Kite surfer dies

A kite surfer was killed in a freak accident on Saturday after being lifted by a gust of wind and slammed into rocks in front of a Milnerton hotel.

IT specialist Brad Grobelaar, 38, a father-of-two from Blouberg, was treated on the scene but died of massive head injuries.

His kite was found on the roof of the Lagoon Beach Hotel.

Kiting friend Garth Mulholland said Grobelaar always wore a safety helmet and was an experienced kiter, but an incident like Saturday's could happen "in a heartbeat".

Shocked friends on the beach, who had been in the surf with Grobelaar yesterday, described how a squall came up with rain and intense winds.

One, who asked not to be named, said they had been trying to get back to land when the squall came up.

"Brad got close to shore but got picked up by the wind and didn't go for the safety release. He tried to save his kite but landed up slamming into the rocks."

They said it was a common mistake kite surfers made.

"People try to hold on because otherwise the kite flies off. But you have to hit the quick release."

Mulholland said he and Grobelaar kited most days after work.

"Brad had been kiting for about two seasons after moving down from Johannesburg a year and a half ago."

Mulholland described Grobelaar as an "all round nice guy".

"He was great - humble and very friendly."

Mulholland, from Newlands, who wasn't at Milnerton yesterday as he was paddling in a Berg River race, said people often suffered injuries from kite surfing but were seldom killed.

"In 2008 a guy lost four fingers in Langebaan and you often get burst eardrums and pulled shoulders. But it's an extreme sport - it's not chess," he said.

He said that what had probably happened was that Grobelaar, instead of letting the control bar go, pulled it towards him.

Mulholland said Grobelaar's wife Leigh and his five-year-old son would often come to the beach to watch him. He also has a 17-year-old daughter who lives in Johannesburg.

Mathieu Leheilleix, who has kite surfed all over the world, and who was in the water at Milnerton on Saturday, said it was a "bad day".

"I was kiting afterwards but after seeing the ambulance and the body I didn't feel like it."

Leheilleix said that when the wind gusted so strongly it was usually better to stay out than try to come in to land.

He said he hoped the authorities would not start talking about banning the sport.

"That would be stupid. It was just bad luck."

Leheilleix, from France, said that in Europe the sport was far more regulated.

"You can't just kite surf wherever you want because of other people, but here there is so much space."

Pat van Eyssen, NSRI station commander at the V&A Waterfront, said they had received the call at about 3pm.

He said the wind had been gusting up to 50 knots. "It lifted the kite up and slammed him into the rocks. It was a freak accident."

Van Eyssen said Metro had been on the scene within eight minutes and had worked for between 45 minutes to an hour but Grobelaar had died on the scene.

In 2006, 31-year-old Pierre Nel died while kite surfing in strong winds off Macassar on the False Bay coastline.

An autopsy revealed that he had had a heart attack while surfing.

Mulholland, from Newlands, who wasn't at Milnerton yesterday as he was paddling in a Berg River race, said people often suffered injuries from kite surfing but were seldom killed.

Mulholland said Grobelaar's wife Leigh and his five-year-old son would often come to the beach to watch him.

• This article was originally published on page 1 of Sunday Argus on June 14, 2009