My extreme moment: Philippe Dartnell

A power line is the rope that connects the kite to the handle bar that you hold and surf, so if it snaps, you're basically stranded on the sea on a board. Luckily, I was wearing my life jacket, and knew how to rescue myself...

It was a sunny day on the Kandolim beach in Goa and a nice breeze was blowing up the sand. Over the sea, that would have meant strong wind conditions - just the right sort for kite surfing.

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I harnessed myself in and flew off the coast, my board coasting over the rippling gray waters. After covering approximately a kilometre, the power line to my kite snapped.

Now, a power line is the rope that connects the kite to the handle bar that you hold and surf, so if it snaps, you're basically stranded on the sea on a board. Luckily, I was wearing my life jacket, and knew how to rescue myself. But here's the real killer. What was a mere 10-minute distance covered with the wind powering my kite turned out to be an hour's swim back to the shore.

Phillip Dartnell, kite surfing instructor at Power Kite Sports Federation UK. Conducts classes for beginners at Morjim beach, when in India.