airhead said...What about this strange phenomenon

Wow
That's scary
I actually got caught in it two years ago.
I was 3-4 km away from the shore when 25 knots cross shore wind changed to 20 knots offshore.
It was winter and I was the only one in the water.
I dropped the kite into water, deflate the leading edge and used the air in the struts to float me on the water and I swam back to shore.
That pattern can turn ugly.