LOST: Ocean Rodeo Rise 10M '07 Green,white,black and the bar and lines still attached (broken swivel).
separated from the kite about 1.5 km out in the staight of juan de fuca at Gordon's beach Fri. Aug 20th.
I swam for nearly an hour towards the shore in a slack tide (thank God!) I was just an invisible speck... and Tom K. finally saw me and towed me the rest of the way. Legs were starting to cramp and arms exhausted. HOLY SHIT! Well I'm still alive and getting back on the horse the very next day...... but I've learned some things.

Sail with buddies and keep an eye on them.
Don't sail out further than you are willing to swim. (I thought I'd learned this lesson when I swam in 3 years ago and I was the only one out there.)
Keep a brightly coloured helmet or flare or cell phone or something so you can be seen in case you are separated from the kite.
Be aware that the kite can take you a very far distance very quickly and if you have gear failure you are f*%^$d if you are too far out!

I tried to do the TACO to self rescue but hit the dump valve instead of the inflate to let out a bit of air so I could get the wingtips together. Once deflated then the kite was dead weight and I was not going to try to save it and me.

Thanks to Betty-Anne and Pat for the shore search support and getting the coast guard on stand by while everyone wondered where I was for an hour - too far out to be seen...and thanks again to TOM who I could see kiting up and down and all along the shore in the distance looking for me. THANKS TOM!!

OK - wind is blowing and I think I'll go sail close to shore.. ahhh.. It's a good life.. and I really appreciate it now!!

dude, thank goodness it ended well. thanks for sharing, as this may save someone else's hide. Most of us have done something like this on occasion, even mr. safety himself, (you know who I mean). PLEASE DON'T DO IT AGAIN. if you had died, that would have ruined my entire evening...

AND THANK YOU THOMAS! You've kept an eye on me in the past, and now you saved pasta!

"Be aware that the kite can take you a very far distance very quickly and if you have gear failure you are f*%^$d if you are too far out!"

Words to remember for sure.

Thought the same thing when I saw a guy windsurfing outside Cox Bay on Thursday.

Pasta, so glad this was a happy ending. Sounds like you have a guardian Angel with you that day. A big wahooooooo to Tom for searching and eventually finding you. It was great to see you out there today. Glad we could be of some help! Hope your sesh was a fun as mine! D

Glad you are okay Greg... I'll buy you a survival beer next time our paths cross.

Makes me glad I didn't try to kite alone on the OR coast.

BTW - Bellingham Kiteboarding is blowing out 2010 Rises if you plan to replace it in the near term.

http://www.shop.bellinghamkiteboarding. ... m-rise.htm

Nice work TK. Glad to hear you're still with us PastaGuy!! Just for the repairs though

Seriously Greg you might want to call around to some of the whale watching companies especially the one that runs out of Sooke. It might have made it all the way to Betcher Bay or Swordfish Island outside of Sooke Basin if it cleared Otter Pt.

That's no way to treat my old 10 !!! http://oceanrodeo.com/forums/viewthread/1196/

that was your old 10M JL! I didn't see that bulletin in time.

Glad to hear you made it back. That definitely would have taken the stoke out of my summer!

Hey Pastadude - bought a bright-coloured helmet yet? Other than a smoke flare, thats the best chance of being spotted swimming wayyyyyy out.

Scary story, very glad it turned out OK. Doesn't Kus say that for every fatality there are dozens of close calls? Lets keep the odds down!

If not already found, this kite may be yours

http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified- ... t_12983656

FOUND at Otter Point, Wind Surfing Kite. 250-642-6985 after 3pm[/url]

WAHOOO! That's my baby! That saves me a bit of coin. I hope it's not too damaged by the surf and driftwood.

thankgodiatepastafobreaky wrote:WAHOOO! That's my baby! That saves me a bit of coin. I hope it's not too damaged by the surf and driftwood.

Awesome news...congrats!...