A KITE SURFER who became separated from his board in strong winds sparked a call-out for Cowes RNLI lifeboat.

The man was spotted a quarter of a mile offshore, near to Gurnard Sailing Club. Although the kite surfer was reported to still have hold of his kite, the board was drifting away from him.

Cowes lifeboat, with Matt Chessell at the helm, quickly arrived at the scene and delivered the man and his kite to the Gurnard shore. The lifeboat then made another search of the Solent, being whipped by a Force 5 westerly, and eventually was able to also track down the board, which was returned to its owner.