The Dangers of Kitesurfing and how to avoid them

Are you new to KiteSurfing? So, a mandatory requirement to learn safely will be to take an initiation course in an official kitesurfing school to completely reduce the risk of surfing accidents. Kitesurfing accidents occur especially when debuting in the sport, therefore it is essential to keep in mind that you must learn from professionals.

In the courses you will learn the basic concepts to begin to have good control of the kite both in and out of the water, always under the supervision of a professional.

We totally discourage learning from a friend who knows how to kitesurf Why? Let us give you some of the main reasons:

• Civil liability and accident insurance: Even taking all precautions into account, the risk of an accident is always there. The school must cover civil liability insurance in case of accidents that may cause damage to the student, material, or third parties.
• Equipment and material: A qualified instructor with experience in teaching kitesurfing will facilitate us and avoid errors that can lead to problems during practice. When you go to a professional school like Ozu School, you make sure you are learning with the best quality material and renewed every season.
• Safety devices and emergency plans: Official schools, to minimize risks, have security devices and emergency plans. Your instructor not only observes, analyzes and teaches you, but is coordinated with rescue boats and evacuation services so that, in case of problems, everything is done in the most efficient and safe way possible.
• Control of weather conditions: Constantly analyzing environmental conditions is something that a good school will always be doing, and will not hesitate to immediately interrupt (or not hold) the course if these are not suitable or lead to risks. A professional instructor must perfectly know the environment, the winds, and is trained to anticipate a possible accident. At Ozu School, we are committed to the safety of our student and we are interested in giving you the necessary guidelines to be able to interpret weather forecasts.
• Preparatory and appropriate methodology: Before jumping into the water, it is essential that your instructor teaches you to master the body drag and self-rescue technique. Body drag is a technique that will allow you to recover the board or return to land in any situation and will be essential to try tricks or maneuvers without risk in your learning process.

We must navigate with on-shore wind, that is, from sea to land so that in case of emergency it is the wind itself that takes us to shore. If the wind is off-shore we will have to make sure we have some means of rescue, for example a support boat, as happens in Tarifa when the Levante wind blows.

We should always check the wind forecast before entering the water and take into account if you are going to go up, down or change direction, storms, etc. We teach you how to interpret the weather forecasts in Tarifa in this article

It is very important to stop and analyze the spot where we want to practice, especially if it is the first time we go to that place. To do this we must look at the following aspects:

• Locate obstacles present both leeward and windward, over a wide range of distance. Playa de los Lances is an ideal place as it is located in an open space free of obstacles such as buildings, trees or rocks
• Respect areas for bathers or where the practice of sports is not allowed. At Playa de los Lances, the bathing and kitesurfing area is separated, thanks to its 8km extension.
• Preferably choose a sandy beach. Spots that have rocks or obstacles are of greater risk since we could have some impact in case of loss of control.

Kitesurfing equipment is constantly evolving, and all brands improve their equipment every year not only in performance but also in safety. For this reason, it is advisable to update the material every few years, since the security systems will be more advanced. That is why we always recommend using models no more than 3-4 years ago. It is important to pay constant attention to the state of our material as well as perform periodic maintenance. To do this you will have to:

• Check the status of our bar lines and their trim.
• Check that our kite does not lose air, as well as pay attention to the state of the fabric, possible pores and deterioration in the joint of the seams.
• Having a line cutter is always good, since it can be of vital help in case of tangles with the lines. There are some multifunction ones on the market that, in addition to having the blades, incorporate screwdrivers for the fins and a powerful whistle to alert others in a risky situation.

It may sound very logical, but we must not overlook certain aspects that may seem so obvious to us that many times we will not take them into account and we may cause accidents:

• Make special mention not to enter the water if you feel that your conditions and your level are not adequate enough for the state of the sea or the wind. Always look around you and respect the right of way rules.
• Maintain a minimum safety distance with other practitioners and extend this distance at times when you are going to perform a maneuver or jump.
• Always keep in mind that we master the techniques of body drag and self-rescue with ease.
• Don’t push yourself to the limit. You should never reach exhaustion, since you may have a problem and need extra energy to solve a problem. Take your breaks between sessions, protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated.