Discussion follows, see accident account above
Kiteboarder attacks by sharks seem to be quite rare. This may in part be due to our relatively small numbers when compared to surfers, swimmers and divers. It may also be due to the apparent indifference sharks seem to often have to kiters on plane. There are cases of sharks attacking boats, kayaks, etc. so a moving kiteboard may not proof against negative encounters obviously enough. There have been few cases of sharks attacking a kiter on plane that I have heard of. One happened in South Africa involving a mako shark during a kiting competition in 2001 and now Kurt's attack. Usually when kiters are attacked they have been in the water, just like surfers, bathers and divers.
It is important to note that shark behavior and attacks shouldn't be overly generalized. Florida may lead the world in the quantity of shark attacks but we fortunately have very few fatalities from that cause. The long coastline, abundance of water goers and shark migrations may account for a good percentage of the attacks in Florida. I understand human flesh doesn't hold much appeal for some sharks and once bitten some sharks may move on. The sheer size and violence of attack of say a white shark may be fatal all by itself. Even though white sharks occur somewhat rarely in Florida, attacks involving them here are even more rare. In places like Northern California, Hawaii, South Africa and Australia, fatal shark attacks attributable to white sharks are more frequent. Also, sharks may attack motor centers on prey to stop evasion. This may mean an attack on the thigh which if deep enough could severe the femoral artery putting the person at risk of death by blood loss in a short period of time.
Usually we hear of few problems involving kiters and sharks in Florida. Most of the cases that come to mind, happened during the Blacktip/Spinner shark migration. This includes Steve Schaffers tragic accident, first fatal shark attack on a kiter worldwide that I have heard about. I understand Steve was attacked by a bull shark which may have been following the migration. He was bitten in the thigh, cutting his femoral artery. The actual attack wasn't witnessed and so the exact circumstances remain unknown other than a single shark seems to have been responsible.
The migration heads south during the fall to mate in the waters of Broward and Miami-Dade County. For some reason they aren't that apparent during the portion of the migration, at least to people on land. Most of the sightings and encounters seem to occur during February and March when the sharks migrate back north to the Carolinas to pup offspring.
Kiters may go out during the migration and even among hundreds of sharks. The risk of attack goes up obviously during such circumstances. If it is a smaller shark you may suffer a painful bite or more substantial injury depending upon the location and severity of the bite(s). I used to kite among hundreds myself and for days but stopped after seeing a video shot by Tom Leeman from his kite in which sharks were seen to chase kiters when they transitioned or changed direction. Otherwise they seem to ignore him. The noise and splashing generated by kiteboard in transition may form a potentially unhealthy interest. If the kiter happens to fall in, a common event, the sharks could strike suddenly before moving on. It is possible Kurt's transition attracted the shark who took a bite of opportunity when his arm entered the wave, dragging a wake. If sharks are obviously feeding evidenced by jumping/spinning, there are feeding birds, jumping bait, it is near sunset or sunrise, your risk goes up. They jump and spin out of the water, sometimes several at once, to panic and disorient their prey, often mullet or other migratory fish to make predation easier. I understand these factors have been present at times during some attacks on surfers in the past. None of these factors have to be present to suffer an attack, as they can "come out of the blue" but they do increase the odds of a negative encounter.
It has been indicated that larger sharks such as bulls, tigers and hammerheads may follow the far more numerous and smaller blacktip and spinner sharks as a ready source of food. The blacktip and spinner sharks in the migration can be fairly small at around a few feet to an average of just over six feet growing to as much as ten feet in length. Bulls can be both heavier and longer averaging about eight feet in length and growing to over eleven feet. Tiger sharks are larger still averaging around ten to fourteen feet growing perhaps to in excess of eighteen feet. Hammerheads range from three feet to almost twenty feet in length.
http://en.wikipedia.org/
I heard about two other attacks on kiters years back off Martin County, again during the migration. One attack was described as minor while the other involved some injury and even compelled the man to quit kiting and leave the state. He had been trying to teach himself how to kite in the midst of working bait and diving sea birds.
Many of the blacktop/spinner shark attacks are minor, bite and run type encounters. They happen with some frequency to surfers routinely riding through the migrations. Bathers have also been attacked in the past, usually suffering minor injury.
More information about shark attacks in Florida and worldwide in the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at:
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/isaf.htm
Here is a photo from last week. I had launched at dawn south of Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach to do some kiting and photography. I knew the migration was underway of course but saw no sign of sharks, jumping bait or feeding birds around the launch area. I came across these sharks just after dawn apparently near the bottom about 3/4 mile north of my launch area on the far side of the inlet and within a couple hundred yards of shore. I didn't see them while I was kiting but noticed them in the kite images after. A few did seem to move towards me in successive images perhaps to check things out.
You can read more about the migration at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=10379
Photo: J. Langolis, Palm Beach Daily News
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/ne...ose-bea/nWhW4/
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By the way should you need a kite repair I would keep Kurt in mind.
http://thekitedoctor.com