Good on you for hanging around. Agree.

Big thanks to the guy with me who actually rang the police and caught up with the Police.

And here it is
www.theaustralian.com.au/nocookies?a=A.flavipes

I hope the police boat chopped his kite up into small pieces with the propeller.
Then snapped his board in halve and kicked his ass off the boat!
Seriously? 2.5 Km of shore in a cross offshore? On dusk!
If your reading this your a tool! A dumb tool at best!
You best be making a sizable donation to police rescue....
2+ police boats
1+ air wing!
And a crate of beer for your new mate who called the police!
TOOL!

I am really glad everything went ok. The crew in Brighton is awesome, looking out for others. When I got in trouble due to a bad tangle and a deathlooping kite, people watched my self rescue and waited for me to reach land.

Regarding the recent event: I would never abandon the kite and try to swim a distance like that! The kite massively increases your chance to be spotted by air or sea rescue and it is your lifeboat. If you get cramps while you swim back, you will drown.
When I go out in offshore winds I always carry a mobile phone in a waterproof pouch and I have the water police on speed dial.

Good on you for calling this in, and good to hear it ended well.

Heraldsun too: www.heraldsun.com.au/nocookies?a=A.flavipes

It seems rather late in the day for such an exploit.

Also note the Water Police are requesting they be notified of any abandoned gear to prevent unnecessary searches.

Thanks to the guys that rang this in. I am very grateful. Thanks too for the messages from people who have made suggestions etc. I'm not into social media forums etc but have signed up here just so I can say thanks to the people that helped. Very embarrassing incident. There have been lots of incorrect facts reported so I do want to set the record straight. It was late when I set out (4 pm) but a reasonable wind still. Knowing northerlies are flaky I used my 12 metre and headed as hard up wind and a fair way out to try to get more solid wind and get further upwind still. At the farthest point out the wind died totally and kite went to water. Tried re-launching numerous times to no avail. Was probably 2.5 kms out so wrapped my lines, shoved the bar in my footstraps, clipped the board to my safety leash and went to secure the kite for the swim back. In zero wind I let go of the kite to check my lines and Murphy's law struck - a small gust took the kite and it was headed away. I had no intention of abandoning it but to swim after it away from shore at that time would have been stupid so I resigned myself to a long swim back and a purchase of a new kite. Swam slowly in a thick wetsuit and dragging my board and bar probably a bit over 2 kms when I was mortified to see choppers searching for me. Then the coast guard and water police came and asked me to get in. I apologised and said I was more than prepared to swim back as I never go past a point when I can't swim. They insisted I get in which I did. Police were great. I dropped in again today to say thanks and drop a case of beer to them. They asked if I could spread the word to label all kites with your name, licence number and mobile phone so if any of your gear gets found they can quickly contact you to check if you are ok and call off a search. This is the other reason I signed up to post this as it's something good that can come out of it. Out of thanks to the police please do this with your kites and boards etc (I only ever labelled my board)... Thanks again to the good vibes from most in a very embarrassing incident. To the not so good vibes from suniboy21... I've kited for 7 years and not had a single incident requiring anyone's help until this. Yes - it was a mistake to go out at that time in the northerly. A few facts for you: I always check the forecast and take what I think are reasonable risks. I never go anywhere near as far as I know I can swim. I always tell someone I am going and where. In the 7 years I've kited I have rescued a number of people who got themselves in trouble but didn't make them feel worse by judging them for a mistake or if they were a beginner. I never expected to be rescued and lost grip of my kite so never wanted to abandon it. I was in no danger and am sorry to have wasted people's time and am thankful to the guys who rang in as they would not have known if I was in big trouble or not. Guess you've not made a mistake in life Suniboy? But if you would like to come out from behind your online cave you can email through seabreeze and I will gladly meet you in person to sort this out as you seem quite worked up by it. Thanks to everyone else and see you out on the water doing the sport we all love! Sorry to all who spent their time on my mistake!

This should be made into a movie. An amazing story, and even with a good and bad guy twist. I won't mention who is the 'bad guy'.

suniboy21 said..

....You best be making a sizable donation to police rescue....
2+ police boats
1+ air wing!
...

You left out the three divy vans. From what I saw it was one police boat and one coast guard boat. It was a cop on the hill who spotted James swimming in and guided the boats and chopper to him.

There were quite a few people on the beach watching James and getting concerned. Most of us probably dithered a bit too much and wondered what was the best way to help. Fortunately one person called 000 and got things happening.

It's important to not be shy or embarrassed to call 000 and report a kiter in trouble. The search and rescue guys like nothing better than an easy and successful rescue. They hate a hard rescue or pointless search, and they take it personally when they have to recover dead bodies.

The process is you call 000, they send police to check out the scene and verify the situation. They call in whatever other resources are needed. They much prefer to do it in daylight.

