ALTHOUGH BOARDERS will tell you that it is a sport any physically fit individual can conquer, kiteboarding can be deadly if conditions conspire against you.
I met John Ritter kite boarding on the Banana River. He found out I was a doctor, and came to my office for a second opinion regarding his shoulder. Little did he or I know that he would be saving my life.
Kite boarding is like surfing or wake boarding with a 13 meter kite that looks like a parachute with an inflated edge pulling you along the water.
It was a really windy Sunday. John and his wife Nancy agreed to meet me at the river. Nancy doesn’t kite, but likes to jet ski and was willing to follow me with the jet ski to give me a ride back if I couldn’t get back upwind. I was going to take another lesson that afternoon and wanted to practice before my lesson.
The winds were a little gusty. John was kiting nearby, and would shout out helpful instructions. I was going along pretty well, but started to get tired, so decided to stop. Landing the kite on the water, I released one of the safety lines and started to pull it in.
However, before I had the kite secured, a gust of wind came and re-launched the kite.
Because I had released one of the lines, the lines were uneven, creating a predicament in which the kite was flying wildly. Luckily there was another safety release, and I released the “chicken loop,” a strap that connects the kite to the harness.
The kite crashed down to the water. I was still connected by a leash. I started pulling the kite in, and it launched AGAIN!
This time the kite was spiraling out of control. It would spin around several times and crash into the water. Each time it dove down, it would drag me under water.
The harness was pulling so hard on my chest and jerking so hard, I could hardly breathe when I wasn’t under water. I struggled to release the leash, which would free me from the kite.
The leash was twisted from the spiraling kite and I couldn’t get it. I thought I was going to die, and told God that I was not ready to die. Water was rushing in my mouth and nose. I was gasping for breath.
I Thought, “This Is It, I Am Going To Die”
John heroically flew his kite to me. He ditched his board, and did a body drag to me. He pulled my drowning body from the water while flying his kite and trying not to crash his kite into my kite, which we had no means to control.
He held me out of the water long enough to cough out some water and attempt to get some air, but the harness was still squeezing my chest, making it difficult to breath. He told me to release the third safety on the leash, but the leash had twisted around from the spiraling, and I couldn’t get to the release.
He reached down and tried too, but the pressure from the water and tangled mess prevented him from succeeding. He couldn’t get it. He says he saw water going in my mouth and coming out my nose. Then he let go of me! I thought, “This is it, I am going to die!”
The few breaths of air helped me gain some strength, and I figured out if I pushed down on the leash with one hand and used my other hand as a rudder, I could stay above water a little better. My only chance was to try to make it across the river, and hopefully, the kite would crash into something on shore and stay down.
Bargain With God
Meanwhile, John had landed his kite and detached himself from his kite. His wife, Nancy picked him up on the jet ski. I was going so fast, they had a hard time trying to catch me. Eventually they were able to get past the kite.
I saw what they were trying to do. I was afraid the kite would crash into them, or the lines would behead them. I bargained with God, and said “God, if anybody is going to die today, let it be me not them trying to save me. It’s my fault, not theirs.”
John timed the kite, and just as the kite crashed into the water he jumped from the jet ski onto the kite. Then he slid off! He was able to grab a line and pull himself on the kite, and deflate the kite. I was exhausted, and just laid in the water.
After about a minute, I started winding up the lines while John gathered up the kite. Nancy picked us up on the jet ski. We went back to John’s kite, and eventually back to shore. I thanked them, and God, for letting me live.
I counted as I untwisted my lines, and my kite had spun over 200 times. John went for another ride with his kite. I invited John and Nancy over for wine, relaxation in the hot tub and a lobster dinner that I cooked. We celebrated life.
Thanks, again, John and Nancy!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MICHELLE HENDERSON, MD is a board certified orthopedic surgeon at Cape Canaveral Hospital . She specializes in hip and knee surgery. A native of Michigan, she attended Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. An avid sports enthusiast (running, biking, surfing, scuba, hunting, fishing, yoga, kite boarding), she takes personal as well as professional interest in the aging athlete.
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