A big THANK YOU! To John,
After comming to grief in double over head swell I was expierincing my own kitemare, board lost, kite fully detatched and on its way to a rocky end, and me swimming for my life in treacherous conditions.
Wave after wave pummeled me to the point of exhaustion, I knew the race was on to get back to dry land to save my kite but more importantly my life.
John you came and body dragged me back to my board, then helped me fish out my kite and took me back to the beach. Then as if that wasn't enough he even gave me a lift to the next beach to find my mate who i was meeting after the down winder session.
Putting this post out there as a Thank You to you John, you are a fantastic example of just how awesome kitesurfers are and a great ambassador of the sport.
in two hours of kiting i saw:
4x best waroo, monkey griffin, cabrinha revolver, or F1 bandit.
so many kites down, washing into the rocks.
LOL.
lots of people helping to rescue, which is good.
Glad things turned out OK. No idea if this applies to your circumstance, but it is strange how many people would kite in surf that they wouldn't swim in.
I stopped kiting big surf after I started surfing, the kite gives you such a false sense of security!
props and respect to those skillful enough to rescue others in gnarly conditions.
another vote for the "if you wouldn't be comfortable swimming there you shouldn't be kiting/surfing/windsurfing there" rule of thumb.
conversely, it's a good confidence boost and safety strategy to take the time to develop the swimming fitness and surf-survival skills that are necessary to swim in and out through big waves.
glad everyone was ok.
Glad to hear you're OK.
Lucky John was around !!!!
But I was just wondering! Why is it that all you young guys bag us ol' fellas for wearing a PFD when kiting.
I wear a PFD 3, usually only in tidal areas like Caloundra etc, but if I cop a bagging then "So be it" but at least I have a better chance of surviving something like what you have just gone through, AND live to kite another day.
If more kiters started wearing PFD's and didn't give a toss about the "Mr Cool" image I'm sure it would catch on, and posibly make the sport safer.
Or is that like wearing your boardies over your wettie !!! ????
Think about it ' - Maybe you too will still be kiting when your OVER 50 and enjoying every bit of it. 
crashtest, pfds can only help you float. they can support you a bit while you catch your breath, but if you're swimming they only slow you down. worse, if you're in big waves, you want the option of diving to the bottom and staying there while the wave breaks and passes over you. if you have a pfd/bouyancy vest on then you may not be able to dive deep enough and then risk being sucked "over the falls" which in really gnarly surf means risking spinal injury and other bad stuff that can be avoided by diving deep under a breaking wave.
so, i reckon it's horses for courses. pfd may help in smaller surf/flat water if you're fitness ain't so good (in which case should you really be out there?) but in big waves a pfd will only impede your survival. if you kite in big waves you should be super fit and surf-smart.
dojo
djdojo
If thats the case with big wave riding and a PFD does not help and only impedes your riding. Then you get everything you deserve by going out in those conditions. I'm certainly not saying I would like to see a fatality (nobody does)
But if your stupid enough to do that S#%t you get whats coming to you. Or as I remember from my youth - YOU NEVER THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS.
Mate- only saying , "been there done that" 
Personally, i'd rather be bobbing around in the waves with half a chance of getting to shore than getting pummled to death!
But i suppose if guys think their balls are big enough to fit in a wheelbarrow, then it will always happen again, maybe not to fry86 (hopefully he's learnt a VERY valuable lesson on how fragile life is) but it will happen to someone else.
"Take care people" LIFE'S TOO SHORT 
We have all heard the stories of other peoples Kitemares, but unfortunetly (and sometimes ultimatley), some will always have to learn by doing.
Days where the surf is scary big and unpredictable should be a good incentive to just watch but sometimes weighing up the risks can take a back seat to imagining the mouth watering possiblities.
That fateful afternoon could have cost me alot more than my (brand new 
) kite.
The scars my kite will wear will serve as a lasting reminder of the day I chose to ignore the risks.
Nearly 600 fellow kiters have viewed this thread, so at least it wasnt in vain.
) kite.
re laird n co. there's a difference between the dangers of sucking 8 foot closeouts at a beach break and the hold-downs that can be a part of tow surfing much much bigger stuff on offshore reefs. all i can say is yes, the variables that make a pfd more or less useful change with surf size and the type of break and how you're riding it and yes each of us should weigh it up with whatever knowledge and experience we have. if that knowledge and experience is insufficient to make a clear decision, sit on the beach, watch and learn and work your way up to it. of course laird is experienced beyond question in this regard, but just cos he wear's a pfd towing into jaws at 30 ft doesn't mean the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages in other combinations of swell and break.
i'm not a brilliant kiter (only been at it a short while) but i've windsurfed (and self-rescued), and bodysurfed some of the heavier breaks in australia and on maui. for me it's not about big balls and machismo, it's about having an adequate understanding of how the water moves in given conditions and having the fitness and range of escape plans to deal with the likely scenarios.
go well, dojo
you are not wrong mate, re-reading my topic i can see how it sounds. But no i wasn't swimming hard, just the wrong wording there.
I doubt you'll be the last to be rescued by johno, top bloke!!
It's always good to know that your fellow kiters will put themselves on the line if you stack it big!
Nice one johno.
