Board Leashes

[kitemare]

Seven years ago, I had a board snap back & cut me thru one of those Gath helmets. I haven't worn a leash since. If you do leash to your board, make sure you get a good hard plastic helmet, not a softer Gath style & wear a life jacket so if you get knocked out you'll float with your head out of the water.

KM

[DanielStoner]

What were you doing that caused it to snap back so hard?

Daniel

[jason]

Helmets are good, boards are hard, but no one should deny you the freedom of going naked.
Leashes are good for that learning stage, but there is another situation when they are great to have on hand.
Self rescue from a broken line or downed kite.
Cuz once you get rid of that board leash, and you find yourself having to self rescue, its very handy to have an extra leash to clip onto your loose board so you can use both hands to get to the kite and either use it as a sail to get to shore or swim in.
I always wear two safety leashes for this reason, and have been secretly working on a compact version in my underground bunker that is the size of a small fishing reel specifically for self rescue. Doesn't need to be as strong or as long as a regular leash, and the smaller the better for comfort.

I usually use my kite leash to attach the board when i self rescue. Once I make the decision that I'm swimming, I take the leash off the bar and attach it to my board, then wrap a rear line a few times until the kite is flagged out, then start wrapping all of the lines. Once I am at the kite I tye a knot and sail/swim kick myself back to shore. If the board at any time starts dragging me down or is an imminent danger I can pull the release and its on its way to Whidbey with my name and number.

It seems like a pretty good system to me, anyone see any detriment to it? Is there a reason one would want to be leashed to the bar during a self rescue?

[Robert]

When I was self rescueing at Rufus in 35knots last summer I could bearly hold on to the kite. I was glad to have two leashes, so I left one attached to a wingtip line leader in case the wind ripped it out of my hands. The second leash was attached the board. But the board dragging behind me would submarine every 10 seconds and slow me down, so that was useless... I ended up flipping the board upside down, half inside the kite and half on my lower arm. It stayed there fairly well for the rest of the drag.

[bix]

If I need to leash my board to me during a self rescue, I simply run my kite leash through a foot strap and reattach it to the kite. Now it is not going anywhere and is going to stay close to you. With my low arm, I hold the tip of the board and the bottom wing of the kite. My upper arm holds the upper wing tip. My body is laid out along the board and I'm using it to move faster through the water and for the extra floatation.

Also, I am not a fan of rolling up your lines during a self rescue. Once I get to the kite, I transfer my leash to the kite itself and let the bar trail behind. This method almost always results in untangled lines and an easier relaunch once you get to the beach.

[DanielStoner]

So if I understand this correctly, you unhook from your kite leash, attach that to the board, then completely unconnected to the kite you swim or pull yourself up by one of the lines to the kite? I assume the resistance from the board keeps the tension on the lines so they don't tangle? Makes sense to me...

Daniel

[kitemare]

What were you doing that caused it to snap back so hard?

Daniel

I was learning to jump & I crashed & then got tea bagged, the board submerged (like a deep 6 fishing diver) & when it surfaced the leash had enough tension on it to cause it to snap back hitting me in the head. If you want to know what that feels like just have someone hit you in the head with a 2x4 as hard as they can. You should think twice about using a board leash & if you do continue to use a one as a beginner you need to consider that this may leave you unconsious in the water.

KM

[Boosting Betty]

In my very humble opinion, I don't believe that the extra time you will save by wearing a board leash is worth the danger factor it presents. Like Paul said, upwind body dragging is not rocket science and you can easily master it and get back to your board in two reaches, max, once you get it down.

While learning at the sand bar, I got lofted 10 feet in the air and 30 feet downwind. Jason stood in the water behind me, helpless. I had a helmet on earlier in the day but I was unable to hear him shouting instructions at me so I took it off. Big mistake. As I was sailing through the air, the reel leash I was wearing reached it's stretch limit and then shot back towards me like a slingshot. I had no idea but Jason said the board flew over my head and missed my scalp by an inch or two. Needless to say, that was four years ago and that was the last time he ever used board leashes while teaching.

He had a similar experience years ago. Even though he had a helmet on, his board ended up hitting him in the back of the neck thanks to his leash. Helmets are good but I still haven't found one that protects your precious brain stem. He ended up losing all feeling below his neck and was essentially paralyzed for about 30 seconds. No one else was on the water at the time and he could have easily drowned. He says that the minimal floatation in his wetsuit probably saved his life that day. This was way back when everyone used leashes.

Last winter in Baja, many of our local riders witnessed a near drowning. Jason was able to reach the beginner kiter (who was in the middle of a lesson at the time but his instructor was unable to do anything from the beach...) and slash through all his lines which were wound around his spreader bar making it impossible for his safety releases to engage. Because of his board leash, his big beginner board was diving under the water and thus pulling him underwater everytime the kite powered up.

Situations can get really hairy on the water, whether you're an experienced kiter or a beginner. I just think that board leashes add another element of danger and complication when you're in these situations. You just have to ask yourself if it's really worth it to save yourself some time and energy while you're learning...

[bustingbladder]

NEVER USE BOARD LEASHES! If you feel you need one then you have not spent enough time working on self rescue and body dragging techniques! Glen Mulvey made me drag around in the Gorge at Lyle for 2 solid days before he would chuck me a board. Now ask me how many boards I have lost.... None! And the shits hit the fan on many occasion.. No need for leashes or inflatable dildos on your board. Kook'ish anyway..

[rodeo clown]

Man, what can you say after that.
Gator is God!