A kiteboarder has been attacked while relaunching his kite off Casuarina in the Northern Territory. The 2.5m croc latched onto Chris Keeping’s shoulder and arm, before being poked in the eye and swimming off.

It’s the first time a kiteboarder has been attacked by a croc, despite many members of the public and kiting community saying that it was only a matter of time, considering the amount of crocodiles in both the NT and far North QLD, and the number of kiteboarders.

The tight knit kiteboarding community in the NT is as you would expect, considerable smaller than those in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Imagine you’re bobbing around in the water, your kite has fallen out of the sky in light winds and you’re waiting for it to settle before a relaunch attempt. That music is playing in your head, “Daaaa dum. Daaaaa dum. Da dum da dum da dum…” (That’s the ‘Jaws’ theme music by the way).

WHAM!

A croc has you by the shoulder, it’s trying to drag you under but your kite (which of course has finally got its act together and it ready to relaunch) is holding you up. You think you’re going to drown, when the crocodile look you in the eye. Aha! You jam your finger in that eye causing the croc to release you and swim away…

That’s the story that 29 year old Chris Keeping told news outlets on Saturday, after he’d been admitted to hospital in Darwin. He suffered punctures from the crocs teeth on his shoulder, rib cage and arm pit, which were treated before h was released from Royal Darwin Hospital on Sunday afternoon. He says he’ll be back in the water soon, despite being pretty shaken up by the ordeal.

To read more about what the Australian kiteboarding community thinks about kiting in the NT, and this incident, check out the extensive kiteboarding forum thread about the croc attack here!

#News #Kitesurfing #North #Kiteboarding