Rescuing A Loose Kite At Sea ...

[Barryg101]

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

[sarc]

I have seen it done on flat water. Experienced rider approached by the leading edge, scooped it up and rode back to beach with bar and lines dragging in the water, kite upside down like you hold it on the beach.
I had tried to do same earlier and got tangled in the loose kite's lines... got free in 30 seconds but hightailed the HECK out of there and never felt the need to get near another loose kite on the water. I stay well clear. But better kiters than me can do it.

[Beardytello]

I wouldn't know or be able to do it. I struggled rescuing a board as I can't reliably ride with one hand yet (I can fly with one hand and not crash the kite...but for some reason riding is hard)

To rescue the board I stopped upwind of it and body dragged to it with my board on my feet then basically drifted in to meet the kiter. Would be cool to do it riding, need to practice one handed!

[Toby]

It is possible.
But you should be confident enough to do it.

You first watch the kite and what it is doing...wait til it lays down flat on the water.

Get slowly close to the tip.

Now you can either grab the tip and start to get going...but you need a very strong arm.

Second possibility is to slowly get to the middle of the kite, turn it over like you hold it in the beach. Now get going and ride back to the beach.

The second possibility is more dangerous because you can get tangled in your kite.

[SolarSet]

I had my kite rescued when I released leash (kite was deathlooping on leash) and some guy rode to my kite attached his leash to one the power lines and towed it to the beach. It took him like and hours as wind changed from side shore to side offshore and it died so he had to pump a lot to keep going.

If you were going to try rescue your kite by yourself (without other kite or board) I would swim to kite flip it over and deflate it so it has air but doesn't hold shape because kite with full shape can be easily pushed by wind and if it's side/offshore it can be very dangerous.

While swimming with kite be careful not to get tangled with bar lines...

[SaltWaterDog]

You mean is it possible to handle your own gear while you recover a kite and bar? Yes but location and conditions determine everything and it does require that you survey first and then approach very carefully. I’ve recovered kites for beginners with bar attached. In lighter conditions with little current you can get off your board and scramble lines and bar together and deflate the leading edge. Then body drag to your board and come back around to grab the ditched kite and head to the beach. Ensuring you don’t get caught in lines/ staying upwind is obviously the first priority but I think a close second is planning a direct route back to shore. It’s exhausting and should only be done in good conditions. But you earn some serious goodwill from people.

[knotwindy]

I have also done it by sliding an arm into one of the bridles and hooking it in the elbow but you need to get moving quickly. No floating around to get things organized. Got to grab it and go to keep the lines away from yourself.
Bringing in a person or a board is simple compared to bringing in a kite. Make sure you have the skills to do it SAFELY before you consider trying this. It is a pretty advanced move and things can go very wrong quickly.
Deflating it makes it heavy and very awkward to handle. For me that would be even harder to deal with.

[gmb13]

Hi,

Yes it is. But like Toby said, you need to be careful and need to have the level to do it. If you are unsure about what you are doing, do not try it, as you might end up getting tangled in the kite.

https://vimeo.com/104753709

--Gunnar

[SaltWaterDog]

I don’t disagree with the “grab and go” suggestions but the few times I’ve helped out was at busy spots and I did not want a 30m net dragging behind me. It is definitely easier to invert the kite and then go if you’re not going to deflate completely or partially.

[Toby]

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