Kitesurfers Beware

**MalahatTwo7** · 11-18-2003, 10:49 AM

New Zealand kitesurfer blown onto house roof by gust of wind

Canadian Press Tuesday, November 18, 2003
WELLINGTON (AP) - What a way to get home.

A kitesurfer caught by a gust of wind was hurled about 50 metres over trees before crashing onto the roof of his own house in the seaside village of Pohara on New Zealand's South Island, local media reported Tuesday. Kitesurfers use a kite to tow themselves across the waves while their feet are strapped to a small surfboard. The 43-year-old man, whose name was not released, was hospitalized for a punctured lung and serious chest and shoulder injuries. His condition was stable, police said.

Senior constable Crispin Lee said a wind gust hit the kitesurfer Monday when he was already about four metres in the air.

He was blown over the trees, crashed onto the house roof and then slipped down on to a fence, Lee said.

Neighbour Trudy Charlett was walking on the beach when the accident took place.

"It gave me a shock," she said. "One minute he was waving to me from the edge of the tide. The next thing I saw him flying through the air."

Pohara is near Nelson city, about 145 kilometres west of the capital, Wellington.

© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press

Best wishes and a speedy recovery for the punctured lung.