A routine kiteboarding session at Three Tree Point turned into a water rescue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, after shifting winds and strong currents forced a kitesurfer into a dangerous mid-channel swim — prompting a multi-agency emergency response from Burien Fire crews.

The incident, reported at 4:18 p.m., drew multiple units to the neighborhood’s south beach, including E328, A328, BOT328, FBZEN, UFBC, and 4TG.

Fortunately, kitesurfer Matt Wardian, 69, was uninjured and managed to reach a back eddy near shore before being assisted the final 100 yards by a suited-up first responder.

“Just inside the point, the wind shut down, my kite dropped, and I realized I was in for ‘the swim,’” Wardian told The B-Town Blog. “The best thing about today was realizing that in this crazy world, community matters and people you may not even know are looking out for you.”

The rescue unfolded quickly after a witness spotted the struggling kiter and dialed 911. Wardian, equipped with a wetsuit, had lost control of both his kite and a sentimental green, black, and white Slingshot board that drifted away to the south.

Here’s his first-person recounting of the rescue:

“Sadly, this wasn’t my first kite to swim off Three Tree Point. In fact Three Tree is somewhat notorious for a strong ebb current.

“Today, trusting the forecast for building winds (what was I thinking?), I put up a kite that was a little small to start with but had enough power to ride from the north access beyond the point where I went flying out to mid channel. After a few reaches, the wind started dropping and I headed back towards my launch spot. The wind was changing direction and got weaker towards the point as the southbound current got stronger when I realized I would have to come in just south of the point.

“Just inside the point, the wind shut down, my kite dropped and I realized I was in for ‘the swim.’ In getting my kite and lines in, my board got away and currents took it towards Des Moines. Fortunately I was able to reach the back eddy before the southbound current took control.

“At a couple hundred yards from shore I heard the sirens approaching and saw that the rescue team was alerted. I shouted I was okay (wetsuit did the job), but one of the responders suited up and came to help me finish the last 100 yards. I was a bit embarrassed over the fuss but realized it probably looked like trouble from shore.”

Though slightly embarrassed by the emergency response, he expressed deep gratitude to first responders and neighbors alike.

“Shoutout to the first responders who never say never, AND the community that has my back! Thank you all.”

And good news – the morning after the incident, Wardian received a call from someone who found the missing Slingshot board washed ashore at Point Defiance all the way down in Tacoma — a small but meaningful recovery, as the board had been signed by colleagues as a retirement gift.

Wardian is retired, and along with kitesurfing also focuses on photography (check out his website here).

“I am happily retired at 69 and find time to create art with my photography,” he said. “This piece was inspired when I met a Ukrainian kite boarder who escaped here after the Russians invaded and destroyed his business (teaching on the Sea of Azov)”: