[ricki]

Lastly, and this is a big one. DO PROPER WEATHER PLANNING AND MONITORING!

Look upweather on the forecast, radar, satellite maps and real time winds to see if a strong frontal boundary in coming through. See just how powerful and nasty it is to that point. Estimate its speed of travel understanding that it is subject to change.

IF a powerful frontal boundary is coming in with the classic 90 degree wind shift, major wind spike and possibly violent squalls MAKE sure you are not on the water when it passes over. Have your kite well secured before the boundary and potential hazardous winds arrive. Go from your eta estimate and visible conditions. If in doubt, simple, don't go out.

A kiter was killed in CT a while back due to this cause. A couple of kiters spent many hours one cold night being blown out into the Gulf by a powerful offshore frontal wind in the Panhandle. If you really screw up and are caught out, DON'T let your kite drag you offshore and you may have very little time to act. If you have to choose, choose yourself and ditch the kite. If you are already too far from shore you have a hard choice. Some say never leave your kite once offshore as it is more visible and has flotation. If you are using an vest, the later point shouldn't matter all that much. There is a chance your kite can be recovered with a boat if you never leave the shore but your kite does. No such certainty about yourself however.

Input? This is a common phenomena, people need to commonly know how to try to deal with it.