I agree with stuntnaz , hold the kite upside down and let the person take it off you and if you have time talk about how great the sess was . You don't have to unhook your bar ( unless the beach is like above ) and take the kite off the catcher as soon as possible. If the guy screws around and makes you wait for eternity ill just throw the kite over , kick sand over it and yell out see ya next time .
Select to expand quotestuntnaz said..
If your landing someone's kite catch it turn it up side down so it's floating in the air , once the person has unhooked walk the kite to them hand it over job done walk away .
brilliant and or wait for them to disconnect lines and then hand it to them , just what we do any way. kite does not touch sand and flotsam **** , that may result in a tear , only takes a minute.
This has been discussed at length before. But...
Catcher catches and holds.
Kiter runs over. Says thanks. Takes kite.
Job done.
If kiter dicks around with lines or whatever then put the kite down. Put sand on it if you must. Do whatever.
That's way quicker, less effort, safer and kinder to the kite than digging a pile of sand.
Sand on a kite is kind of pointless. In nuking conditions the sand just blows off unless you put heaps of it on. Even then it can blow off. In non nuking conditions the vast majority of kites will sit perfectly nicely nose into wind. Either way it's the responsibility of the kiter to secure their kite, not the catcher.
Select to expand quotestuntnaz said..
If your landing someone's kite catch it turn it up side down so it's floating in the air , once the person has unhooked walk the kite to them hand it over job done walk away .
LOL
I've NEVER seen anyone being so kind.
Wow, lots of opinions. Clear thumbs up, lets all demonstrate it.
Theres no one rule that fits all situations. If I'm launching, and theres guys nearby pumping up or having just come in, I'll nearly always ask for a launch. They will mostly get it right. If they dont, its my kite and launch, I'm responsible for my gear. I can self launch and do maybe 20% of the time. Landing I'll generally look for someone to land me, but using the QR just one more time, knowing its a safe landing, thats fine.
Bottom line for me is, I wear the responsibility for my gear and my safety.
I believe we should have a stickied thread, Kiting FAQ, at the top of this general section, with simple things like what this thread started on. But without the petty comments. Many online forums have such FAQs, they help people a lot.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
- kiter continually stepping towards the assistant (especially when the assistant is up against a fence/path/bushes etc)
YESSS. So annoying..
That and the old not walking upwind far enough and just giving you a blank stare, expecting you to move into a suitable launch position. Unless we've organised it beforehand, once I lift your kite i'm not gonna move...
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
- kiter continually stepping towards the assistant (especially when the assistant is up against a fence/path/bushes etc)
Hate it when it happen folding sheets.....backs against the wall and missus is still walking toward me bless the lil darling 
Select to expand quoteezza said..Gorgo said..
- kiter continually stepping towards the assistant (especially when the assistant is up against a fence/path/bushes etc)
YESSS. So annoying..
That and the old not walking upwind far enough and just giving you a blank stare, expecting you to move into a suitable launch position. Unless we've organised it beforehand, once I lift your kite i'm not gonna move...
worse is when the person tries to launch their kite too much upwind and doesnt understand why the kite is trying to eat the launcher as soon as they turn it towards them...
???
Beginners: don't get a non-kiter to launch you, there is too much to know.
One example I saw, the guy launched with a line wrapped around the wing tip, kite immediately began spiraling towards me. I had a kite in the air so couldn't help but saw the whole thing unfolding so was able to get out of the way. Launcher was wearing shoes and didn't know what to do until I yelled "grab the kite" and he went into the ankle-deep water and did.
When there is plenty of space, quick release is a great option for self landing, since it's also an opportunity to test, familiarise youself with, and clean your safety system.
If I don't know the guy. I always say "don't let go until I give you the thumbs up" works a treat.
What annoys me is the experienced guys that think they are too cool to launch and land people.
I remember a day that was nuking 30+. Gusty as hell, cross shore with massive gusts and lulls at the launch site.
I rigged up as the crash test dummy to be the first out and test the conditions and asked one of the 6 kiters standing around to launch me.
His response was " ha ha if you can't solo launch then you shouldn't be kiting".
What a knob. One of the other guys launched me and I had a blast riding the extreme conditions. While this particular so called "experienced" guy didn't go out..... perhaps he wasn't experienced enough to launch himself?
