They just did an interview with Kevin on GMA for their 7:30am segment.

He said he would DEFINITELY go out again in tropical force storm winds.
The interviewer asked him twice, the weather guy looked on very disapprovingly. LOL!


Kevin also said it was 60-70 kts! LOL!

Get well dude, hopefully they won't circulate your 5 minutes of fame too much more.

Here is the video. I havent watched it yet

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5647401

OK. I just watched the video and all I have to say is WOW!! I wish he would have waited until the meds wore off and he is in a better state of mind. He will cringe when he replays this in 3 months.

still seriously stoned! or just a bloody donkey!:confused: where were his "friends" and family to warn him off and tell him not to do such an interview - this is doing wonders for our sport!

I hope he doesn't become the Jeff Spicoli of kitesurfing. It's starting to look that way after that interview.

well, at least he was able to say he made a bad call and should have come in sooner...

and was able to mention that he could have released the kite...

and the weather guy did get to mention PREDICTABLE vs. UNPREDICTABLE winds...

If your not trying to start anything then why accuse my instructors of setting a bad example when you were writing about doing the same thing??? Because you would rather bash...

I do stand behind them...a 4 meter havok...riding around, landing loops, being safe...just in lots of wind...no I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner...but they were fine...and if you were here, you would have been out too...

I am trying to look at the big picture now and don't want to have tunnel vision. I hope that you do too. If S. Florida were to ban kiteboarding, everyone and their brothers would be in the keys every day and/or weekend. There have already been problems before but consider the problems we would face with 50-75 kites at WH and the same at Anne's. And at low tide. KAOS!!! A few accidents and it would be over for all of us. I'm surprised no body has been seriously hurt yet like Mikey taking a face plant to 2 in. of water at WH. Alot of people thought he broke his neck but he was ok. He was lucky. But what if that weren't the case. What then?


We need to make sure this doesn't happen again. Anywhere. I don't know if I would have been out but I do know you and I are much better and way more experienced that those guys. Most if not all of those guys have less experience than Kevin.

PS - I hope Gustuv doesn't cause too much havoc on you and the keys. Good luck!

Wow, how sad... that interview almost did more harm to the sport then the actual incident.

There is so much other controversy coming down related to this accident. Might as well get this out now, so that we can try forget about this tragic accident sooner. That is excepting staying away from squalls, none of us should give that hard lesson up. For those that still reject this conclusion, please stay off the news when your number for a slam in comes up, ok? In time, it may just do that.

Anyway, the speed at which he flew over the cameraman defies logic that anyone might survive a near frontal impact against a hard resisting surface. Say like a wall, it just doesn't seem possible. Looking closely at the clip, he seems to have initiated a kiter loop after the first impact with his kite flying low, flat and fast to the north while arcing to the west.

Here's the theory part. His kite arc's to the south of the mid rise condo into the venturi flow between that building and the two story restaurant. It is low to the ground, perhaps even hits the ground. The windshadow of the restaurant keeps it on the ground but gusts and rotor funneling into the alley pushes the kite to the west where it eventually stops in a dead air zone.

The rider is coming in fast and low, he hits the pavement at a low angle as the kite pulls him now pretty much due west through the alley. He skids across the pavement tearing up his knees and sustaining other injuries while critically burning off the violent forward velocity. The kite pulls him into the alley and perhaps slides him up against the wall. There is no information from observers that suggests he was necessarily lofted into it despite what the media keeps implying. The fact he survived is one of the more significant points supporting this conclusion.

It is just speculation and will likely always remain so. Still, it is one way how the survival and even rapid recovery of someone going through something like this may have occurred. By all means wear a helmet, impact vest and other reasonable gear but stay away from squalls. It is pretty easy to do, if you try.

kearny TS Fay

Rick,

I'd say your right not just on the basis that he survived, but also he's injuries. If he had hit a building at that speed, especially head first, he'd have physical evidence of it. I never thought he hit the building at full speed,I guess I kind of thought everyone knew that.