A kiter riding with one of three orcas for about three hours about a week ago in New Zealand. He was using a board leash which history tells us is far more hazardous. Several kiters have been killed and many others badly injured using leashes. Haven't heard of any kiters injuries or deaths related to Orcas yet. Hope I never do. Per Wikipedia there was one attack on a surfer in 1972 off Northern California. The surfer was bitten but not killed. This seems to be the only such surfer attack on record worldwide that I could find. More at
http://www.ksusa.org/Forum/viewtopic...er=asc&start=0 Orcas prey intensely on seals and sea lions but they are highly intelligent too. Humans may not be high on their list of preferred cuisine perhaps like with sharks. Still accidents will happen particularly in poor viz., waves and in close proximity to panicking creatures that are on the menu. Best to give them some distance I would think particularly in rookery areas. There have been a number of orca accidents in captivity but that is a different thing all together.
The rider in the above shot said he wasn't aware of the orcas as he was riding. He commented about the experience on the local kiting group's Facebook page at:
http://on.fb.me/uPAOgg
Here are some more images from three years ago also in New Zealand. It looks like this kiter saw the orca and sailed up to it until it sounded beneath him.
Images from
http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/K...one-2009-news/
Interview comments from the rider about the experience appear at:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7139...orca-encounter
.