Kite death in Corpus Christi
LooseClu
and owner of Zero Gravity Kite Boards, was killed Thursday while kite
sailing at Packery Channel in Corpus. The conditions were 13-35 mph NE
winds and very gusty. From what little I've been told, Pete was dragged
ashore and hit his head on a pole. This tragic death will have a heavy
impact on the US Open since Peter bought the rights to that event from the
marketing company that had run the Open for the past 12 years or so. He is
survived by a wife and kids.
Roy Tansill
WARDOG
Our condolences to his family...
Goodbye waterbrother...I'll go cry now...
WARDOG
http://www.surfingsports.com
Dan Weiss
-Dan
"LooseClu" <Loos...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
WARDOG
This wasn't some yahoo that disregarded safety advice from the more
experienced kiters in the vicinity or during a contest where he was
taking chances to get a pic or please the crowd.
Pete operated a kiting school and built boards.
It happened in one of the best areas in the U.S. to kite.
How ironic...and terribly, terribly tragic...very sad...
Pete was a nice guy, ambassador and family man...great athlete and
craftsman...
From what I just heard, he was landing his kite with assistance, when a
gust sent it back into the power zone and he was dragged into a pole.
This is going to be a big time wakeup call for public awareness and
municipalities...
It can't get swept under the rug like so many other deaths and near
misses and blamed on attitude or lack of experience.
There's a kiting contest going on at PSC right now...an extremely
dangerous kiting spot considering lack of beach and remote location far
away from medical care, that is being promoted to aspiring waveriders...
WARDOG
http://surfingsports.com
Charles Ivey
sympathies to the family.
CI
"LooseClu" <Loos...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
Dan Weiss
-Dan
"LooseClu" <Loos...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
Davide
the risks associated with kiteboarding. When professionals and
experts die at the rate we are observing (and we all witness
accidents, from minor to life-threatening, at any kitesurfing
location) it means that kiteboarding is heading in really unsafe and
dangerous direction. The industry should start to seriously look
into safet. How to increase it if at all possible, or how to limit
the dangers associated with kiteboarding. Besides the obvious moral
duties associated with an attempt to increase safety if the industry
does not take charge it is only a matter of time before sponsors and
capital jump off the kite-badwagon or regulators decide, rightly so,
to put limits on kiting imposing, for example, helmets and pdfs.
"LooseClu" <Loos...@prodigy.net> wrote in message news:<V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com>...
WashoeJeff
Jeff
> There's a kiting contest going on at PSC right now...an extremely
> dangerous kiting spot considering lack of beach and remote location far
> away from medical care, that is being promoted to aspiring waveriders...
>
> WARDOG
-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----
WashoeJeff
>Wardog wrote
> Kiting in the U.S. has just changed.
> This wasn't some yahoo that disregarded >safety advice from the more
> experienced kiters in the vicinity or during a >contest where he was
From what I gather from the other posts
He did disregard what is considered safety procedure, as from what I
understand he would have been hooked in while landing the kite, to have been
able to be pulled into the pole. "Standard Safety Procedure" is to have the
depower strap pulled and out of the loop.
Not that I always disconnect from the loop, but I do if it is gusty and
strong.
Jeff
WashoeJeff
> capital jump off the kite-badwagon or regulators decide, rightly so,
> to put limits on kiting imposing, for example, helmets and pdfs.
>
Yeah Mr "rightly so"
Remind me to vote for someone that restricts your windsurfing too!
frusdniw
I believe WD refers to Puenta San Carlos in Baja.
Hans
--
Hans -
http://www.windsurfingradio.com/
http://windsurf.hansanderson.com/
**** remove the z's from my email address to reach me ****
LooseClu
"LooseClu" <Loos...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
Association
> and owner of Zero Gravity Kite Boards, was killed Thursday while kite
> sailing at Packery Channel in Corpus.
The accident occurred Friday, not Thursday as earlier stated. I was pretty
shook up when I posted that
to the point I forgot what day today was.
Roy
WARDOG
Brett
Damn it! Tragic indeed.
I was lucky enough to have known and sailed with Peter.
As many have said already, a hell of a good guy, and a tireless promoter of
windsurfing and kitesurfing. The human and professional loss is beyond
expression...
