I am an intermediate kiter (been kiting poorly a little over a year now) and was starting a downwinder with the crew in St. Augustine this morning. As can be seen on ikitesurf, at the time we launched (11:am), the wind was averaging at 30 mph. I launched a 10 meter and was getting dragged on the beach. Was out less than 2 minutes and determined it was to strong for me. That's when the trouble began.

When I went to self-land my kite, I let go expecting the leash to depower the kite. I had carelessly hooked the leash to the loop on the right side of the handle, and not the loop connected to the right line. So, instead of the handle running up the line, I was connected to the kite, powered up, and constantly looping to the right.

As I began dragging at 15 mph plus down the beach, I had no way of getting to the handle, and no way to DISCONNECT MYSELF FROM MY LEASH. The leash I was using is the standard black bungie that came with the old SpitFire bars by Slingshot. Those few minutes getting dragged over a quarter mile down the beach were some of my scariest I can think of in my life. Finally, (and a huge thanks to) Pat and Raggamuffin were able to reach me and Ragga was able to cut my lines. Luckily, I was not in the water, and no people were on the beach. Needless to say though, it was a terrible situation.

If you do not have a leash with a quick release system, no matter how long you've been kiting, I highly recommend it. I paid for my mistake, but it could have been a lot lot worse.

Good to hear you are OK. Been there, done that, and took a while to get over the FEAR. I had a leash fail in May 2005 and the consequences were so dire that all I could think about for a few weeks was the hairball carnage that resulted. Time for a new bar, perhaps? That's what I did.

Hope you're alright. I didn't know what else to do but cut em. i chased you maybe 75 yards downwind and I had already watched you drag maybe 6-7 blocks before i could get to the beach. You didn't have a quick release on your leash? Man how much sand did you swallow? Tell you everyone should have a quick release leash and a knife. and make sure your knife blade isn't dull. I've had a situation where it wouldn't cut through twisted lines. They're like rope at that point, and yours were no different. Sorry about your lines but thats better than losing your life. See you next time> PEACE!