If your kite goes down in the surf and you can't get it back up in time pull the qr and have ur safety connected to ur flagging line
the wave ill take the kite it's a bitch to get set back up again but saves a ripped kite

When ya cant get it back up Disconnect totally from your kite befor you get dragged an wreck it,an swim away from your lines,always go with good mates in the surf an look out for each other.Go help with the runaway kite while the crasher swims in,thats what mates do,when they are able of course without endangering themselves.Most times the kite just parks it self in a soggy state at the waters edge unless its blowing its guts out in which case you have to be pretty aware of whats going on all around you and the potential dangers and obstacles that are there, an kite accordingly to the conditions and your abilities

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I ride with my safety on the chicken loop that way there is only 1 to release in an emergency.

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i agree entirely. if it's down in the surf, you wanna ditch it quick smart before a wave hits it, tensions up the lines, drags you and tears the kite up. swim back in and grab the (hopefully) unhurt kite. if your leash is on the chicken loop, all you need to do is pop the chicken loop safety off, it will slip from your harness and the leash will also slide off. very fast and safe.

the flipside is, if you get a line tangle or a front line breaks or something, and you don't want to fully release the kite, but it's unflyable. then your best bet is to grab a front line (sliding flagging ring would be helpful here) and do a water pack-down. obviously not really an option in the surf however.

P.S. I don't know how long you've been riding waves but it is a full art. Freestyle is easy to practice, Waves are different.
Every time you go out it's different, you'll wire it somewhere then kook out the next time you go out.
As the other guys have said, its flatwater relaunching practice that will help with the relaunch issue.

Thanks heaps guys, yeah I have a long surfing background and it was a rush of blood that brought me unstuck (twice actually but I wont mention the second time) and as I stuffed up on the wave the kite hit the water quickly as it was low and in a powered up state - unfortunately the waves were close together and as I went down on my wave it landed in front of the previous wave - and with the wind and waves travelling in the same direction it was always going to be interesting.

In hindsight I should have released and then recovered - but the "she will be right attitude" kicked in and luckily this time it worked out.. although I had Dan and Mark on hand to help out.

Dave, the cut at Bunbury is where the estuary flows to the ocean - and to get there you need to drive out past the inner harbour - towards Australind. When you get to the cut you will see two large rock groins and the surf is about 150m past the end of them. Its been so good lately... winds dont look too great this weekend though. Also riding there on a northerly is pretty good too as the water is protected on the south side but the swell still wraps around making for a lot of fun once you are past the beach break...

If you are going to be down this way let me know, if the wind is on - its on!!!

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Originally posted by dave......

P.S. I don't know how long you've been riding waves but it is a full art. Freestyle is easy to practice, Waves are different.
Every time you go out it's different, you'll wire it somewhere then kook out the next time you go out.
As the other guys have said, its flatwater relaunching practice that will help with the relaunch issue.

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All I do is surf waves, flatwater only very occasionally. Its all well and good to say not to crash your kite, but it does happen and the more aggressive you ride the higher the risk, that combined with the wind dying and weakening in the middle of a downwinder, kite malfunction ect...

Id prefer to take the risk and have an epic session riding aggressive rather then being conservative. Yes even when you are rolling under an 8ft set your kite is everything and you cant crash it, but it does happen.

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Originally posted by lancekenny
I think I need to arm the good wife with a jet ski

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when you get that sorted can you send her down secret harbour way in her bikinis?