Postby dazarter » Tue May 28, 2013 10:00 am
i kite normally on my own...due to the time i have to kite and the places i choose to kite.....i have had no problems at all......i had a long swim once - but managed to start my kite again ad get to the shoreline. I did however learn alone, also in deep water in a big lake 4,5 km x 2 km. I had a problem to get started from other people at first and to kite in shallow water (strange to see the bottom). I like to kite with others, when it fits. When you only go out with onshore - sideshore winds, and know your saftey system with your eyes closed and have a good plan if things go wrong (knife etc). i kite with a gps telephone and track every session so i know exactly where i am in case something happens.....and you can always call someone if you need to...
I feel safer kiting with other kiters or when sailing boats are around....i once had to swim to the side because there was no wind, i just played with the kite and waited for the next gust but nothing came for 20 mins, a guy from the sailing club came over and picked me up in this motorboat and took me a km up wind to my starting point....he thought i needed help.....it did save me a long walk!
the other tips is, depending on where you kite, watch the water temperature, i kite when the water is above 4 degrees and the air temp above 5 degrees, but i live in germany.....when the water is 12 degrees its like having a bath! you just have to watch that you dont get too cold if something happens......i had a swim for an hour at 8 degrees once, when my windsurf mastfoot broke off, i was left without board or sail in the water,,,a long swim and it was very cold! if you kite too close to trees and the wind goes down, you have to get the kite down quickly, self rescue technique are essential!
all in all, its no problem, just dont go over the top, loosing your board is also a big problem, i used a roll - leash and its the perfect solution, even jumping is no problem.....although i generally cruise when i am on my own and do a few smaller jumps and tricks! nothing to extreme......
hope this helps you a little bit......start first in deep water....starting your kite is often the hardist part of going alone for the most people....