Crossbow Safety points:

[Greg]

I fouled my bar on a 10m X4 one day at Shermin (I really should have been on an 8m). THe sea-grass qukly covered my hands and hook and try as I might couldnt figure out how to clear the mess. To BOOT my bar was cranked over to one side so kite proformed at least four kite loops. One after another the kite ripped me out of the water and pounded me back down, each time getting worst. I wasent all that scared at first becouse I knew other kiters were near by. But the third time I got slammed down I partly seperated my shoulder and got the wind knocked out of me, by this point I knew I wasnt good for but a few more turns at best. Finally I managed to release the kite and as I watched it tumble and blow away from me 200 yards at a time. I remember thinking I hope that nasty Mo-Fo never comes home....
This is just one of the reasons I "try" not to kite places where others are going to recieve what I know I'll not be able to retreave...
The first kite that makes it to the freeway will be the last! Of this I am sure,
L.M.G.

[Tako]

This guy modified his switchblade bar to have a second ball/hoop
I guess he had similar safety concerns and also wanted to be able to self land both directions.

http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2327281

[windhorny]

Not hard to do a ditch from the getgo, but if you begin a self
rescue, most times that means getting a line or two tangled
around your body in the process, and a knife only works if you
can reach the line that is pulling on you, (very difficult in the water).

But how is that different from any other kite?

[windhorny]

This guy modified his switchblade bar to have a second ball/hoop
I guess he had similar safety concerns and also wanted to be able to self land both directions.

http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2327281

Holy gajesus! where is the guys parachute and battle axe? He has enough safety lines for 5 kites on there!

[sflinux]

I think it would be cool if inflatable kites had an extra line (leash), which you could pull when the sh*t really hit the fan. That line could be attached to a blow out valve on the main bladder, to deflate the kite and make it lose its shape, thereby killing most of its power. That to me, sounds like a better alternative to a runaway kite.

I do like bars that have two ways to put a kite to leash, redundancy is a good thing. That's something that I learned from rock climbing, you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket.

There is no perfect solution since kites involve imperfect human beings.

[Don Bogardus]

Bow kite can assume powered shape when on one line because of
multible attachment points.

Not hard to do a ditch from the getgo, but if you begin a self
rescue, most times that means getting a line or two tangled
around your body in the process, and a knife only works if you
can reach the line that is pulling on you, (very difficult in the water).

But how is that different from any other kite?

Bow kites can assume a powered shape on one line because of multible attachment points.

[Sander]

The first kite that makes it to the freeway will be the last! Of this I am sure,

I agree. Imagine a runaway kite that tumbles downwind and hops up onto moderate rush-hour traffic. Does it wrap around the windshield of a speeding semi, schoolbus, or the Hell's Angel motorcycle gang cruising into town for the gay rights festival? Not good anyway you look at it.

Of course every kiting place is upwind of somewhere else, Waddell's upwind of HWY 1, Alameda's upwind of Shoreline Drive, OB is upwind of the Great HWY, and TI & Crissy are also upwind of HWY 80. Berkeley just happens to be right upwind of 10 lanes of traffic. So we should all think seriously about how to prevent a runaway kite regardless of where you kite.

Bottom line is don't let go of your kite unless you fear immediate loss of life or limb. Start planning now on how to deal with the oh-shit situations before they happen.

[Blackbird]

Nice posts this topic brought up. I agree with L.M.G., Berkeley is a BAD spot in terms of consequences. Who wants to be the creator of the "Commuters killed by kite!" headline? Also, not sure if the flat/bow kites stick to the water better than C kites. Seems like maybe they do. Another positive? Anyway, nice to hear everyones experiences, and oh shit for L.M.G.'s death spiral episode.