We bought a 3 hour introductory lesson with Aerial Kite boarding (Groupon deal) for Saturday 10th August 2013. Frankly, it was the single most terrifying experience we have ever had, simply due to this company's negligence of any proper safety rules.
The first thing that aroused our concern was the fact the instructor, while driving the boat with one hand, held the kite with the other one. The wind in Squamish is pretty unpredictable and wind on that day increased really fast during the lesson, so the guy ended up being blown out of the boat (!!) three times within an hour. Luckily, my bf knew how to drive the boat and could pick him up.
Second, we were given 5min each (4 students on the boat) to practise steering the kite from the boat. Needless to say, it's not enough to feel even mildly confident with what you're doing. Immediately after the short 5min lesson, we were told to go into the water (no safety restraint, you are left to your own in open water). The first girl in the water was pretty close to hitting the speeding boat that was going across her line, but luckily managed to steer herself away from it. She admitted, after coming back, that she couldn't hear anything that the instructor shouted at her at the time. Afterward, he deliberated for a second if we should swap the kite for a smaller (i.e. safer) one, but after looking at his watch decided against it (!). The second girl went in and after her struggling with keeping the kite in the air, the guy decided we should change the kite after all. Basically, I had an impression the instructor's time (and his struggle to keep the length of the lesson within 3 hours) was more important than our personal safety.
Now, what happened next was a dangerous incident that could have easily transformed into a tragedy. While approaching the shore, the instructor was (again) blown out of the boat, but this time whilst being ejected from the hull he hit the accelerator lever, broke the entire lever off and knocked the steer wheel to a full left position and in turn made the boat instantly rocket to full speed without any emergency power brake chord. We suddenly set off in full speed in a circle (I have no idea how all 4 of us managed to stay onboard) and if not for my bf quick reaction we would have either ended up in a spiral, being thrown out, or hit the nearest kite surfer or boat (in a very crowded area). Luckily, my bf managed to steer the boat into a straight line away from danger. After a couple of minutes of struggling with the engine, shut it down, restored the speed into the lowest level and brought us back to safety near the shore. Within this time, the owner of the company started another boat and picked us up... when we were maybe 20 meters away from the shore.
Needless to say, we expected some kind of apology or reimbursement, but that never happened. More upsetting was the fact no-one even asked us if we were ok (my BF ripped part of his thumbnail off). Nobody wanted to know what actually happened or how we managed to bring the boat back. Nobody thanked my bf for saving all of us and the boat. They all seemed more concerned with the fact the next group was already waiting (and may have to cancel their lesson) and that they'll have to fix the boat somehow. The only suggested compensation for the entire situation came as 'upgrading us' to a semi-private lesson for the 45min we allegedly lost, but even to claim it, we would have to pay for an additional hour as the 2h lesson is a minimum time! I couldn't believe my ears. Unsurprisingly, we never claimed our 45min and don't have any intention to ever come back there again. read more