Susan, Elizabeth, Mark; our thoughts and prayers are with you, and all his
family and friends.
Deepest condolences,
Brett USA-70
Gregg Ludvigson
whole. There are way too many injuries happening, and not just to new
people entering the sport. Unfortunately, it takes tragic incidents
like this before discussions on Safety become very important topics.
Our condolences go out to his family and friends.
Gregg E. Ludvigson, Manager
Sailworld Cape Cod
271 Main St.
Buzzards Bay, Ma 02532
1-888-496-4696
1-508-759-6559
www.sailworld.com
gregg...@sailworld.com
John Smith
and "pros" as well as beginners...the randomness is also disturbing...
when was the last time you heard of a random windsurfing fatality? either
"pro" or beginner?
the risk vs reward is far too great in kitesurfing in my opinion...
"LooseClu" <Loos...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
Chris
Association
> and owner of Zero Gravity Kite Boards, was killed Thursday while kite
> sailing at Packery Channel in Corpus. The conditions were 13-35 mph NE
> winds and very gusty. From what little I've been told, Pete was dragged
> ashore and hit his head on a pole.
Was he wearing a helmet?
I don't mean to be critical, I don't wear a helmet myself, and like everyone
else here
I am saddenned to hear this and give my sincere condolences to his family,
friends,
and loved ones.
But if he died from hitting his head on a pole, I can't help but wonder if
he was
wearing a helmet, and if not, if a helmet might have saved his life. If
that is the
case, maybe this tragedy can serve as a lesson to us all to wear a helmet.
I don't know of Peter Nordby but at least he died doing something he loved,
and my personal hope and belief is that he has only graduated to another
dimension of sailing so much more incredibly ecstatic than we can even
imagine.
SIP Peter Nordby
Brian Miller
There needs to be a way to release the chicken loop at all times, even
when you're overpowered in the depowered position and you're trapped
in the loop because of the overwhelming pull of the kite. Is this
possible? I guess it would have to be something that effectively
breaks the chicken loop, allowing the kiter to be released from the
pull of the kite. I don't know if this would've helped Peter, but it
may help others in the future.
Gregg Ludvigson <gregg...@sailworld.com> wrote in message news:<52easuc0qf00u3h3p...@4ax.com>...
frusdniw
> Was he wearing a helmet?
I can't say for sure, but Peter was a big safety advocate and I *think* he
usually wore a helmet. Whether he was that time, I don't know for
sure. However, from what I've heard of the accident, the impact was
pretty severe and a thin helmet that we wear windsurfing or kitesurfing
likely wouldn't have helped in this particular accident.
> I don't know of Peter Nordby but at least he died doing something he loved,
> and my personal hope and belief is that he has only graduated to another
> dimension of sailing so much more incredibly ecstatic than we can even
> imagine.
Yes, let's hope that there is plenty of windsurfing and kitesurfing in
heaven. I'm not worried, only saddened, for Peter, obviously nothing can
be done now. I am concerned for his family that he left behind. If you
didn't read his obit (WD posted the link yesterday), you might look at it
because this guy was seriously involved in his community and will be
missed by many, many people. Amazingly, our local paper, bragging
yesterday about some award they received for their amazing news coverage,
hasn't mentioned a word of it. I think Peter deserved to have quite a bit
made of this. It's not like he was just a kitesurfer, he was a lot more
to this town.
WARDOG
frusdniw wrote:
> Amazingly, our local paper, bragging
> yesterday about some award they received for their amazing news coverage,
> hasn't mentioned a word of it.
I noticed that, Hans...they covered car wreck and drug O.D.'s ,
though...
WARDOG
http://www.surfingsports.com
WARDOG
Chris wrote:
> Was he wearing a helmet?
>
This accident is going to be ridiculously scrutinized for blame, with
lots of "what if" scenarios emerging.
We don't know the facts of the accident.
I personally don't think that mandatory helmet useage is going to
greatly reduce the number of kiting injuries or deaths.
I'll agree that a helmet can provide some impact protection from a
flying board, but that's not the whole story.
