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Kiteboarding Accidents, Popularity On The Rise

By Julie Busch / Tribune

Bob DuPuy rides his kiteboard north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

TAMPA - Harnessing the wind has long been a passion of humans, from the first sailing vessels used for exploration to devices that now pull a single human along just for fun.

Now, as then, the pursuit comes with hazards.

Kiteboarding is catching on up and down Florida's west coast, where sea breezes tug riders anywhere from Egmont Key to Dunedin. Boarders plunk down an average of $2,000 for the board, rigging and kites resembling small parasails. They use the free breeze to pull them through the surf and a couple of feet into the air over the waves.

Problems arise when obstacles get in the way and the wind doesn't play along. The sport claimed a casualty in Dunedin this weekend when a teenager was injured as he was dragged into power lines.

Kiteboarders have been known to rise uncontrollably out of the water and get dragged into hard objects like the ground or people or other more unforgiving things, such as bridges or power lines.

According to statistics on the kitesurfingschool.org Web site, there were 105 kiteboarding accidents worldwide from 2000 through 2003, 14 of them fatal.

About one-quarter of the accidents were caused by the wind acting up, yanking boarders out of the water and hurling them into solid objects. About 20 percent, statistics show, were the result of equipment problems.

Christopher B. Kenny, 16, of Clearwater was kiteboarding along St. Joseph Sound on Saturday when he was lifted into power lines on the north side of the Dunedin Causeway, authorities said.

Witnesses told Pinellas County sheriff's deputies they saw an electrical arc before the teen fell 20 to 30 feet to the ground. He was conscious but disoriented when bystanders ran to his aid.

His parents released a statement this week saying the teen was in serious condition but appeared to be getting better.

The accident has gotten the attention of the local kiteboarding community.

"This is a tragic event," said Scott Fears, who has kiteboarded in the area for the past seven years, "and I wish it didn't happen."

Fears, who picked his home because of its proximity to favorite kiteboarding spots, said he doesn't know Kenny but thinks the teen made some beginner's errors.

"The primary mistake he made was putting his kite up so close to power lines," Fears said. "That is literally the No. 1 rule in our sport: Don't put a kite up upwind of something that can hurt you."

The second rule: "Be aware of weather conditions," Fears said.

An experienced boarder, Fears said, would have known the wind had the potential to gust that day. On such days, kiteboarders use smaller kites, he said.

"If he had used a smaller kite," Fears said, "the odds are high that he wouldn't be in the hospital right now."

Another general rule of safety is to get at least 100 yards away from land, he said.

"Distance is your friend," he said. The distance provides a safe buffer zone where wind gusts won't drag you into hard objects.

"It will just drag you in the water." Fears said. "If he was in the water 300 yards out, he would have been able to respond to the wind gusts."

Most of the 200 or so kiteboarders who are regulars along the beaches in the Tampa Bay area never run into problems, he said.

"I've been riding for seven years myself, and I've never gone to the hospital," Fears said. "If you add up all the hours of water time of all the riders in the Tampa Bay area, it would number in the tens of thousands of hours."

Seldom is anyone injured, he said.

The sport, which some say has been around for 25 years, has caught on in the past three years, Fears said.

"It is growing exponentially," he said. It is attracting men and women, all in their 20s and 30s, most of whom are professionals, he said. Tampa Bay is an excellent spot because of the abundance of water that provides areas where kiteboarding can be practiced no matter what direction the wind blows.

"I chose where I live because of kiteboarding," said Fears, a former teacher and marine research scientist with a master's degree.

With so many people new to the sport, there are bound to be accidents, he said. Common sense and a little instruction can cure that.

Fears recommended everyone interested in the sport take lessons. It looks fairly easy, but there are some things neophytes need to know before they get out there, he said.

"It's hard to pick up on your own," he said. "We always tell people, 'We're sure you can pick it up, but would you jump off a cliff with hang glider and try to pick it up in five seconds before you crash?

The Etiquette of Kite Surfing:

* When passing on the downwind side of another kiter, keep your kite very low (close to the water).

* When passing upwind of another kiter, windsurfer, surfer or swimmer, keep your kite very high (way up in the sky).

* When riding near beginners by themselves or with instructors stay as far away as possible and always expect the unexpected.

* When landing your kite or getting rigged up to ride, keep your kite lines off of the lines of other kites.

* Before jumping, check to be sure the area is clear downwind of you.

* If you need assistance with landing, tap the top of your head and other kiters will give you a hand.

* Always use a kite leash. It allows you a way to kill the power in your kite in a split second.

* The kiter leaving the beach, going out, has right of way over those riding in.

* Give right of way to everyone else, including surfers, windsurfers, boaters and kayakers.

* Don't fly your kite over the heads beach goers.

* You only think you're in control. At any moment, you can be hit by an unpredictable wind gust or a kite line can break causing you to fly out of control.

Source: www.kitemare.com.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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