3 Safety Systems in Kitesurfing
MCK Tulum • November 9, 2017
Step 3 in your kite course: know the bar basics and your safety systems
After learning how to set up your kite equipment
, let’s continue checking how the bar works and, one of the most important parts of the course, which safety systems do yo have.
Please take this just as a brief explanation of what you will learn with your certified instructor on your first day of lessons. Do not miss the first lesson and never try to learn kitesurf on your own.
How the control bar works?
The control bar is an important part of the kite gear. Through the movement of the bar we adjust the angle of the kite giving more or less power to it. (Please remember that to fly the kite we'll grab the bar with the left hand on the colored part.)
The back lines
(the ones attached to the end of the leading edge) are connected directly to both sides of the bar.
--- If you bring the bar close to you (pulling the bar in), you make the back lines shorter, changing the angle of the kite and giving power to the kite (+ POWER)
--- If you move the bar away from you (pushing the bar out) you make te back lines longer, changing the angle of the kite again and diminishing the power of the kite (- POWER)
The front lines
are connected directly to the depower system of the bar (in the center of the bar). Using the depower system you can adjust the length of the front lines, changing also the angle of the kite and its power.
--- If you release the depower making the front lines longer you will have more power in your kite.
--- On the other hand, by pulling in the lines (depowering) you will short your lines and your kite will lose power.
--- On the other hand, by pulling in the lines (depowering) you will short your lines and your kite will lose power.
As you can see both back & front lines can change the angle of the kite giving power or depowering the kite. ¿What is the difference, then? ¿When you have to use the back lines and when the front lines?
Well, the front lines connected to the depower system will be use only as an adjust when needed. For example, if you are about to start kiting and the wind is too strong you can adjust the power of your kite (depowering it) making your front lines shorter. Another example, if you are kiting and suddenly the wind drops and you need more power to continue kiting, you can release your front lines giving more power to the kite.
On the other hand, the back lines (the ones connected directly to each side of the bar) are used all the time to ride. We ride by constantly adjusting the angle of the kite through the bar movement.
Once we know the inner workings of the bar, lets see one of the most important things you need to know about kitesurfing. So, if you haven’t been paying so much attention, now it’s time to do it. Please be super focus when learning your safety systems.
Safety systems for kitesurfing
There are always 3 steps you need to follow when you are in any kind of trouble when kitesurfing. The order must be respected all the time. There is no reason to use step number 2 if we can solve the problem with number 1.
The safety systems have to be activated in the following order:
The safety systems have to be activated in the following order:
1) Release the bar
2) Activate the quick release
3) Activate the safety leash
1) Release the bar
The first safety system and the easiest way to solve any problem when kiting is letting go of the bar.
- ¿What happen when we release the bar?
- ¿When should the bar
be released ?
Letting go of the bar can be used when you crash your kite, when the wind is too powerful or when you feel a dangerous situation coming up. Specially, when you crash your kite agains the water is important to let go of the bar to avoid being dragged by the kite.
In about 90% of situations, simply letting go of the bar will be enough.
In about 90% of situations, simply letting go of the bar will be enough.
2) Activate the quick release
After releasing the bar, if you still don't have 100% control of the situation, you can go for the second safety system releasing the chicken loop. This way the bar will go away from you.
- ¿What happen when we activate the quick release?
The kite will just have tension in one line. This way the kite will automatically fall, take a flag position and will lose all its power.
In such situation you will still be attached to the kite through the safety leash connected to the bar.
- ¿When should we use the quick release?
If you’ve let go of the bar but the kite keeps pulling you or you still feel unsafe, it might be time to activate the quick release. Common situations to use this second safety system would be: a sudden increase in wind being overpowered or when your kite is looping out of control.
In the 99% of the situations we will solve the problem using option 1 and 2. However, today’s kites are very safe and offer a third safety system.
3) Activate the safety leash
Releasing the safety leash is the 3rd safety system but also a very last option to use.
- ¿What happen when releasing the safety leash?
You are not connected to the kite anymore. So, you can say goodbye to your kite.
- ¿Why is it a last option?
This safety system should be a last option not juts because you can actually lose the kite, but because if you are kiting in onshore or side-on conditions (which are the normal conditions used to kite almost everywhere), your kite can fly to the shore and become a hazard to other people on the beach. People could get hit by the kite, get tangled in the lines and be dragged by them. If you are lucky and there is no one on the beach the kite will find any other obstacle (a palm tree, a boat, a car, a bulding) and will break.
- ¿When to use this system, then?
