottom line is go out in bad conditions expect to be punished.

So then ... we'd need a license to climb a mountain, or slide down it. Swim in the ocean (and skim across it) - perhaps we should licence our pets to cross the road or come for a walk with us?

Life is for living - if you choose to savour it's spice by living closer to the edge, as we do, should someone limit that? Do they have the right? Do we grant them that right, or allow them to administer it for us?

Surely we should not risk or endanger others lives because we have no right to do that ... but isn't the right to die the fundamental one?

Ask yourselves why the ANZAC soldiers went to war - to die? to live? to be prepared to die so that others could live? I'm assuming they had a choice.

yeah man throw the rule book at the northerners but let the eastsiders run wild with youthful souls full of the joys of anarchy.

The problem here is twofold:

Participant Safety There is an issue of perception, where any new sport is seen as 'dangerous' when people start dying during participation. This is compounded when the sport is very new and the ratio of fatalities appears high in comparison with the number of people taking part. Is kitesurfing any more dangerous than ski-ing/snowboarding/skateboarding/wakeboarding, or even riding a cycle on a major road.....? The answer is probably a resounding 'No' from all of us that have a good understanding of the sport and it's safety issues, but the problem lies in the perception of the general public. They only get to see & hear about the potential dangers of out-of-control lofting/dropping/collisions, with the added possibility of a drowning situation, upon which to base their views.... Non-Participant Safety The second issue is that of risk. The general public feel some implied risk to themselves when in the vicinity of Kitesurfing and Kitesurfers. Beach walkers/swimmers/other water users need to be taken into consideration when thinking about Kitesurfing. Any accident between a kitesurfer and a member of the public or other beach users will be catastrophic in terms of the perception of safety, not our safety, but the safety of non-participants. And it wont take more than one or two serious injuries to non-participants to paint all kite related activities as dangerous. In comparison with ski-ing/snowboarding/skateboarding/wakeboarding, those sports would soon be facing similar concerns if innocent bystanders started to get injured on a regular basis. In general the above mentioned sports do not take place in public places.....

If these 2 perceptions of Kitesurfing act in conjunction with each other, they will produce a very negative backlash from the general public. Remember there are infinitely more of them than there are of us, and you can almost guarantee that most local authority & council members are non-participants in our sport and WILL NOT understand.

If kite-related participants do not take steps to regulate themselves, there will be plenty of non-participants that will do it for us.

What is it they say on MTV..... "If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem"

License the beach walkers and swimmers.

when we break through the hysteria i would like to see some stats on injuries / fatalities sustained by non-participants watching sports in this country.

there have been many well-publicised cases of speedway cars jumping fences, racehorses bolting etc. earlier this year at the world cup golf event at gulf harbour a little girl was tagged in the head by a golf ball and seriously injured - yet we have heard no talk of banning golf.

one of the issues is at established sports events, the crowd must assume some of the risk of viewing the activity, and the organisers must take all reasonable measures to protect them. at organised kiting events - this is very much the case.

unfortunately, when we recreationally use our local beach for kiting, a large percentage of other users are not remotely interested in watching us leaping around and crashing into things, as they are also 100% engaged in similar activities or just focusing on their tans. even people who are fully watching and appreciating what we do, rarely understand the risks involved. these are the people who we are obligated to respect and protect as much as ourselves.

Hi

Great to see some interest and sensible comments from many. I will be looking at Kohimarama beach next week with Auckland City Council following several incidents reported to them and an alledged broken arm of a swimmer following a collision with a board. This beach has a swimming only area were no other activities may take place. Keep talking. I will keep you updated.

not heard of a swimmer being hit at kohi although we ran over a few hammerheads a while back.
if this proves to be correct have you got a description of the kiter ?.
most of the locals that use kohi setup & launch at the far end by the boat club and because its usually sailed in a NE are well out pretty much straight away.
theres always exceptions thou
on sunday saw a couple of guys learning in the middle of the beach trying to launch directley into the wind and pretty much full tide so one guy was standing in the water up to his chest so the kite wouldnt touch the trees. lucky for him he couldnt get the kite in the air as he was using the bar like a steering wheel
the only other thing ive seen down there was another learner droping his kite around the swimmers
when i was learning i went to places like the sandspit where you might get an occassional old lady walking a dog so the only person you are going to hurt is yourself.
you learners should be choosing your spots more carefully and maybe the shops selling the gear should be directing and advising more
why make a c**t of yourself at such a public place

Paul