Kite surfing is a fun sport that involves using a large kite and a surfboard to get a lot of speed up on the water. It’s like wakeboarding without a boat. Naturally, you need a decent amount of wind for it to work properly. There’s a limit to how much wind you should use, however, as a dimwitted kite surfer discovered when he tried to unleash his kite during a tropical storm in Fort Lauderdale and ended up getting flung across the beach and into the side of a building right in front of local news cameras.
26-year-old Kevin Kearney was strapped into his kite when a huge gust of wind came in and swept him away. A local TV crew was on the scene shooting weather footage and caught the entire disaster on tape. He’s currently in the hospital in critical condition. Let this be a lesson to you all: don’t be dumb. [CBS 4]
GranG
August 20, 2008 at 11:49 AM
This is am embarresment to anyone that kitesurfs.
The sport does not need idiots launching in winds like this — bad drivers in cars don’t get cars banned… but kites are under pressure and these incidents certainly don’t help
If you look at the video you can see the person getting lofted, over-correcting the kite to the left, and effectively pulling a kite loop in gale winds…
I am surprised Chris was not there to stop this stupidity.
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