The rider involved in the incident is Dale, shown below. There were many ways of avoiding falling into the crisis but once it was upon him, he handled things well. In most other similar cases I am familiar with, the rider was killed or severely injured. This may be the longest lofting that has been survived since the one that happened in Cabarete in 2002 with a horizontal distance of 850 ft. being covered.
Take care Dale, luck doesn't last forever, we're very glad it came through this time for you. Thank you very much for sharing your story, I hope people sit up and take notice.
Critically, the MAJORITY of kiters don't follow forums. I believe we have an obligation to tell the kiting community about things like this. No one wants a fatality, paralyzed kiting victim or even a bad injury at the local launch much less a ban, so please share the story and lessons learned at your launch.
Also, there is more at risk than just the rider, bystanders and our access in general ride with the kiter's choices. Choose well and not to mess around with squalls. They are taking a harsh toll particularly this year.
Do proper weather planning and monitoring always. More at Post #2 at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=69
Big thanks to Dr.Lightwind for telling me about this incident and doing so much research on it. Also thanks to the several eyewitnesses that spoke to me about this not the least Dale himself. Ride safe guys.