Recent Windsurfer Fatality in the Gorge

[chanrider]

It sounds like this guy was not wearing a helmet. Not sure if that would've helped or not. Very sad story, but interesting and inspiring to hear of the rescue effort which was unfortunately unsuccessful. It's written up by the guy who actually brought him to shore.

http://forums.iwindsurf.com/viewtopic.php?t=15366

I put on a helmet windsurfing at 5.5M. A couple of weeks ago I went over the handle bars wearing the helmet and I still saw a couple of stars. Then the next day while unhooking for a jibe I accidentally hooked onto the boom. It's pretty tough to sheet out in that situation! Another body slam!

[Fred MPL]

Helmets are a great idea all around. In fact, the previous weekend (when it was gusting 25+) someone's rig got lifted and smacked me right in the head

I was glad to have the helmet on because, at a minimum, I would have been knocked on my butt with a major headache.

Fred

[Geo]

That happened the day we arrived in the Gorge, and only an hour or so before we started sailing at Doug's Beach. Very sobering. Read a local Gorge account, here:
http://www.temirawagonfeld.com/WindBlog/Default.aspx

One note: seems "uncool" for the youngins to wear helmets DURING KITING. Insane, yes. Glad we seem to be more sensible at home. Don't ever wanna carry my friends back out of the water.

By the way, it has been really windy here. overpowered 3.5 this evening. We were on a 4.5 still because we were too tired to rerig (but not too tired to miss the smoky wind explosion).

[scottchapman]

That is sad...I'll bet most of you don't know the Lakawa's fearless leader could have suffered the same fate at Doug's about 8-10 years ago.

We were both windsurfing at Doug's on a 3.7 day...weird it was the same sail size...I had not been sailing with Tighe much that day. But we were at the beach and I saw him go out and hit a 6 foot plus wave and fly into the air...he separated from his rig in mid air and both came down with a big splash...I remember chuckling a bit at the flailing...I windsurfed out to him in powered up conditions...

When I got to him his eyes were rolling back in his head and his head was bobbing up and down, above and below the surface of the water. I immediatly jumped in and made him grab on to my board. He was dazed but able to talk to me. I asked him "Do you want me to get your board or do you want to?" He said "you get it"

Now if you have been to Doug's you know about the wave zone and the large troughs in that section of the river...so a couple of people actually came very close to jumping over us...I swam and got Tighe's board and asked if he could windsurf in....he said he could, so I let him go first and then followed him in...

When we got close to the beach and were walking in... it started...he said "how did I get here" He did not know who his girlfriend on the beach was....AND it took him about 2 hours to remember that he had a daughter....he was wearing a helmet that day too...my guess is his board came down first and his chin hit the board in the water.

SO when Tighe says you should REALLY be wearing a helmet...there is a good reason behind it...

I hope you don't mind me sharing this event with the group buddy...I am just so happy you are still here among us...I wonder what the MN windsurfing and kiting community would have been like with out you man...love ya dude....but you can't have my Bud Lite...

[Tighe]

Yeah reading that recount brought that whole experience back. I owe you my life Scott. I was out cold, and only came to right before Scott appeared. Who knows if I would have figured out that I needed to swim to stay afloat. Guess it points to the need for the special life jackets that keep your head up. (Most don't)

I don't really know what happened but I think, I launched straight up, and as I sometimes did during those jumps, kicked the board away. Well in 30+mph of winds, when a sail doesn't have any thing to stabilize it at the base it can do nasty things. I think it either backwinded into me or it initiated a roll, in any case I think it was my own arm wacking me on the side of my head that knocked me out. My neck hurt the most and my arm hurt so I think that may have been what happened. We'll never know.

The amazing thing though, was that even though I probably didn't know my name, where I was, or pretty much anything...I could still sail in to shore in 30+ winds and 6ft+ swells.

It was weird being on shore and looking at my gear and not remembering rigging it...then being told it wasn't even my sail.

I owe Scott my life. Otherwise I may have ended up like the recent tragedy.
Thanks dude.