One of the requirements for motorcycle helmets is FMVSS-218...this is an
impact test performed by dropping the helmet on an anvil from a height
no more than 72" which simulates an impact speed of 13.66mph.
There is info to suggest that for a 20mph impact, a helmet would need to
be 6" thick to protect the brain and that would put a tremendous strain
on the neck.
Mandatory safety training and certification doesn't appear to be the
final answer, either...
Many experienced instructors are getting injured, and now killed...
I hope that Peter's death will not be in vain...
This should be a (another) big time wakeup call for change...now, if we
can only figure out what to change...
WARDOG
http://www.surfingsports.com
All Wet Sports
expo..... I beleive it is called "The Punch Out".... What it does is let you
continue to hold onto the bar yet punch out of the chicken loop by extending
the bar quickly away from you.... which pulls a pin in the chicken loop itself
and you are now free! Looked like a good idea to me. I have ordered them for
my shop.
As for helmets.... buy kevlar Not plastic. Our heads are worth the extra
bucks!!!
Andy All Wet Sports
Gregg Ludvigson
the best safety set-up I have seen for kiting so far. I have been
working on designing a new safety release that would work with all
kite bars, but a company out of Canada, Ocean Rodeo, has beat me to
it. They have the best design I have seen so far in the kiteing
industry. No matter whether you are fully powered or not, if you are
in the chicken loop there is a release set up that allows the chicken
loop to break free of the spreader bar. I looked at the system in
Florida, at the Surf Expo, and was very impressed with what I saw. If
you are interested in safety, then I would highly recommend checking
this out. As usual there will be a lot of skeptics and it probably
will not be for everyone. Myself, Jim Ballantyne ( Owner: Sailworld
Cape Cod ), Chris Kelly ( Owner: Storm Warning ), Brave Dave (
Manager: Storm Warning ) , Brett Landry ( Owner: Sailworld Cape
Hatteras ) and some others were a little skeptic of this system
ourselves, and we took the opportunity to thoroughly check out this
system at the Surf Expo. Chris Kelly even took the opportunity to try
it out. Needless to say we were all very impressed and are now trying
it out in on the water testing.
Gregg Ludvigson
BE SAFE OUT THERE
Gregg E. Ludvigson Manager,
Sailworld Cape Cod
271 Main St.
Buzzards Bay, Ma 02532
888-496-4696
508-759-6559
www.sailworld.com
Dan Weiss
bucket -closest thing to a motorcycle helmet sans faceshield, the benefit I
get from a helmet is from direct knocks on the noggin against a hard surface
like a branch, rock or ice. It will do next to nothing to reduce high
impact collision damage. That's the stuff that tends to take the life of
participants, and a helmet merely reduces likelihood of minor dings and
concussions. Helmet laws certainly are not the answer.
For all who kiteboard I hope safety is always of paramount concern, cuz it's
on most days its too much fun to imagine the sport going away.
-Dan
"WARDOG" <moon...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:3DC6AAC2...@cox.net...
frusdniw
> One of the requirements for motorcycle helmets is FMVSS-218...this is an
> impact test performed by dropping the helmet on an anvil from a height
> no more than 72" which simulates an impact speed of 13.66mph.
> There is info to suggest that for a 20mph impact, a helmet would need to
> be 6" thick to protect the brain and that would put a tremendous strain
> on the neck.
My brother is an avid highway motorcycle cruiser. He's not an expert, but
he told me that the only time his helmet does him any good is on the off
chance he's doing 110 and a bumblebee is in the middle of the road. At
that speed, he says, you can't see it coming, and it could hit hard enough
to startle you and that could be bad. As far as saving him in a wipeout,
he's not worried about that. He's sure he'd be dead with or w/o a helmet.
Roger Nightingale would be the expert on this. Maybe he's lurking and
will chime in.
AD.
news:%Izx9.4937$bE1....@news.bellsouth.net...
> I agree about the helmet issue. As a skier who always wears a Leedom bean
> bucket -closest thing to a motorcycle helmet sans faceshield, the benefit
I
> get from a helmet is from direct knocks on the noggin against a hard
surface
> like a branch, rock or ice. It will do next to nothing to reduce high
> impact collision damage. That's the stuff that tends to take the life of
> participants, and a helmet merely reduces likelihood of minor dings and
> concussions. Helmet laws certainly are not the answer.
