How to Handle the Most Common Kitemares

By Paul Lang

“What do I do now?” This is a question that every kiteboarder will eventually ask their self. If you don’t know what to do when you get yourself into a situation, choosing to do the wrong thing or even just a few seconds of indecisiveness can lead to an injury. As a kiter, you need to be mentally prepared for how you will react in different situations before they actually happen. Always be ready to activate your safety system and practice doing it so that you will know what to expect when you have to pull the trigger.




























We have listed four of the most common kitemares, how you should react, and what you can do to avoid the situation. With enough care and common sense, most potentially dangerous kiteboarding situations can be avoided, but you should also always be prepared for when things go wrong.

Kite Falls in the Surf:

If your kite goes down in the surf, try as hard as you can to relaunch the kite before the next wave. If your kite gets eaten by a sizable wave, there is a good chance that there will be some damage unless you know what to do.

• Immediately after the kite hits the water, work as hard as you can to get the kite back up in the air.
• If the kite is still on the water when the next wave comes in, you will have to consider letting the kite go. Only do this if there are no people downwind of you and you are not close to a road! If you are kiting at a crowded beach, you probably need to hold onto the kite and hope for the best.
• If it is safe to let the kite go, unhook your leash and separate yourself from the bar. Swim into the beach as fast as you can – you may be able to catch your kite before it even hits the sand.
• If you cannot let your kite go, depower your kite onto one line by either releasing your bar and grabbing the oh shit handle or activating your safety system if it works on one line. Be sure to swim clear of your lines, then in the direction the waves are moving. It’s important that the kite flags out to just one line so the kite has the least amount of tension possible, hopefully enough to prevent any damage.

How to Avoid:

The common sense solution to avoid this problem would be to keep your kite flying. However, if you are pushing your skills, you are bound to drop your kite in the surf. Practice relaunching your kite until it is second nature. The faster you can launch your kite when it goes down, the fewer problems you will have kiting in the surf.


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