Excellent story. Trying to put myself in that man's situation, I'm torn between what I might do. Obviously avoiding the situation is crucial, and reading a story like this is beneficial in that regard. But, assuming that cow had already left the barn, and like this guy you found yourself in a situation drifting offshore from an island unnoticed and unable to relaunch in wind that has turned offshore (broken line or whatever), would you...
1. Ditch the kite and attempt to swim back upwind? This risks having nothing floating to hold onto if you can't make the swim against the wind, or...
2. Stay with the kite cause it's floating and more visible, and hope someone notices you're overdue and comes looking for you?
I know that attempting self rescue is the way to go, but let's assume it's an island like in the story and you're blowing offshore with nothing but horizon 90 degrees to the wind.
BTW, it's worth mentioning that by using the board as a lateral plane (like a daggerboard) it's possible to make a few degrees upwind in the self rescue situation which could eventually get you back to a long coastline even in offshore wind.
I know the right answer is to avoid getting into this pickle, but I'm curious to hear what would you do if you did get into the above situation because I'm thinking about it and not sure what I would do.
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