Safety tips:

1. don't go out further than you can swim back
2. don't hesitate to ditch your kite if you can't get it back up again and its taking you further out. you can replace a kite if its not picked up by the coast guard. that said, there are times where you may be too far out to swim back and ditching your kite at this point is more dangerous because you lose your floatation and potential visibility to rescuers.
3. definitely not beginners
4. there are variations of offshore. we often kite offshore at brighton as an example, its slightly cross off, not direct offshore
5. offshore is almost always gusty (air travelling over land creates turbulence)
6. with offshore you need to be aware of what is downwind. I.e. if its open ocean, its more dangerous than a piece of land 1km away. worst case with the piece of land, you'll eventually hit it. with open ocean, worst case is they never find the body.
7. water temperature is an important consideration. if water and air temp is really cold, spending too much time floating or waiting for rescue could result in hyperthermia so its more dangerous to kite offshore in these conditions.
8. wind speed is important for offshore. light wind means more chance of the kite dropping out of the sky and not being able to relaunch. also less chance of staying upwind so if you think the wind is going to die, don't bother or don't stray too far from land
9. be aware that if everything else goes well, you could still have equipment failure and be in trouble. lines snap, bladders burst etc.

Saffer said...

Safety tips:

1. don't go out further than you can swim back

work out how far you think you can swim then at least halve it


Plus, don't go out alone or in small groups, leaving a kiter on the beach as a spotter is smart. And a kiter is a better option than someone who knows nothing about kiting, they can tell when a kite down is a problem or not.

If you have boat/jet ski support available use it and have it in the water ready to go.

Don't rely on a rescue service to come and get you and your kite, their response time to you will be an hour or more (and thats assuming you aren't remote and someone calls it in straight away), by that time you could be 5 k's off shore and very fkn cold and lonely.

If a rescue boat has to come get you don't think for a second they are interested in recovering your inflated kite and 100 or more metres of tangled line. Unless you have already done a deep water packdown expect it to be left behind. Which takes you back to Saffers point 2, if in doubt ditch your kite early and swim in.

Personally, unless you are happy kiting with a safety margin close to zero it's too much of a risk without boat support. So you need to find a mate with a boat that doesn't kite... hmm I think I have one living across the road

Add the following to it:

10. Learn to pack up your bar and lines in the water. If you don't know how to, learn it because its an essential skill (check youtube if in doubt, there used to be some tutorials on it)

Triggerhappy said...

If you want to go out in off shore winds and you are on your own, take one of these http://www.gme.net.au/products/emergency-beacons/plbs/MT410G. If you get in trouble you will easily be found if the sharks don't get you first.

This isn't suitable for marine applications, only good for water ingress to a depth between 15 cm and 1 metre. www.aceeca.com/handhelds/ip67 . A proper marine PLB/EPIRB is going to be too big and bulky to kite with.

Juddy hit the nail on the head, just don't go out in offshore. Kind of what I was trying to say without being so blunt. The exception maybe only if you have a recovery boat available as part of your group session, and a recovery boat is a bit different to being rescued.

take up surfing!

Prawnhead said...

take up surfing!

best idea yet!!

Too many good onshore, cross or cross off to put yourself in such situations. Forget it unless you have some geographical features that make it safe.

I am not a beginner, but fk up a lot. been kiting for almost 2 seasons

My thought procces is pretty simple, Am I prepared to let the kite go.
At the moment I have a couple of good ones so yeah any wind condition is good

I love a couple of break at home where the wave are too fat to surf but the set up for kiteing are ammazzingg!!!

Just remember the longer you leave it to decide you cant get back to shore the longer you have to paddle with your harness

Jared888 said...


My thought procces is pretty simple, Am I prepared to let the kite go.

Conditions pending,think twice about ditching an inflated kite that could help you stay afloat for many hours in a self rescue, in shore or offshore winds

gcdave said...

Jared888 said...


My thought procces is pretty simple, Am I prepared to let the kite go.

Conditions pending,think twice about ditching an inflated kite that could help you stay afloat for many hours in a self rescue, in shore or offshore winds

I agree with you about thinking twice about ditching kite...although for different reasons.....$$$

I like your avatar BTW gcDave

All this talk of 3rd party rescue is a load of BS!! why would you be kiteing that far out in an offshore wind when all the good water is close to shore between the waves Im missing somthing here im sure I will be enlightened, When surfing you have to paddle out the back, when kiting you dont! whats different about paddling in after letting your kite go, than just paddling in from a surf except for the cost and associated littering of the kite

I think the answer to this is to be able to dig yourself out of any **** u dig yourself into without help and part of that is maybe choosing not to go out at all. some cross off waves are on headlands with bays hooking around teh corner so you will still end up on land if u mess up which is good thing.

It can be super gusty. There are so few perfect kiting waves on planet earth any pimped ones can get quickly over crowed, I am sure the all time best waves/footage going down on planet earth is not being facebooked /youtube /pimped for that very reason. Kiting is way more fussy than surfing for perfect setups, it's always a pain in the ass, always issues to deal with at best spots in world with good setups.

Chris6791 said...

Jared888 said...

gcdave said...

Jared888 said...


My thought procces is pretty simple, Am I prepared to let the kite go.

Conditions pending,think twice about ditching an inflated kite that could help you stay afloat for many hours in a self rescue, in shore or offshore winds

I agree with you about thinking twice about ditching kite...although for different reasons.....$$$

I like your avatar BTW gcDave

All this talk of 3rd party rescue is a load of BS!! why would you be kiteing that far out in an offshore wind when all the good water is close to shore between the waves Im missing somthing here im sure I will be enlightened, When surfing you have to paddle out the back, when kiting you dont! whats different about paddling in after letting your kite go, than just paddling in from a surf except for the cost and associated littering of the kite

Problem is you really arent going to need to dump your kite so close to shore but you might still be in a pickle. While you are busy thinking you can recover, reset and relaunch you are all the while getting pulled further out. By the time you figure out you are still in the poo you are a long way out. Hence reducing you safety margin to zero and being willing to dump a $1800 kite early.

good point ...it isnt as easy as I say

I do speak from experience and all be the big talk I am very aware of the risks. I lost a kite at cape lewin, 12m cab first one I owned, because I didnt have the confidence to pin my ears back and just have a crack getting to shore after a rush of blood and a few boosts off some waves before I knew it I was out the back and the wind seemed a lot stronger....so pop pop ....I tried to paddle side saddle with harness but realized i had to take it off to get the paddling momentum going long story short got back with no drammas and went for a walk down the coast the next day to find my kite with minimal damge.

I will offer some sound advise if I may....if your not a lunatic or attached to life in any reponsibility roles, like a parent. Go with your gut and if you feel comfortable and have a sound plan.....YOULL BE RIGHT MATE

This is a good topic as it raises the risks concerning an offshore set up.
One of my favourite waves is an offshore spot wsw is best so next stop is NZ bro...
Things to consider;
Can u swim ??
Can u swim against a foot or two of steep chop ??
Can u swim against a foot or two of steep chop for an hour or two ??
Make a plan of what you are going to do so you can do it early
If u ride a twin tip you may have to dump all your gear
I usually kite there alone, but u if feel safer in numbers then practice towing each other upwind