Windsurfing & Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Michigan

windsurfer dies in Florida

Taken from I windsurf. com

Sad story

COCOA BEACH --
A 65-year-old windsurfer reported missing on the Banana River has been found dead a couple miles from where he began his trip on the water.

Christopher Slaughter, of Ocala, was last seen alive leaving from a ramp at Kelly Park, in Merritt Island, a well known location for windsurfing.

But Slaughter’s sister called the Coast Guard around 8 a.m. Monday, saying he was overdude.

Authorities later found a sailboard in the water near Cape Canaveral Hospital, along the Cocoa Beach Causeway.

A Brevard County sheriff’s helicopter then spotted Slaughter’s body in the water several hundred yards away.

Slaughter was wearing a wet suit, which authorities said made the search easier.

But considering temperatures on the Space Coast was in the 30s Monday morning, and the wind chill making it feel much colder, officials said anyone in the water would not last long.

“You have the wind out here that’s blowing even harder on the water. So hypothermia will set in if you aren’t rescued in a couple hours,” said Officer Lenny Salberg, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death.

Fish and Wildlife officers said they are examining Slaughter’s sailboard to see if it may have hit a channel marker, or perhaps something else.

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Permalink Reply by Brian on January 23, 2011 at 1:03pm

Yeah, a sad story. I never saw a follow-up to learn what actually happened.

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Permalink Reply by Don Ferguson on January 23, 2011 at 2:18pm

How much longer before your back on the water and out oif this mess? Brooke just booked El Yaque for a week, last week of Feb. Andre just got back from Cuba, four days on his kite on the water but he sauid the winbdsurfing rental gear was about as bad as it can possibly be, old stuff with daggerboards torn sails and lucky to find a mast or boom! Side on shore conditions too. Flights leave right here from Windsor to Cuba but I don't know if I would trust them with my gear.

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Permalink Reply by Brian on January 23, 2011 at 4:22pm

We're headed to Bonaire for the last week in Feb. Looking forward to that for sure!

I'd like to hear about Brooke's experience with El Yaque. Chavez is a madman and I've heard it's not real safe in Venezuela these days. Also, they're supposedly cracking down on foreign currency exchange.