Agreed, I'm no expert but I see the value of a helmet is in preventing
relatively minor impacts causing brain injuries.
Sure a motorcyle crash helmet won't stop you killing yourself if you hit a
concrete wall head on at high speeds, but will protect you when sliding and
rolling along the road, or hitting something slightly softer after a fair
amount of braking.
Cheers
Anton
Dan Weiss
as you, Anton. There is a point where the hard shell and good foam on a
bike helmet prevents major damage from impact. But most falls are not of
the hit-wall-hard variety. He says the racers look at it basically as a
"bounce once off the pavement" situation and the helmet prevents most impact
injuries from the first hit after going over the front, plus complete
abrasion protection if the helmet stays in one piece. If the helmet
disintegrates and you see the shattered lid afterward then you are one lucky
duck and not complaining about a bit of road rash. Road riding offers much
more to hit.
Mike Adair was once a totally spectacular moto racer. Maybe he can add
something from his background.
-Dan
"AD." <an...@astarte.co.sickofsp@m.nz> wrote in message
news:49Ax9.766$cB5.1...@news02.tsnz.net...
(Pete Cresswell)
>My brother is an avid highway motorcycle cruiser. He's not an expert, but
>he told me that the only time his helmet does him any good is on the off
>chance he's doing 110 and a bumblebee is in the middle of the road. At
>that speed, he says, you can't see it coming, and it could hit hard enough
>to startle you and that could be bad. As far as saving him in a wipeout,
>he's not worried about that. He's sure he'd be dead with or w/o a helmet.
I was riding an old Yamaha YDS-6 back from the North Shore of Oahu one
Thanksgiving and got side-swiped by a drunk when I was doing about 50
mph.
Flew through the air sort of spreadeagled, landed on my torso/face.
The helmet saved my face by keeping all but parts of my front teeth
and upper lip from being ground off.
Also, the helmet got cracked and I saw flashes of light
intermittantly for about three days.
I'd say the helmet saved my life.
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell
WashoeJeff
Jeff
> There needs to be a way to release the >chicken loop at all times, even
> when you're overpowered in the depowered >position and you're trapped
<snip>
Mike F
Twice, for me. And I'm pretty sure it saved my life once. All while
windsurfing.
Mike \m/
"(Pete Cresswell)" <x@y.z> wrote
Bill
Peter Nordby, loving husband, father, and friend, passed away on
Friday, November 1, 2002, All Saints Day.
Peter was born on July 3, 1959, in Oslo, Norway, to Per and Inger
Nordby. His love for the sea and water sports bloomed very early, and
he became the youngest person ever to make the National Norwegian
Sailing Team.
Peter moved to the United States at the age of 19 to pursue his
college studies. He received a degree in International Finance from
the University of Miami at Coral Gables, and his MBA from Boston
University. During this time, he continued his passion for sailboat
racing, and qualified for the Olympic trials in sailing. He also met
and married the love of his life, Susan, and they began their lives
together. After graduation, Peter traveled the world working for
Texaco, and later, American Express, living in Mexico and Florida, and
he and Susan were blessed with two children, Elisabeth and Mark.
A free spirit with boundless energy, Peter's love for sailing,
windsurfing, and kite boarding took him around the world, to Hawaii,
Greece, Norway, the Bahamas, Florida, the Columbia River Gorge, and
his favorite, Corpus Christi.
Peter and his family moved to Corpus Christi in 1995, where he
continued to pursue his love of sailing, windsurfing, and kite
boarding. In 1998, Peter founded the Zero Gravity Kite Board company,
and he served as a sales representative for the Cabrina and Ultra
Nectar companies. He served as Commodore of the Corpus Christi
Windsurfing Association, and as Director of Corpus Christi's annual
U.S. Open Windsurfing and Kite Surfing competition. Peter recently
organized the "Board Over the Bay" kite boarding competition at Corpus
Christi Bay. A phenomenal athlete, Peter was recently named a "Red
Bull Athlete" by the Red Bull company.