In very rare situations, when none of the above systems work, your last safety option is to activate the safety leash which is attached to your harness. For example, if you are kiting and a motor boat pass and your lines get tangled on it, you should release the leash and let the kite go.
If your lines get tangled with another kite on the water, just try to solve the situation by using options 1 and 2.
Safety system can work slightly different depending on the kite label. So, if you are renting a kite or using a friends kite, please know how the safety systems work before going to the water. This is a MUST.
*** SUMMARY ***
STEP:
3 - Inner workings of the bar & safety systems
DURATION APPROX:
15 minutes
WHY IS IMPORTANT:
Because knowing the safety systems for kitesurfing will solve any situation or problem you may have kiting, avoiding being dragged away by your kite & avoiding causing any accident.
NEXT STEP:
4 - Self rescue technique
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It is essential to take kite lessons with a certified instructor. Why? The main reason is that being an action sport with many variables, you can get involve in extreme situations where you have to apply all the knowledge of wind, body position, kite control, security systems, etc. So, it is very important and necessary to know all the rules of kitesurfing and all safety techniques before starting to navigate on your own. Now, we'll give you three more good reasons to take kitesurfing lessons: 1. For safety. And not just for your own safety, but also for the safety of other riders and swimmers in the area. Kitesurfing should not be underestimated. A bad learning can expose you and those around you to a serious accident. Taking the course, you will learn the techniques of kite safety, principles of wind and the necessary conditions to start riding without accidents. If you learn safety rules properly and follow them, you’ll never have any problem. 2. Because you learn faster and better. When you learn kitesurfing with a certified instructor, you do it in much less time and much better than if you do it on your own through the principle of “trial and error”. Principle that not only take you longer to master the sport but very possibly you end up injured. By learning on your own you expose yourself to unnecessary risks. 3. Because you learn with the school equipment. You don’t need to spend money on kite equipment to learn kitesurfing, because you learn with the school gear, with the latest technology and security systems all in perfect conditions. Kiteboarding equipments are not cheap and if you buy one before you have an idea about kitesurfing you will probably make a mistake buying one kite inappropriate for someone starting out. It is best to learn with the school equipment and once completed the course, you ask advice to your instructor about the material that suits you. The best thing you can do is take a kitesurfing course to become an independent rider. The course will allow you to go to any beach, decide the most appropriate kite size according to wind conditions and start riding on your own without problems. In kitesurfing, like in all sports, the more you practice the better you will be. So, if you were thinking of starting kiteboarding and also want a vacation in Tulum contact our school (Mexican Caribbean Kitesurf) and if you are looking for the best place to stay in Tulum beach while learning to sail, your place is Ahau Tulum. Waiting for you here!
For us kitesurfing is not only an extreme sport but also one of the best exercises for our body and our mind. We have made some research in various online publications and below we explain the 10 benefits that the continued practice of kitesurfing can bring to your physical and mental health: # 1 – Tones your body, especially the upper area, arms and abdomen. Strengthening your abdominal area makes a physical improvement of the abductors and legs too. You increase the strength in your arms by holding, the kite in legs by bending over the table to ride, and the muscles of the hands by grabbing the bar. # 2 – Kitesurfing combines aerobics and resistance exercises. This combination is perfect for keeping a balance weight, molding your figure and gaining physical strength, very important to have a healthy heart. # 3 – As you have to keep the kite in the air with one hand while you enter the water grabbing the board with the other hand, and when riding you are focused on several tasks at once, your coordination and your concentration improve. # 4 – Also riding on the board is great to improve your balance. # 5 – With any sport you eliminate stress, but if it is an extreme sport adrenaline rushes are much higher, creating a great feeling of wellness. # 6 – In turn, stress reduction automatically strengthens your immune system and allows you to have a stronger health. # 7 – The way of navigation and jumping in kitesurf, in which you have to constantly make decisions about movement and position of the bar, body, board, etc, makes you resolve difficult situations on the water, increasing your reflexes and reaction capacity. # 8 – Like any sport in which you interact with the environment, kitesurfing fosters respect for the ocean, animals and nature in general, as well as makes you breathe fresh air away from the city smock. # 9 – When you practice kitesurf inevitably you meet more kitesurfers on the beaches, which helps you to interact with people with common interests and tastes, improves your relationships and your ability to communicate. And most important, you know a group of people whom you can talk freely about your passion. # 10 – Finally, we can say that kitesurfing allows you to experience new sensations, like the feeling of flying, increasing your level of happiness. In this passing life we are here to try to be as happy as we can. So … What are you waiting to learn kitesurfing? The more you practice the fitter and happier you will be.
