showing how far out of the loop i am these days - i have just heard about my good friend gavin's accident at muriwai on sunday, while the rest of us were swanning around at shakers.

given the stunning absence of eye-witness reports, it falls on me to give a rough sketch of the details - straight from the horse's mouth as it were (now supported by a hard neck / chest brace).

after a morning's sesh at shoal bay, gav and co kited muriwai in prime conditions on small kites (7m etc).

basically, gavin got drilled hard by a double-up wave into the sandy bottom, tumbled around for a while, then dragged 100 metres. presumably in the first impact, he sustained some injury to his neck and was in great pain, reporting no feeling in his right arm when he eventually got spat out.

fortunately there was trained help at hand in the form of doctor andy and anaesthetist charlie (fellow kiters) who with others present assessed gavin and gave first aid. this included lying him flat on his back and duct taping him across the forehead down to the floor of his 4x4 and driving him to hospital where they were able to streamline his admission through the emergency room.

after treatment and a neck brace, gavin spent monday at home licking his wounds, but was recalled tuesday for an MRI scan, then again on friday for a full CAT scan which revealed a small fracture of some critical bone off to the side of his neck.

the patient is now back home fully braced up, unable to move his head, work? or kite-loop for six weeks.

this comes at a bad time, as he was heading over to cairns for the upcoming comp, and has just bought a house - about to move in etc.

so there you have it - the old bastard's luck finally ran out. he has been pushing hard for over four years, everyone is well aware of his dedication and exploits and how remarkable his 'serious' accident-free run has been.

knowing him as well as i do, my biggest fear is the rest of his limbs will completely seize up, never to work again after a few months enforced rest.

get well soon dude - and for god's sake take it easy.

Nasty! Hope it's not too serious.
Take it easy Gav and get well soon.

Shaan,

I never new you had friends?

Hope get well soon Gav. Downing the kite tools sucks mate.

oh yeh and no shagging either!


Puller

yeah - nice one puller!

you are really funny. ho ho ho. you are also very courageous and smart and excellent at spelling - even mastering difficult words like knew.

i bet you have heaps of friends and do heaps of shagging.

thanks for sharing your special wit with us. we could really do with a lot more pullers around here and i'm sure you've made gavin's day.

Yep she was a fairly hardcore day when Gav took his tumble. 7m kites and at times just trying to hold an edge. The wind was medium-feisty but the surge as water sucked back and forth was standard Muriwai - full on. Some of the biggest air time I've seen from a few of us that day (including Gav the old master himself).

I caught a glimpse of him looking like a face-down body when it first happened and am glad I spotted movement shortly after - I was considering some sort of rescue drag to the beach, but given the wild conditions I would probably have ended up either smashing into him or getting nailed myself.

While it's nice to have wind, I'm thoroughly fed-up with the ballistic and wildly gusty winds of late. Might have to retire in Raro - sort that accommodation out over there Kavae.

Soooooorrrrrrryyyy Shaan,

Did I hit a nerve?

Thanc ue ofr hte pselling elesson mate!

Whwn ya tiping as faste ase eye do, you tend to make mistakes.

Puller

Hey All,
It was indeed a wicked session that day! I don't recall seeing Gav go in hard but that was probably because I was too scared trying to hold down my 8m. I thought you guys were just getting out of the wind behind his wagon, not rendering first aid. Anyway quick recovery Gav!! Keep the faith. 8)

As for Rarotonga, rest assured gents, the Tamariki Villas will be ready to rent out to all kiters (for a small fee of course) before Oct. Best I get back there and try them out for a month or so.


Safe Kiting