just rode the teabag express in to shore, tore my 6m reo, and i think i'll do the same again in that situation
I finally made it out the back in decent surf and winds- waves double overhead plus and wind kciking in nicely for the 6m
took about 6 runs- each ending in a thrashing and run up the beach to kick off again- but made it out the back. then a triple overhead jacks up in front of me and starts to break. So i turn and hit it, stoked! dropping into that bomb, thinking, "oh yeah, this is what i got into this for..." then i see the reo seriously slack lining. try to pull off the back of the wave but too late, kite dives, wave catches it and i'm ripped off my board and teabagged. get released, see my homemade surfbaord drifting out behind, kite drenched, cant relaunch, and Dee Why point a little down current with its rip waiting for me. Fook it.... take the tebag express into shore- wave after wave drags me in. I've got a line cutter and have the saftey release sussed, but figure, i'd need to get into shore qucik, rather than mess about in this churn
get in and my 6m's blown a panel, and there is my board waiting just down wind! but that was an awesome wave - stoked!
dropped the kite off for a quick stitch up, and figure that's the safest way of dealing with those conditions- 150m off shore in the impact zone of some serious swell is no place to hang around
Yewwwwwww, those are the sessions you remember!
Good on ya for going out, to many people just sit on the couch when it gets big and sketchy...
Fair play for confessing. My head still hangs in shame... I went out at Curl Curl in the morning, very onshore and strapless and leashless so couldn't get behind the break but had a good play. Afternoon comes, I figure i might try north Steyne. Theres a massive lull in the wind 150mtrs out, right where you need wind most. I got spanked once, my kite (8m) took a dip and i got dragged a bit. I managed torelaunch, get back on the board for another go. Same spot, same lull, with a big wave coming so decide to gybe early. As the kite loads up through the window a leading edge line snaps (I think the line slipped over little monkey fist tbh). Kite starts looping, I go body dragging, that big wave hits me and I'm rolling. So hit the ejector button, but a few lines are caught around my harness...
Kite hits the rain drain pipe, goes over it (yes, ripped) I get dragged under the pipe. Strong rip, waves crashing all around. Try hanging on the pipe so give me time to get my line cutter out. Cut my way out of trouble.
Spent another half hour trying to get my bar back (ended up putting surf boots on and walking the pipe; bar was stuck at the end, cut it free)...
Kite is in repair shop and ordered a new set of lines. 
fark DRooster, that's a little more intense!
think i'll double check my cutter blade is sharpened. i did have one little moment this morning amongst the teabagging where a line wrapped round my leg and i was teabagged in backwards, had lost the bar for a moment- not particulalry good feeling. didnt feel unsafe enough to even think of reaching for the blade, but after your effort of having to cut yourself lose, i think it's time to double check it
still, for me, the wave i dropped into was epic and well worth the kite scars, would do the same again for sure
8 years of kiting, never used a line cutter. Bought a new harness in December (Mystic Code-1), and it didn't have a line cutter.
I took the line cutter from the old harness - the only place to fit it was under the neoprene covering the spreader bar... Wasn't easy locating it in that situation, and it was bloody difficult to pull it out (had to loosen my harness). But yeah; glad I had it with me...
Sorry gordknot, didn't mean to kidnap your thread. Sounds like you caught an awesome wave 
. Nice one!
Who does your repairs? I dropped my kite of at a lady called Steph.
DR, yours much more interesting, just a pity you didn't get a cracker wave in the mix
Glen Salmon at Avalon... excellent and fast repairs and good price. highly recommended, and i've had to use him a fair bit, and usually on new kites- like this one- fourth time i'd taken out the 6m. but no scars no progress i figure
Any body regardless of skill level kiting in triple overhead can be slammed and minced through the washing machine. Its just the dice you role when kiting in such conditions.
i've had some interesting experiences like that too... 6m, tripple head weather is freaken insane. Not much room for error at all.
Strapless and leashless is one thing. Harness-less another...!
Look in any situation: Panic kills.
PS it wasnt triple overhead, double perhaps. Ran into some monsters on the outside at Narrabeen though, holy sh-t!
Glad your OK, gordknot & I have green thumbed this post...sorry for the hijack.
This thread got me thinking, are there any surf specific harnesses or spreader bars out there that have a quick release function - no good if you get wrapped in your lines but still one more escape route if your life depends on it.
