Shooting for a Darwin Award? Kite surfer tries to ride Hurricane Fay

By Eva Holland On August 19, 2008 · 10 Comments

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A kite surfer got a lot more than he bargained for today, when he apparently tried to take on Tropical Storm Fay on a Fort Lauderdale beach.

A news crew caught the resulting clip. The thrill-seeker survived and is in hospital – lucky for him, otherwise he’d be a shoo-in for a Darwin Award.

Fay is currently still going strong over central Florida, and could re-emerge in the Atlantic as a Category 1 hurricane sometime Wednesday.[Via

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Eva Holland

Eva Holland is a freelance writer, Senior Editor of World Hum and a longtime contributor to the Matador community. She lives in Canada’s Yukon Territory and blogs about Alaska and Yukon travel at Travelers North.

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mo

now that guy is dumb…darwin was right.
JimMcDish

LOL, What a dumbass! Guy apparently does not have a single ounce of common sense! LOL http://www.decrypt.net.tc
Steven B.

it's a wonder why he didnt let go…
Fuuuuuuuj

FIRST!
Chris

What was he thinking?????????
Rick

The kid wasn't doing anything wrong, hundred of us were out kiting that day. The problem was that when he came onto land the spotter missed the kite and the wind gust from 18 knots to 36 knots. It happens to all kiters the problem is that on-shore winds aren't forgiving and extra caution is used when obstructions are around. He was just unlucky
Mr_Angry

Sh1t son, im hard!!!
Rob

Rick, you are a dumb-ass to even defend such a moron. Just because "hundred" of you were out there doesn't make it smart… It just means that you all are part of the same idiot-club-for-men… Also, you must not know a lot about kitting… Either he was too stupid to put his rig on correctly, or he was too stupid to pull the safety, collapsing the kite or releasing his harness… one more thing, "his spotter missed'? Really? His spotter?
David

No, it doesnt make it smart. It makes it FUN. Whats the point in life without danger? Whats the point of not grabbing oppertunities like that by the ghoullies and actually trying to enjoy it. Ive sailed during a tropical storm and it was some of most frun Ive had ever.
Anonymous

Um, it's not even a hurricane. That's not that bad. A tropical storm is barely even significant. I've seen regular storms with much stronger winds than tropical storms. I'm in the middle of Fay right now, and I haven't even been effected.

Shooting for a Darwin Award? Kite surfer tries to ride Hurricane Fay

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