Near fatality at Hermanus today December 12 2018

[Hugh2]

Hermanus in South Africa went off today, blowing steady SW 25-30 knots, just as forecast. Since there was no wind in Cape Town, lots of folks went there. I got there early around 10AM, and as it was my first time there (which is strange given all the years I've kited in and around Cape Town), I watched for a while to get the lay of the land. A couple of hotshots were showing off jumps right at the top of the lagoon, just like in the vlog from Kevin Langaree a few days ago, but there were only a few riders further along on the lagoon, and none on the ocean which looked really good. So I had a good twintip session in the lagoon on my 7m Pivot, then went over to the ocean for a great session. I took a break for lunch, and by then the lagoon was pretty crowded and the pros had arrived and were putting on a show. Top of the card were Graham Howe and Joshua Emanuel, who were on 9m and 10m respectively, and short 15m lines. They were doing very impressive simultaneous megaloops right in front of the spectator gallery, with about five other riders like Gijs Wassenaar doing megaloops as well in turn. It was quite the show. After watching for about an hour I went out for an early afternoon session on strapless surfboard in the ocean and had a blast, along with perhaps 10 others. I would guess there were close to 100 kiters on the lagoon in total.

In the mid afternoon I had quit and changed into clothing, and while Howe and Emmanuel were taking a break, some other riders joined in the megaloop festival. Suddenly one of them, I don't know his name, misjudged his megaloop and slammed down hard on his board, blowing it far off and knocking himself out. He lay face down in the water, and if it had happened anywhere else would probably have drowned. But the landing spot there is shallow, there were scores of people watching, and once his kite dropped it was in a no-wind zone so he was not pulled by it. Several spectators immediately ran out to help him, lifted him out of the water, and forced the water out of his body. He soon started coughing and came around. They got his harness off and wetsuit loosened, and he was even able to stand and was helped to shore. But it was not that simple, he clearly was in bad shape and an ambulance was called. They administered oxygen and eventually brought him up to the ambulance on a stretcher. I left about then so don't know the outcome, but he will probably have lung damage, I imagine will need some time in hospital, and it will be a long time before he tries another megaloop, if his partner, who was petrified, ever lets him kite again!

So, congratulations to all the folk who immediately jumped in to help (I think Joshua was one of them), and best wishes to the injured kiter for a speedy recovery. There must have been a thousand megaloops thrown at Hermanus today, most of them right in the prime spot, but many others farther away in the lagoon. If this accident had happened out in the lagoon I doubt he would have lived.

[Toby]

Good to know is more or less ok!

Thx for the story.

Was it anyone from the KOTA riders?

Anyway, wishing a speedy recovery!

And I know why I never do my tricks far away from shore...exactly because of this...

[matth]

Always go to the hospital if you get water in your lungs...Secondary drowning is very serious and can take time to be noticed...Glad to hear he survived.

[Hugh2]

Sorry Toby, I don't know who he is. I usually kite alone and did not know anyone there. I met Graham Howe (launched his kite twice, simply by chance) and also Gijs Wassenaar, but did not know anyone there. I must say, it was crazy busy and yet this was the only accident I saw all day and I only saw two kites get tangled far down the lagoon, so despite the wild day, most everyone survived just fine and probably had a great time, as did I.

[grigorib]

That’s what KOTA promotes - megaloop as high and as far as you can. Promote caffeinated sugar water, risk your life and inspire others to engage in the same behavior.
Very cool way to die?

Just remember - if you saved someone from drowning - keep them laying down until ambulance arrives. Heart attack following drowning is not a joke.

[yomotha]

That’s what KOTA promotes - megaloop as high and as far as you can. Promote caffeinated sugar water, risk your life and inspire others to engage in the same behavior.
Very cool way to die?

Just remember - if you saved someone from drowning - keep them laying down until ambulance arrives. Heart attack following drowning is not a joke.

Have you seen other redbull events? They're not exactly about safety. They're about pushing the limits and that's what KOTA is doing. If you don't like it, then go watch some golf and be happy.

[grigorib]

That’s what KOTA promotes - megaloop as high and as far as you can. Promote caffeinated sugar water, risk your life and inspire others to engage in the same behavior.
Very cool way to die?

Just remember - if you saved someone from drowning - keep them laying down until ambulance arrives. Heart attack following drowning is not a joke.

Have you seen other redbull events? They're not exactly about safety. They're about pushing the limits and that's what KOTA is doing. If you don't like it, then go watch some golf and be happy.

Exactly my point! They don’t give a damn if one of us kills himself.

And then bunch of people on the forum are posting R.I.P. and pretend that promoting reckless examples has nothing to do with followers of those.

Both foil race and golf make perfect background TV picture on the weekends, BTW so does KOTA - same thing over and over again.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not against pushing the limits but if a major car manufacturer would start a “leaderboard” for top speed on their vehicles they’d invoke lots of unnecessary tragedies.

Average Joe can’t boost to 25m, and probably shouldn’t megaloop either, so I guess let’s either stop obituaries on the forum or cease embracing megaloop-fest.

Kiting is somewhat extreme sport and everyone risking own life doing it is fairly selfish so im just saying - no condolences, and RIP.
But, the more we know what not to do the safer the sport will be.

[Hugh2]

I would just emphasize that many hundreds of megaloops were thrown at Hermanus yesterday, and only this one injury that I know of. Even after 13 years of kiting I would never attempt a megaloop, I value my limbs and life too much for that, and am old enough to know that. I can enjoy this sport, indeed obsession, without that kind of risk. But for the guys doing them yesterday, and a few gals as well, they were perfectly reasonable, even if Joshua and Graham were pushing the limits at times (I just went through the 30+ videos I took of them yesterday, amazing stuff). Most of the rest of the guys were jumping high, doing high megaloops, and landing them just fine. A few big splashes, but nothing serious other than this one. I don't see a problem with those who are able and willing to do them, and I don't have a problem with the KOTA, although I will admit to leaving after Lewis Crathern nearly died a couple years ago. Most sports have an extreme end, and the KOTA is that. As noted above, if you don't like it, don't watch it, but for the rest of us it is truly a spectacle to stand at the water's edge and watch some amazing kiting. I will be here for the 2019 KOTA and hope to enjoy it thoroughly.

[dragnfly]

Plenty of people were doing massive mega loops way before KOTA started. It's just human nature that some people will always want to push the boundaries as far as possible - and are willing to accept the risks that come with this attitude. KOTA is just publicising it. It's the same for all sports - be it a triple backflip on a motorbike, speed climbing with no ropes, cliff diving with a million twists and flips, driving round a track at warp speed, etc etc... there's always a contingent that want to take it further - and they would be doing it with or without Redbull & KOTA.

[peppedurso]

I'm just wondering why it's commonly acceptable to do do kitesurfing without helmet and impact vest. If you drive a car you buckle up, if you ride motorbike you've helmet, but 99% of expert kitesurfers do it without any protections. So inconsiderate.