In cost terms it's kind of neutral. The helicopters are usually out flying around and the water guys are doing their thing. That's what their job is and what they're trained for. They get pissed off when amateurs try to do rescues and stuff it up. They're not sitting around playing Xbox and hoping that they don't have to crank up the chopper.

PS. Accidents and incidents usually happen when a series of mistakes happen and build on each other. It's usually, Oops. Oops! Oops!! Oh ****!!! Fortunately James obeyed the fundamental rule of not going further out than he was prepared to swim in, and had a decent wetsuit for the conditions.

i think its funny some people act like he should be OVER thanking the police, after all, it is their job, they get paid to do it.

No one carries on when i do my job :)

000 or call these guys:

Water Police Squad and Rescue Coordination Centre
100 Nelson Place
Williamstown, VIC, 3016
Phone (03) 9399 7500 (24 hours)

Stupid f*#king comment Seabreezeb. That like saying don't thank the diggers when they come back from the sandpit. Those coppers perform a lifesaving job and I'll readily thank them if they helped me out.
What life-saving job do you do mate?

JamesC99 said..

Thanks to the guys that rang this in. I am very grateful. Thanks too for the messages from people who have made suggestions etc. I'm not into social media forums etc but have signed up here just so I can say thanks to the people that helped. Very embarrassing incident. There have been lots of incorrect facts reported so I do want to set the record straight. It was late when I set out (4 pm) but a reasonable wind still. Knowing northerlies are flaky I used my 12 metre and headed as hard up wind and a fair way out to try to get more solid wind and get further upwind still. At the farthest point out the wind died totally and kite went to water. Tried re-launching numerous times to no avail. Was probably 2.5 kms out so wrapped my lines, shoved the bar in my footstraps, clipped the board to my safety leash and went to secure the kite for the swim back. In zero wind I let go of the kite to check my lines and Murphy's law struck - a small gust took the kite and it was headed away. I had no intention of abandoning it but to swim after it away from shore at that time would have been stupid so I resigned myself to a long swim back and a purchase of a new kite. Swam slowly in a thick wetsuit and dragging my board and bar probably a bit over 2 kms when I was mortified to see choppers searching for me. Then the coast guard and water police came and asked me to get in. I apologised and said I was more than prepared to swim back as I never go past a point when I can't swim. They insisted I get in which I did. Police were great. I dropped in again today to say thanks and drop a case of beer to them. They asked if I could spread the word to label all kites with your name, licence number and mobile phone so if any of your gear gets found they can quickly contact you to check if you are ok and call off a search. This is the other reason I signed up to post this as it's something good that can come out of it. Out of thanks to the police please do this with your kites and boards etc (I only ever labelled my board)... Thanks again to the good vibes from most in a very embarrassing incident. To the not so good vibes from suniboy21... I've kited for 7 years and not had a single incident requiring anyone's help until this. Yes - it was a mistake to go out at that time in the northerly. A few facts for you: I always check the forecast and take what I think are reasonable risks. I never go anywhere near as far as I know I can swim. I always tell someone I am going and where. In the 7 years I've kited I have rescued a number of people who got themselves in trouble but didn't make them feel worse by judging them for a mistake or if they were a beginner. I never expected to be rescued and lost grip of my kite so never wanted to abandon it. I was in no danger and am sorry to have wasted people's time and am thankful to the guys who rang in as they would not have known if I was in big trouble or not. Guess you've not made a mistake in life Suniboy? But if you would like to come out from behind your online cave you can email through seabreeze and I will gladly meet you in person to sort this out as you seem quite worked up by it. Thanks to everyone else and see you out on the water doing the sport we all love! Sorry to all who spent their time on my mistake!

Glad you made it back in one piece mate. Sounds like a very unlucky incident losing your kite, at the same time this is what safety systems are made for and one should be attached at all times, even with a self rescue like this. I'm sure you're over people explaining this now so I'll shutup, if you ever want to talk through what should have been done differently to avoid this possibility you can get me on PM or [email protected]

Kite Republic will be running a FREE 'Safety First - Self Rescue Clinic' next weekend (August 10th, 11am to 1pm) at the Kite Republic School at St Kilda West Beach.

This will be a great opportunity for anyone to bring their kites along and check the safety systems, understand how to do a self rescue and full packdown correctly, and help the community increase safety standards further.

James... if you are interested it would be great to have you along to explain some of the things that are easy to forget or what you've learnt from your incident. Totally understand if not but the offer is there.

Glad you're ok.

Hey Chris - great session - very well done and i am sure we all picked up some very useful tips. Will help me getting psyched up and ready to return to the water.
:)

I've searched before and not sure I found a good solution. I've labelled my board but what is the best way to label a kite?