I learned this from a recent experience, after almost eight years in the sport.....
It's not enough to have a bar with an excellent safety release and to know where it is when you need it. You should also know how to put it back together on the water after you've pulled it, regardless of the reason for ejecting in the first place. I've pulled my release in the past but been close to shore in onshore conditions/surf so I just drifted im an reassembled it on the beach.
In Cozumel I twisted kites while drag racing with a friend. Both kites went down and I ejected since I was upwind of him and did not want any power in the kite. Once both of us were free and clear, I realized that it was the first time (ever) that I would need to put the bar back together and relaunch the kite, as the wind was blowing almost straight offshore from the launch . In this case we did have back-up boat support, but as this is rare, normally I would have been heading to Playa 12 miles away...
I'm stoked to say that it was a piece of cake and that within a few minutes of the initial crash both of us were up and riding again. It did make me realize though that I should have done a trial run at some point in the past.....
Cheers,
Evan
Ocean Rodeo
Choose Performance over Hype