Anyone know any more about this? Our thoughts are with the family. Hopefully he pulls through this.

http://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/Ambulance-Victoria/Media-Centre/Events/20120307-Kite-surfer-critically-injured.html

Kite surfer critically injured

17:35 7 Mar 2012


Paramedics treated a man for a severe head injury after an incident while he was kite surfing at Altona beach this afternoon.

Advanced life support paramedics from Yarraville and two single responder intensive care paramedics were called to the scene just before 3pm.

Intensive care paramedic Mathew Singh said that when they arrived they found the 50-year-old unconscious and in a critical condition.

'We were told that he was kite surfing and it appeared as though a gust of wind picked him up approximately three metres and then threw him into the shallows where it's believed that he hit his head.

'Because of the extent of his head injury we had to place him into an induced coma at the scene so that we could manage his airway and breathing.

'In this case it was extremely important to take that action. By taking over his breathing for him it allowed us to secure his airway and make sure that he was getting enough oxygen.

'Given the extent of the drop he experienced and the severe knock to his head, we also couldn't rule out a possible spinal injury as well.

'With that in mind, we used equipment to keep his body still and straight to protect his spine as we moved him.

'He was then taken to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition' Mr Singh said.

The wind wasnt that strong. it was freak accident.
I was one of the first there but didnt see him hit the sand.

Luckily there was a kiter/paramedic (dont know his name)there and emily, they both deserve a big thanks!!

Hope he gets through it ok.

Not sure.

Hope he pulls through. My thoughts are with him and his family.

I'm his mate who was kiting with him. Thanks to all the great people at Altona and for all your help He's in emergency next few days are critical. Will keep Seabreeze updated. The family thanks you for your well wishes.

Serrano said...

I was the first one to get to him and saw the whole thing go down. I don´t know his level of kiting but I saw him get lofted by sending his kite and he was heading towards the beach. At his highest point (around 15 feet) he sent the kite towards 930-10 either to avoid going more towards the sidewalk or by accident. He pretty much dropped out of the sky and slammed into the hard sand and was immediately knocked out. The one kiter-paramedic took control of the situation and helped save this guy. Thankfully that off duty paramedic was there to help right away otherwise is could have been worse. This guy was bad off and I'm still sick to my stomach about it. I hope the best for this guy.

I guess one of the reasons I asked is because numerous people keep pushing altona as a beginner location and the margin for error at Altona is virtually zero as exposed by this incident. Whilst most experienced riders have the skills to allow them to take action in these types of circumstances, the average beginner doesn't and they don't seem to understand why it's not suitable. There was a recent post in the Victoria area on this and some of the beginners saw this as localism rather than common sense.

Horrible news. Always sad to hear when people get hurt, positive thoughts to our injured comrade and his family.

amclean said...

Compared to someone who doesn't understand water, wind waves tacking etc. we're both Long time surfers, sailers and windsurfers. Kiting wasn't that big a jump. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Damn I hate hearing these stories, thoughts with him.

No it isn't a big jump, especially with the technology available nowadays compared to say when i started 12 years ago. But but, kiting and the wind window the kite moves in, is very different - the mechanics of edging against a pull, wave riding etc is very similar.

But understanding where you are in 3 dimensions - including the vertical z axis, in relation to the wind window takes time to truly understand. Sounds as this guy could do all the basics, but wasn't completly in tune with where his body and kite where in relation to this window. Poor bastard, wish him well. I've landed in a similar situation trying a back roll transition with a kiteloop in shallow water and just happened to land 'flat', legs pointing upwind. Knocked the wind out of me so hard I started to convulse, if my head had hit, would have been the same result.

Again pull through buddy.

Hope he pulls through... it's a sad thing...

As for Altona, yesterday between 5 and 6 were terrible conditions... one of the top worst winds this season... extremely inconsistent and gusty... The worst part is some people still ride without brains - multiple kite tangles, buddy lessons etc...

Get well soon mate. Hang in there and keep fighting.

Best wishes to his loved ones.

A website has been established to follow his progress: nicssorehead.wordpress.com/about/

Actually Apex is quite safe for beginners. Can I ask the intermediates and advanced to at least share the beach or dedicate an area for beginners? If you see a beginner out there, don't cut behind them, don't snarl anf don't show off. You may regret it.

Volantin said...

Actually Apex is quite safe for beginners. Can I ask the intermediates and advanced to at least share the beach or dedicate an area for beginners? If you see a beginner out there, don't cut behind them, don't snarl anf don't show off. You may regret it.

Apex park is actually not allowed as a kiting area.

The kiting area extends up to apex park and stops there. Then there is the lack of launching and landing area there which is an issue for beginners. See the post below from KBV.

kbv said...
The kiteboarding zone (known as the Altona Foreshore Activity Zone) is 100 metres east of Romawi Street to Apex Park. There is a sign on the beach 100 mts east of Romawi street indicating the start of the Zone.

Kiting in a direct onshore for beginners is not recommended and Altona is NOT recommended as a beginner location.

How is Nic going in hospital? "I think that was his name, from Altona"

Saffer said...

Serrano said...

I was the first one to get to him and saw the whole thing go down. I don´t know his level of kiting but I saw him get lofted by sending his kite and he was heading towards the beach. At his highest point (around 15 feet) he sent the kite towards 930-10 either to avoid going more towards the sidewalk or by accident. He pretty much dropped out of the sky and slammed into the hard sand and was immediately knocked out. The one kiter-paramedic took control of the situation and helped save this guy. Thankfully that off duty paramedic was there to help right away otherwise is could have been worse. This guy was bad off and I'm still sick to my stomach about it. I hope the best for this guy.

I guess one of the reasons I asked is because numerous people keep pushing altona as a beginner location and the margin for error at Altona is virtually zero as exposed by this incident. Whilst most experienced riders have the skills to allow them to take action in these types of circumstances, the average beginner doesn't and they don't seem to understand why it's not suitable. There was a recent post in the Victoria area on this and some of the beginners saw this as localism rather than common sense.

100% spot on! Altona is a terrible place to try to learn for a whole host of reasons: (sand bars, poor launching area, trees, power lines, concrete sea wall, pedestrians, road, generally on shore winds). KBV used to classify Altona as an intermediate to advanced location, for good reason.

If there are any beginners reading this then my honest advice (I hardly ever kite in the bay any more so no self interest here) is to stick to StK at least untill you are riding upwind and are in control.

Those shifting sand bars are a menace at the best of times. I have left the water with a broken rib and a knee cut to the bone thanks to them. BEWARE!

Saffer said...


Not according to Volantin who with his one month of kiting experience, seems to know better than all the experienced kiters. He even went as far as to send me a personal message calling me a wanker and saying that everyone advocating that beginners shouldn't be kiting at Altona are also wankers.

Out of curiosity I went to look at his old posts to see if you were exaggerating. You weren't. Holy crap. He bought his gear in February.

Volantin: There's a saying that goes around at my work, and it's that the most dangerous and unsafe people are the ones that don't recognize they are dangerous and unsafe. If a bunch of people who are more experienced than you say it's not really a spot for beginners, they are probably right. Give it a few years and you'll look back on your posts and wonder what the hell you were thinking.

On another completely unrelated note, I still smash that sandbar when the tide is going out and go tits up at least once a week.

Hope he gets better soon and gets back on his board. Accidents happen, just sucks it had to happen in such a dramatic fashion. Also just checked out the blog, and every comment there is just full of positivity and well wishes to Nic. The contrast between those comments and ours really is quite stark.