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Gordon's Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. Kyle Mahood saw the big 30ft catamaran motor slowly out of
the harbor. "Great,"
he thought, "they're coming to help."
But to his horror, he saw the big fishing boat rapidly accelerate, heading
directly for them and he realized that the skipper hadn't seen them.
 Kyle Mahood & Theo Conradie with the wreckage of Theo's ski (Pic: Theo Conradie)
Training Paddle
Kyle and his friend Theo Conradie had been for an evening
paddle from Gordon's Bay in the direction of the Steenbras River mouth. On the way back, the southeaster had picked up
and had kicked up a 2ft chop. In the rough water, Theo, a newcomer
to paddling, fell off his ski near to the Gordon's Bay harbor entrance.
When he saw that Theo was in some difficulty, Kyle paddled
across and came alongside his ski, holding it steady. Theo boosted himself onto the ski and, draped
across, paused to catch his breath. At
that moment, Kyle saw the catamaran come out of the harbor entrance.
Sunset Cruise
Alan du Plessis, owner of the catamaran, was heading out of
the harbor for a sunset cruise. "It was
such a nice evening," he said, "that I called my girlfriend, got a bottle of
wine, and we headed out for a sundowner."
The boat had just been put back into the water having been
on the ramp for a few days for maintenance.
"When we got out of the harbor," Alan said, "I opened her up
to give her a bit of a run."
"Maybe they can help"
Kyle watched the boat as it turned towards them. He thought that perhaps the catamaran could
come alongside and it would be easier for Theo to get back on his ski its lee.
Then to his horror, the boat was coming straight at them at
high speed and he realized the skipper hadn't seen them. Some youngsters on the upper deck were screaming
and thumping the deck. In an instant the
boat had smashed over the two paddlers and they were left floundering in the water
behind it.
 Where he'd been sitting... (Pic: Murray Williams)
"I just didn't see
them"
"My girlfriend and I were looking through the windscreen",
said Alan, "when we heard the kids thumping on the deck. I thought that perhaps they wanted me to slow
down while they climbed down from the bridge.
Then I heard the thump as we hit the skis. It was so quick."
"I just didn't see them in the water," he said, "until I turned
around and saw them behind us. I got the
fright of my life. I just didn't even
want to look."
Apart from a few bruises, the two paddlers weren't
hurt. But both skis were cut in two - at
exactly the point that Kyle had been sitting.
Alan turned his boat and went back to pick the two paddlers
up. "The guys were badly shaken," he
said, "and were swearing at me like crazy.
I couldn't blame them. I'd told
them if I'd been them I'd have wanted to floor me."
"What can I say," said a still obviously shaken Alan, "it
was a freak accident. All I can say is
that it was a combination of the boats being low in the water - especially with
one of the paddlers lying on his boat; the fading light conditions and the chop
on the water. I just didn't see them."
"I'm waiting for their phone call," he added, "so that I can
arrange for the insurance to pay for the damage."
Lucky escape
"We were hit by the right hand hull," said Kyle, "and I
dived off my ski so that I was on the outside of the hull; Theo went between
the hulls. How the props missed us I
just don't know."
The two men had flares and cell phones with them and Kyle
immediately called the NSRI - but Alan turned and picked them up. "I'm just thankful I wasn't using an ankle
leash," said Kyle.
"Freak Accident"
"This was very much a freak accident," said NSRI spokesman,
Craig Lambinon. "Alan du Plessis is an extremely
experienced skipper and is very highly regarded."
"We would appeal to paddlers to be as visible as possible,"
he went on, "to take care near harbor entrances and to be aware how difficult
it is to see surf skis, especially in low light conditions."
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"Alan du Plessis is an extremely experienced skipper and is very highly regarded."
"We would appeal to paddlers to be as visible as possible," he went on, "to take care near harbor entrances and to be aware how difficult it is to see surf skis, especially in low light conditions."
Skipper is highly regarded and paddlers are prats!
How about the skipper failed to keep a proper lookout and increased speed despite the restricted visibility (looking into the sun) and common knowledge that the harbour area is always frequented by recreational vessels of all types.