Hermanus in South Africa went off today, blowing steady SW 25-30 knots, just as forecast. Since there was no wind in Cape Town, lots of folks went there. I got there early around 10AM, and as it was my first time there (which is strange given all the years I've kited in and around Cape Town), I watched for a while to get the lay of the land. A couple of hotshots were showing off jumps right at the top of the lagoon, just like in the vlog from Kevin Langaree a few days ago, but there were only a few riders further along on the lagoon, and none on the ocean which looked really good. So I had a good twintip session in the lagoon on my 7m Pivot, then went over to the ocean for a great session. I took a break for lunch, and by then the lagoon was pretty crowded and the pros had arrived and were putting on a show. Top of the card were Graham Howe and Joshua Emanuel, who were on 9m and 10m respectively, and short 15m lines. They were doing very impressive simultaneous megaloops right in front of the spectator gallery, with about five other riders like Gijs Wassenaar doing megaloops as well in turn. It was quite the show. After watching for about an hour I went out for an early afternoon session on strapless surfboard in the ocean and had a blast, along with perhaps 10 others. I would guess there were close to 100 kiters on the lagoon in total.
In the mid afternoon I had quit and changed into clothing, and while Howe and Emmanuel were taking a break, some other riders joined in the megaloop festival. Suddenly one of them, I don't know his name, misjudged his megaloop and slammed down hard on his board, blowing it far off and knocking himself out. He lay face down in the water, and if it had happened anywhere else would probably have drowned. But the landing spot there is shallow, there were scores of people watching, and once his kite dropped it was in a no-wind zone so he was not pulled by it. Several spectators immediately ran out to help him, lifted him out of the water, and forced the water out of his body. He soon started coughing and came around. They got his harness off and wetsuit loosened, and he was even able to stand and was helped to shore. But it was not that simple, he clearly was in bad shape and an ambulance was called. They administered oxygen and eventually brought him up to the ambulance on a stretcher. I left about then so don't know the outcome, but he will probably have lung damage, I imagine will need some time in hospital, and it will be a long time before he tries another megaloop, if his partner, who was petrified, ever lets him kite again!
So, congratulations to all the folk who immediately jumped in to help (I think Joshua was one of them), and best wishes to the injured kiter for a speedy recovery. There must have been a thousand megaloops thrown at Hermanus today, most of them right in the prime spot, but many others farther away in the lagoon. If this accident had happened out in the lagoon I doubt he would have lived.