World Sailing Report on Bora Gulari Accident

Control lines I find adding extra diameter really adds resistance, so it end up being just as tough on your hands, and tougher on your muscles, and then doesn't release as well. You can obviously go up in sheave diameter, but it's not always possible on control lines. 

It always made me cringe seeing sailors wrap ropes around my hands. I have never done it. I get a better grip on a rope by passing it over my thumb when it has come out the top of my hand and then it goes back into the hand. If you want to ease it you just ease your grip and it slowly runs over thumb. In an extreme situation like bora's letting the rope off your hand is still easy and quick.

Kit injury 1: guys loses control of his kite in car park is dragged along car park feet first with legs under parked car and face and body through car door. Poor guy reading the paper to get away from his wife on a Sunday morning probably had a toilet accident. Both kneecaps damaged and serious rehabilitation required.

Kite injury 2: Jumps and lands in massive tree stump washed up on beach breaking hip again with long term rehabilitation.

Kite injury 3: Fatality due to head injury colliding with slip edge during launching. The guys was a very experienced windsurfer, outdoor instructor and the last guy I thought would die doing kitesurfing.

Kiting does not seem that safe compared to windsurfing. Sure kit is better and people more skillful but the early adoptors did not seem to fare to well.

Not sure any of those gloves would prevent a reoccurrence of Bora's injury as I believe that it was the wrapping of the control line that caused the issue. It could be argued that if he was not wearing gloves then he would have come of without losing figures as the rope would have been more inclined to release. They are wearing gloves so they can pull high loads and use skinny ropes.

In the early days I saw someone transition off the sea, over the beach and through the windscreen of his own BMW in the carpark.  

There is a major floor in the report which is the lack of a good medical report. There are three potential mechanisms for the injury as described, a cut by a sharp surface. A crush injury by the control line or a “ring” avulsion type injury, which is a combination of constriction and tension. Or a combination. Use of Gloves will not really protect against the latter two. In fact can in some circumstances can make it worse.
A better description of the state of tissues at time of presentation including the state of the gloves would provide clues to the mechanism involved. This would normally be part of a medical report. This would have also tried to identify the mechanism as it does have a bearing on prognosis.
The big lesson appears to be the wrapping of sheets and lines.
Oh and that we know as we get faster and foil we are going to have more significant and potentially life changing injuries due to the massive increase in kinetic energy.

Andy