You are talking about Dave Culp, Speedsailing
http://www.dcss.org/speedsl/index.html

He went to Speedweek in UK years ago.
There are stories about stacks of older-style power kites attached to cats and early kites to water skiis.
There is even an action photo of a mastless Tornado, "Jacob's Ladder" being pulled heavenward by a stack of power kites: the crew abandoned ship at about 20 feet (up).

Dacarls:
A-class USA 196, USA 21, H18, H16
"Nothing that's any good works by itself. You got to make the damn thing work"- Thomas Edison