G'day.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of swimming approx 600m with a downed kite.

One minute, the wind was 20-25kts then it was less than 5.

I happened to be the only kiter near a a downed kiter.

Seeing this situation, I offered to drag him in.

We positioned ourselves for a body drag then the wind STOPPED.

This left both myself and other kiter with a long swim.

It took what felt like an hour as the kite was dragging as was the board.

When we eventually got to 300m from shore, two guys came out to help.

One went to the other kiter as it was starting to fill up with water.

Whilst one guy swam towards me then past me????

It was later on that I figured out that the guy was heavily intoxicated and was copying the other helper guy.

Needless to say it took this guy some effort to get to shore again.

It was good to see that there were a few concerned people on shore who had contacted water police and ambulance of their own accord.

As soon as I found out, I cancelled the calls as it was not required.

All ended well...

How long was your swim?

Ive had several long swims in the bay. the furthest is from the green bouy to the north of Dolls, not a huge distance but when your dragging a foil full of water ist far enough.

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Originally posted by kik128



How long was your swim?

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12.7 m deep...

i sawm 100 laps of a 25m pool :P

Oh, man we felt for you guys! That first hole in the wind was so sudden it knocked my kite out of the sky. After that it was "get in fast!" We saw you guys making very slow progress but rest assured we were ready to jump in and beat off the sharks if necessary. Also, what was with the guys in the fishing boat at the other end of the pool? Why didn't they help? I once had a longer swim half way from Towra to Dolls for exactly the same reason. Trying to help another guy get his board back when the wind went holey. 600 metres takes me ten minutes in a pool, but about an hour dragging a kite and pushing a board.

6 km!
Actually I was rescued by the life saving club.
How did I get there? I was trying to cross Port Phillip Bay, when I had a catastrophic failure of my home made safety quick release.
I started using my kite as a sail, going slowly downwind. After a while the dingy from the life saving club pick me up and dropped me on the beach.
It wasn't funny as it was getting late, dark and the wind was dropping.
But, I had my mobile with me and I was wearing a PFD (safety first always).
Some will say I am preaching again!

crossing the bay with no support.
dont you ever put anyone down again, ever, for doing something unsafe silviu
what are you gunna say to the coastguard with your mobile phone- "help, i'm floating somewhere on the bay, i know its dark and i have no nav lights but can you come and get me? im somewhere between williamstown and sandringham. im the one wearing the pfd and the gath helmet."

6km thats nearly as far as spacemonkey is gonna have to swim after getting whipped in the carnac drag [}:)]

And by the way, I hope today I will be back on the water, for the first time after my motorcycle accident.

Hey Silviu,

I'm up for a bay crossing anytime, drop us a line if ya get the urge.

Don’t worry silviu, speaking on a scale, we have all done a 60k swim race - it’s a testament to ones existence.

Haven’t had to swim in yet but only been kitting since Feb this year. I do laps in winter in a heated pool and I know I am rooted after about 500 meters. I imagine the water temp could well be a problem in some spots as well as strong currents or rips , packing a mobiles a great idea really!

Probably a wet dream!

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Originally posted by ran
.... You take a packed lunch with you also...LOL

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Not untill now, but on a long downwinder, why not? Aren't you getting hungry? I know, when I am getting hungry, I am really grumpy?
So guys, I do not undersand! Whats wrong with you? It is so hard to be preparred? Espacially when you know you will be on the water for 3 - 4 hours, and by the end you may have to have a long walk or swimm?
Adventure, is the name of the game, but I always calculate the risks. By the end of the day, I want to be able to tell the tale

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Originally posted by Spacemonkey!

Ever heard the saying don't go further out than you are prepared to swim?

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This is what I am doing all the time
Out now, the wind is promissing

hey silviu, make sure you take some extra vegemite sandwiches to throw at the cargo ships when you run out of wind crossing the shipping channel

quote:

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Originally posted by silviu

6 km!
It wasn't funny as it was getting late, dark and the wind was dropping.
But, I had my mobile with me and I was wearing a PFD (safety first always).
Some will say I am preaching again!

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yeah but after getting that deep in ** it's no wonder! :-)

we have all been there - it's part of "growing" as a kiter...