I usually do the “dive the kite to the beach on the edge of the wind window, yank top front line”, and it usually works. Not always though, so you want to have some room downwind. On a narrow beach, if it’s not super windy, I’ll sometimes self land the kite on the beach while I’m still out in the water, and then swim in, after deploying the safety.
You’ll want to practice somewhere with some space though; my girlfriend (now wife!) had her lines wrap around her bar while practicing this, and the kite started looping, dragging her across the sand. She released the bar, hit the chicken loop quick release, but the kite kept looping and dragging her, as the lines were still tangled around the bar, preventing the leash from flagging the kite. She was trying to release the leash QR too, but it had gotten hooked in her harness hook and wouldn’t release. I had to chase her down the beach and tackle her twice before I managed to unhook the leash from the harness hook and ditch the kite; the kite ripped her out from underneath me after I caught up to her the first time. The skid mark on the beach was over 60 m long; we were very lucky to be wearing full wetsuits and have as much space as we did. Not the sort of thing to try between the rock groins up at Naish beach.
If it’s too windy, or the beach is rocky, I’ve used the kite to drag or kite right up to shore, then dove the kite hard into the water offshore and released the kite to the leash, and then reeled it in to shore by hand. You end up with a wet kite, but at least you can grab the kite before it’s on the rocks.
The safest method by far though is to self rescue in the water before you get to shore. Or have a friend catch your kite for you.
Wade