While kites might not be the answer for your local coast guard, they can be pretty handy in sticky situations.

American kiteboarder JP Lurkin was kiteboarding off Sullivans Island in South Carolina this week when he came across a stricken yacht, aground with a broken keel. By body dragging with all four of the men attached to his leash, Mr Lurkin got them all back to the beach safely thanks to some good instruction at the beginning of his 9 year kiteboarding career. He explained how the rescue came about to the local paper:

"You can actually stretch this (the leash) pretty good and I had all four people that were on the sailboat attached to this.

Kind of as a team we just moved to the beach. I'd say by the time we got about a football field away Sullivan's Island Fire Department showed up with their jet skies and supported us the rest of the way in."

The only injury was to one of the boatmen who had a cut on his leg. The local ambulance patched him up on the beach and Mr Lurkin was left to look for his board, which he had to ditch in order to get the sailors back to the beach.

Hope he found it! 

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