JGTR wrote:In a sense, it is no different from kiting in on-shore winds
Erm am I missing something??
Off shore winds will blow you our to sea, onshore winds will blow you back to shore, how is that the same thing???
Correct, off-shore winds pushes you out to sea and onshore winds pushes you towards the shore -
as long as you are connected to an inflated kite. The highlighted piece is the critical point. You can't go out kiting in on-shore wind
or in off-shore wind and assume that you will remain attached to your kite, or that your kite will remain inflated! Harnesses can break; kites can deathloop and force you to release them; kites can deflate. Once your kite is gone (or in the water and completely deflated), what will matter is
not the wind but the current, your swimming ability, and whatever rescue services that may be available.
That is what I meant when I wrote that kiting in off-shore wind is really no different than kiting in on-shore winds. In both cases, your operating assumption has to be that at any given moment, you may lose your gear.
That has to be the basis for your planning, whether you are kiting in on-shore wind or side-shore wind or off-shore wind; and
that is what has to determine how far from shore that you allow yourself to go.
I see a lot of people tacking way, way out to sea by themselves in side-on-shore winds in areas with notable currents. I can only assume that they are very, very confident swimmers.