I was out windsurfing last year in WA when my mast extension broke. Lucky my mate was out kitesurfing, he took my rig in and came back to bring me in.
It would have been a really long swim back otherwise!
I too can espouse the virtues of said kitesurfers. I was sailing at Maui a couple of years ago and went on a pretty long run out pass the reefs into the swell and dark blue water when I had a complete rig failure and I couldn't sail it back in.
I started flailing my arms around in the hope that the life guards on the beach might see me, but in the swell that I was in I realised that this was pretty futile. Luckilly a kitesurfer spotted me and came out to see if I was ok. He then kited back to the beach to get the life guards.
They still couldn't see where I was, so I was lucky the kitesurfer came back out and kited around me so the life guards could locate me. I was very thankfully to say the least.
I went to Wellington Point the other day and NOT ONE kiter was wearing boardshorts over a wetsuit !!!! 
Hey reef how did he drag your gear in? i.e. what part of it was he hanging on to to drag it?
When i am floundering around waiting for enough wind to waterstart, a guy I know is really great at kiting around me singing the music to JAWS. This is only several days after a massive GWS was seen a couple of hundred metres away.
I broke a mast once and got towed in about a K by a teabagger, he laid on his board and flew his kite and I laid on my board with gear rolled up. I just hung onto the handle on his harness and we got in nice and fast 
I had already been paddling for about a K in 25 knot wind and very rough water and was rooted, I was so happy to see a bagger out there as they're not normally that far out.
He clipped a stretchy leash thing onto the boom at the clamp from his harness. That got my rig in. Then I held onto the same thing on my board and he towed me in pretty quick. Even got planing! I was happy to get in as I was pretty far out!
