Educational post. _ i have never seen any information regarding cross sport rescues I have had kite surfer come to my attendance during catastrophic gear breakage. Recently on the forums a kite surfer towing in a windsurfer rescue went wrong. There is no one to blame. Its important to resolve issues and get some education How do i go about getting rescued if a kite comes to my aid?
1) Whats the correct procedure to tow in a windsurfer in distress if your on a kite.?
2)What is the correct procedure for towing in a kite surfer that is in distress on a sailboard?
Im competent at towing a windsurfer back to shore (as im a windsurfer) Usually windsurfer to windsurfer tow is back hold on to the back foot-straps person of interest with gear breakage holds on to back foot-straps to back foot-straps.
Require instructors to answer this one !
Here is a reference.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/swimming-in/
This has come up as a point of interest that requires a safe resolution..
Let's say your pole or boom has snapped and you can't sail back in.
Well, you could rescue yourself, you know.
But for the sake of this exercise, let's say you want a kiter to come to your rescue.
One way would be to let the kiter jump on your poleboard and kite the whole mess back to shore.
The poley would have to paddle the kiteboard back.
^Sorry "mandude"
if i was asking for your help flipping burgers at hungry jacks i would of sent you a private message.
Slave's pretty close to what a rescue by-kite would have to be (if you were more worried about your kit than yourself). Personally though, I'd like to stay with my (buoyant) board. Your response to a decent reply was pretty childish imo.
Self-rescue is your best option as far as I know other than a tow from another w/surfer (not kitesurfer) due to the buoyancy, not for any negative reason between the sports.
De-rig in the water, roll the sail up, lay the boom, sail & mast on the board & tie it together with downhaul rope or uphaul. Lay on top & paddle in (or get a tow, which I've had done, but the added weight & issues towing cause pain to the mate's knees & back).
The longest time paddling in I've had was about 1hr. Halfway in I noticed my harness hook was digging into my sail, so I took it off...shorebreak ate it & I never saw my harness again!
Self rescues not as easy as it sounds, we generally break things when it windy and rough. I can tell you it's no walk in the park trying to paddle it all in especially on a modern wide sailboard, the non slip rips your arms. I've been bleeding like a stuck pig doing it for about a K.
Here what worked for me, de rig and self rescue until a nice kite surfer rocks up to help, get him to lay on his board like a boogie board and do his kite thing, you grab hold of his harness handle while laying on all your crap and he tows you in. It's very easy and fast, no strain.
On beach kiss his feet and buy him a beer 
I always try to carry spare 2m long line in my harness pocket.
In the case I need to tow fellow windsurfer or even retrieve kiters lost board.
Eventually the same line could be used to fix something in my emergency.
I imagine in next few years every windsurfing board ( maybe kite boards too) will be equipped with small watertight compartment that you could have: extra buoyancy equipment, spare parts, two way radio, satellite beacon, some food and drink, small paddle, etc.
^^^ Careful tethering yourself to anything, remember board leashes...
Assuming the windsurfer still has a board (!) I would get them to pack up and lie on the board surfing style, and get them to hold the back of my harness or back footstrap.
If anything goes wrong no-one is connected to anything and the windsurfer is keeping the gear under control and upwind if for some reason the kiter got overpowered
I have used this technique to bring home SUPers, shortboarders and longboarders so it should work for a windsurfer
For a distressed kiter (never happens!) being rescued by a windsurfer it is a bit messier because it's tough to get the whole mess planing no matter how you set things up (massive windsurf / kite boards excluded)
I tried once in 35 knots once JN .Its hard to do when your getting smashed by whitecap swell formation.
1)If you are seriously injured Unable to swim, hold on to what can float only and keep you alive.. Ditching you sails. kite can be an advantage if a person has acknowledged your distress and willing to respond. If the gear has been ditched and been not recovered you are required to ring your local paroling sea rescue and report it missing.The rescuer should stay with the injured person of interest flagging down other water users until a third person has acknowledged.. This third person can then go to the beach for help.
Ditching gear if there is no acknowledgement from a second and third rescuer can be fatal and can pamper search and rescue efforts in heavy seas..
Assuming the windsurfer still has a board (!) I would get them to pack up and lie on the board surfing style, and get them to hold the back of my harness or back footstrap.
If anything goes wrong no-one is connected to anything and the windsurfer is keeping the gear under control and upwind if for some reason the kiter got overpowered
I have used this technique to bring home SUPers, shortboarders and longboarders so it should work for a windsurfer
Galah is Spot-on methinks.
If i was to rescue a kite surfer because of gear breakage I would want him to clear and organize his lines so they posed no threat- deflate the bladder if its not already popped.fold your equipment up and sit it on the board. Once this has been done the persons could then safety hold on to my back foot-straps to inch in slowly off the plan?
But hey never had to rescue a kite-surfer At my local they only seem to go out .3 kilometers offshore max?!
^^^ +1, done it in over 30 knots for both windsurfers and kiters on surfboards (also kiters "riding" their own twin tips but that's a whole other ballgame).
Slow and steady is obviously the key to keeping things safe
The beauty of not being tethered is that you can get the whole thing planing if you are both game enough to do so - but make sure you are both up for it [}:)]