Peter also devoted his energy to numerous community activities, where
he brought out the best in everybody. He served as President of the
Incarnate Word Academy P.T.O., coached various sports at St. Patrick's
school, served on the board of the Corpus Christi Ballet, and was a
member of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce.
Peter's greatest joy was his family. He is survived by his loving wife
of 20 years, Susan, his daughter Elisabeth, and his son, Mark, all of
Corpus Christi, his parents, Per and Inger Nordby, of Larvik, Norway,
his sister, Vibeke Retterholt, of Kristiansand, Norway, his
mother-in-law, Marie De Sisto, of Corpus Christi, several nieces and
nephews, and countless friends around the world.
A rosary service will be held at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Monday,
November 4, 2002 at 7:00 pm, and a funeral mass will be celebrated on
Tuesday, November 5, 2002 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations
can be made to Incarnate Word Academy in his memory.
Photo of Pete at http://cfapps.caller.com/obits/obittemplate.cfm?ID=4256&FirstName=Peter&MName=&LastName=Nordby
mark
KIteboarding magazine brought several pros from Maui along with Pete
through our kitesurf area last summer for an article on kitesurfing
Texas. What struck me as
so dangerous was, none of the pros even had chicken loops on their
kite bars and they all launched their kites while on land not in the
water. I believe Pete was the only one who walked into the water to
launch. My wife happended to launch Pete's kite that day and
commented on him being much more safety concious than other kiters.
At any rate, shortly after the pros left, half of the local kiter's
took their chicken loops off their four line kites. I guess to be more
like the pros. I've always thought it was dangerous to limit one's
depower capability to just a sheating strap. Those that removed their
chicken loops claim to kite better, however, I think it's more a case
of rationalisation and machismo than anything else.
I was taught to launch and land unhooked or at least in the chicken
loop, but NEVER IN THE HARD loop, which is something that has been
abandoned by chicken loopless kiters. I was also taught to walk out
into the water to launch and land incase something goes wrong. Those
who set the example impressionable kiters will follow, often abandon
safety procedures. I witnessed an instructor walk up onto the beach
over shoot the catcher and crash their kite into a parking lot
between cars and people, then blame the catcher for not catching the
kite. If we're not careful kiting is going get banned.
davidcobb
http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_1524954,00.htm
l
"WARDOG" <moon...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:3DC6A0DD...@cox.net...
mark
Does anyone know exactly what happened? Pete Nordby was a very
experienced kiter and was quite capable of handling a simple gust of
wind. What where the circumstances that caused this to happen?
B. T.
been out for a bit. The wind was gusty with winds to 30 mph. He was
coming in to shore and was just about to land his kite when a gust
powered it up big time and Pete was pulled out of the water, across a
short stretch of land until he hit a wood piling. I was told there
were no other kiters out at that location, but an another kiter was
there trying to help land the kite. The whole thing happened in just a
couple seconds, too fast to even react. Tragic loss.
thombeck
news:V1Ww9.4932$DT5...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
> Peter Nordby, former Commodore of the Corpus Christi Windsurfing
Association
> and owner of Zero Gravity Kite Boards, was killed Thursday while kite
> sailing at Packery Channel in Corpus. The conditions were 13-35 mph NE
> winds and very gusty. From what little I've been told, Pete was dragged
> impact on the US Open since Peter bought the rights to that event from the
> marketing company that had run the Open for the past 12 years or so. He
is
> survived by a wife and kids.
> Roy Tansill
>
>
sorry to hear about this. sad.
mark
board and dragged into the piling. Does anyone know which one it is?
If he was landing the kite, did the catcher miss the kite or was the
kite ripped out of catchers hands etc. that sent the kite back into
power zone??? I"ve seen catchers miss a kite initially and
instictively reach out to grab the kite a second time. What usually
happens in this case is they grab the tail end of the kite or one end
which causes the kite to flip over and shoot straight back into the
power zone resulting in a violent drag. All the kiter can do is let go
or get dragged. For this reason I don't use a shakle. Did something
like this happen to Pete? Does anyone know?
B. T.
at Cline Street Sailboards here it Corpus. Both were very close
friends of Pete. Only the person assisting the landing knows the
exact sequence of events, and evidently he was the only other person
on the beach that day.