Rescuing A Loose Kite At Sea ...

[tautologies]

Greetings , yesterday while out on a kite session with some friends , one of them got lines wrapped badly and released his kite completely.
I followed the kite at a distance and with side on wind it landed at the end of an empty beach where he picked it up.

My question .

Is it possible to rescue a kite with a bar attached while kiting yourself? Or a reasonably safe way to get it back to land?
I am fully aware of the dangers and the risks and want to hear other kiters experiences if any when it comes to these situations.

I checked online for tips or videos but found it very hard to get any real info and everything points back to self rescue which is a different topic.
Looking forward to hearing your opinions and experience with this,

Barry

Yeah, its not that hard actually. There are a few things to look out for. Make sure you do not get tangled, and always be ready to bail on the attempt. If it is really windy your window of opportunity will shrink because the kite can roll quite a lot. I've had a kite roll over me an up my lines which left me flying two kites...not super fun though I did manage to land them both.

Anyway, approach the kite carefully, making sure you are away from lines...grab one of the wingtips, keep your kite above head until you have a solid grip, once you do you can fly it slightly in opposite direction.

Once you have the wingtip, depending on which way the kite is pointing LE down pointing upwind or downwind, turn the kite upside down like you would carry it on land. Then you just power up like you would when rescuing a board. Do not try to do anything with lines and bar it will pop and skip on the surface when you are planing. It is a PITA to change direction a lot so try to just go straight to shore.

I do want to point out one thing here. The person is WAY more important to rescue than any kite. Once you leave the person, it may be hard to find them. People that are far out can tire fast and they may not realize it. I have refused to rescue kites when I considered the kiter was exaggerating their skill (ie. good sized waves a mile from shore). Anyway, I have partially deflated a kite, I have tried to wind lines up (this is hard IMO.).

[tautologies]

You can even ride with cruising speed, not only drag...Problem are the lines and bar, they are like an anker

If you get a bit of speed, it'll just skip on the surface.

[Barryg101]

So you grab the kite by the wing tip and ride back to the shore while keeping grasp of the wingtip ?

I noticed quite a few times the bar dragged like an anchor and then the kite got powered and crashed again . I know people grab it from the leading edge center but the kite was rolling and twisting way to much to take it without getting tangled in the mess!

Really appreciate all the knowledge on the forum

Cheers guys

[SaltWaterDog]

So you grab the kite by the wing tip and ride back to the shore while keeping grasp of the wingtip ?

I noticed quite a few times the bar dragged like an anchor and then the kite got powered and crashed again . I know people grab it from the leading edge center but the kite was rolling and twisting way to much to take it without getting tangled in the mess!

Really appreciate all the knowledge on the forum

Cheers guys

This why I would deflate the kite at least partially. If you determine there's no danger for other kiters having lines and bar dragging behind you in the water then I would just deflate and drag the 'bag' back to shore. Also depends how far out this is taking place. If there's nothing but space and open water I would try to gather everything together as much as I could. But there's no real full proof plan in my opinion. Conditions dictate everything.

[Strekke]

A few years ago, I was in Cape Town for my first time ever. Riding Big Bay, on lowish tide, on a 9m only OK powered on a TT, and a guy in front of me turns out of nowhere without looking. There was no way to avoid him, the kites tangle, my line snaps, and kites start looping. Total clusterfuck, so I release immediately, and so does he. Kites are in the water, right in front of the downwind volcanic rock island - I was already kissing my 9m goodbye because it was about to be shredded to pieces. Turns out the guy I tangled with was a sponsored local, kiting with his also sponsored buddy. So his buddy rolls up on a strapless directional and a 6m kite, wind was pretty weak so he already really needed to work his kite to get going it seemed. He yells "release completely!", so I do, and start swimming back to shore (sidenote: 2 weeks before, 3 juvenile great whites were spotted around the island - one of the most stressful swims of my life). I look back, and I see this guy bouncing around in the water near the tangled kites. A minute later or so, I see he has attached his leash to one of the bridles of the kites, and is now riding away from shore, dragging both kites and bars behind him - he was actually heading out because it was easier to go around the island on the outside than on the inside. 15 minutes later, I end up exhausted on the beach, and see this guy about 200m downwind from me on the beach, both kites LE deflated and rolled up, but struts still inflated. He's like super-casual "yeah sorry I didn't want the kites to get trashed in the waves so decided to deflate them out back before riding back in. Anyways check your kite to see if it has any damage, but I think it should be fine". He was right: apart from the snapped line, the kite itself was in mint condition. Then his buddy with whom I tangled rolled up - "sorry man, didn't see you before my turn. I'm sponsored so just give me your bar, I can hook you up with new lines by tomorrow, no worries"...

That holiday in Cape Town, I saw all the pro's train for KOTA, doing massive airs and insane kiteloops. However, the most impressive thing I saw that whole time I was there, was this local kid saving 2 tangled kites from being shredded on Big Bay island. Underpowered on a 6... Strapless...

So long story short: it can be done, but you gotta know damn well what you're doing!

[Toby]

So you grab the kite by the wing tip and ride back to the shore while keeping grasp of the wingtip ?

Yes, one way to do it.

Gotta be strong though, it's a lot of force on it

[knyfe]

I also deflate the kite a bit to make sure it’s not structurally that good in shape to come after me when I tow it on the tip. Yes you ride the kite in on your board and have the lines and bar dragging behind you.

You also need a stopper ball on your bar - helps tremendously on both arms

But as said:
1.) make sure you are safe at all times
2.) help the person first
3.) stay away from those lines

G

[Faxie]

You can even ride with cruising speed, not only drag...Problem are the lines and bar, they are like an anker

Yes, that. Rescued a kite once, and riding with the kite isn't that difficult, but the bar really, really drags. So if you're not well powered, it's really hard to do.

[Faxie]

You can even ride with cruising speed, not only drag...Problem are the lines and bar, they are like an anker

If you get a bit of speed, it'll just skip on the surface.

Wasn't my experience...

[K-Roy]

I have done it.
We had a few beginners with us in Rhodos (north) and one of them released a kite completely, by the time we found out, the kite with LE down and dragging the bar, was so far off shore we could barely see it.
I grabbed a board and picked up my kite from the beach.
I approached the kite from the back, passing the lines, and grabbed the tipp.
Dragged it up wind till power was a little less as kite turned "up".
Than I put my kite down on the water, opposite side, and used two hands to grab the kite near the middle at the LE (kite in U position)
Then lifted up my kite and started dragging.
(if wind is low, you can use two hands to water start by putting one arm through a bridal. )
During the dragging, coz we had large waves the bar sometimes got under water and acted like a sea anchor, this time I had to "water start" again.
This rescue was a bit of a distance, it took some effort, but apart from that, just pay extra attention when grabbing the tip to pull it up wind, make sure your kite do not power up from the surface, when moving up to the middle of the kite, be ready to bail if things go wrong.
Once on the fly, some good speed can be done, if water is flat as the bar bounces on the surface, but be ready to be yanked back if conditions are choppy.

cheers