Ok so hypothetically if you were going to do some treks in what is sometimes know as rough waters what kind of gear would you bring.

Wind could be kind of inconsistent (very) and sometimes straight off shore.

We would be using raceboards. Hypothetically. I would bring water this time. Been stuck between islands before.

I would ask some real trekkies..

What was that?

Lol!

Back in the day, I read about Flash taking a cell phone and doubling up his lines...

But some sort of pfd, a wettie for those all night floats, maybe a small knife, snacks n water, and a friend would be nice. One of those fancy locator beacons would be cool, as would a light, and maybe a marine radio. Plus another kite to haul all that extra stuff...

Sounds like fun!

Risk assessment 101:

1. Figure out what's likely to go wrong.
2. Figure out how to stop what's likely to go wrong from going wrong.
3. Figure out what's still likely to go wrong.
4. Figure out how to survive what's still likely to go wrong.
5. Figure out what gear and planning is necessary to survive what's still likely to go wrong.

Are you trekking round a coastline or through open water? I guess the key question is: if the wind drops to nothing, are you going to call for help and then wait for the cavalry to arrive (in which case you need to know that there is some cavalry, and you need to be able to summon them to your location and stay healthy until they show up) or are you just going to swim for it?

Thx, sounds like good advice.
Initially around coastal areas, but you know this is in the middle of nowhere, and some of the spots the wind is straight off shore.

I've had an experience where the wind died in the middle of the ocean, and we were sort of just bobbing around...I didn't feel too cool since I was bleeding pretty bad at the time. Lucky the wind started blowing again tho.

I'm kind of thinking one of those gps thingies might be good. A friend went from Oahu to Kauai in 30 foot swell in winds that does was way too high, with no safety..well he had redbull....he even forgot his slippers for the flight back. I am not repeating that feat.

Ridelow -

Sounds like fun Alex. Risk assessment is where its at, anticipating what you would need if the more likely events go wrong. Guessing right and avoiding taking too much stuff is the tricky part.

The normal stuff makes sense, camelpak, powerbars, flotation/impact vest, cutter. Reliable communications considering cell net and line of sight limitations for VHF. We learned in the race to Bimini from Florida (about 60 miles across open ocean from one country to the next) that even a good VHF walkie talkie has a pretty limited transmit radius even when communicating with a fairly high antennae on a boat. We carried diver flares, VHF, water, food, whistles among some other things. You need to decide in advance just how much trouble you might get yourself into. Cell nets can shut down not too far from shore in some instances. Not sure why but a number of guys who normally don't wear helmets wear them on more extreme distance runs. I always wear one myself so it is a done deal regardless. I would talk over possible problems and solutions with the guys you are riding with. As you would likely stay with your kites to improve visibility, you might not need a rescue streamer which can be a very good thing in helping you to be found in air searches. If you separate from your kite I would say one of these would be pretty important to carry. http://www.rescuestreamer.com/

radar reflective tape on your helmets

.

I use the SPOT for backcountry snowkiting (and snowmobiling)
Lots of times there is no cell service in the mountains here.
It offers peace of mind for myself while out there,
and for my family at home, knowing I can have contact if there is a problem.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102