Whilst kiting during a down winder from pinaroo to mullaloo i lost my kite in a gust.

basically i wiped out on a boost and my safety leash was ripped off my arm. (Damn velcro)
i could see my kite disappearing into the distance at a fast rate of knots, but it appeared to be slowly going towards shore.
i was approx 400 - 500m offshore, i recovered my board and started a long paddle back to shore.
After about 5 mins of slow work i was helped by two other kiters, one of them being Jeff, who kindly towed me to the shore.
Thanks Jeff! I will make it up to you at Kitestock.

Then i began the walk down the beach to the Mullaloo. The wind turned more southerly so my kite was now following the beach rather than getting slowly blown in.
I was watching a couple of kiters check the kite but it was too far off shore to see what they were doing. then i lost sight of the kite completely. I started to head for my car to follow the coast and hopefully find the kite - when a guy runs up the beach a few hundred metres away with my kite all rolled up and dumps it on the beach. No Way!
i ran down the beach - totally stoked the guy was able to recover it and bring it to the beach.
This guy is Troy - and you are a legend to me.
Troy refused my offers of a carton of beer or a bottle Bundy - but the offer still stands
I couldnt believe he was able to recover my kite and bring it in with such skill, while still controlling his kite and board.

So this is a huge thanks to Jeff and Troy and anyone else who took the time to check the situation. Im totally fine - no injuries - except my pride.
Its fantastic to know, even though we are kiting solo, that our fellow kiters care.

so good karma to all :)

your safety leash is attached to your arm?

I saw a guy kiting last year with a wrist strap .... I reckon it would be a reality check if your kite was downed/partialy powered and you needed to swim ... one handed .. !!!!

wrist leash is something they must have thought of while drunk...
1, it comes off
2, the emergency release would be impossible to get to in most if not all the situations where it would be needed
3, the release is too hard to use as it has to have tension against it to work
4, you can't spin the bar
5, have i said dislocated shoulder yet?
6, can't ride suicide cus of reason 5 so what makes the kite an attractive option over 5 line ones is lost
7, easy to loose because you usually would take it off from the bar to wind your lines up and then who wants a leash hanging on your arm so you take that off as well and it becomes another thing to forget.

having said this i actually have one that i use... just it has a shackle where the quick release is normally and connects to my harness that has a built in quick release and the quality is pretty good so far

sssutto,

Troy here, Like i said I was just glad you werent still hooked in under water. Water ressus would be a little harder than rolling up a kite. Anyone else would have done it I just think they were a little overpowered.

Was good to see you all right! I cant imagine how it it would have felt to see your kite just drifting off. Anyway I hope we all continue to help each other out, I have made a lot of new mates between Pinaroo and Mullers and hope we can continue to keep this area safe for all of us crew our families and the other beach goers!

all the Best Guys,
Hat off to Jeff too!
Troy

Hi Troy - thanks again