The first media day of the Cape Hatteras Wave Classic showed the world what these riders are capable of. In my first 11 minutes on the beach, I saw at least 10 riders pull into THICK S-Turns barrels, some of them making it out clean, and others pulling in never to be seen again.
My 12th minute on the beach saw Davey Blair, who was charging like he had a wallet full of stolen credit cards, backdoor a full S-Turns mutant barrel with surgeon like precision. Total speed, total commitment, backside, or as they say in the ASP, “backhand” and even a midline check turn to rail grab to get even deeper. From there, my day on the beach and where this post would have normally headed, turned into “My Day with Davey”…
We’re not sure which video we like better…The slow motion version that allows you to focus on every detail of Davey’s tube ride or the full speed version that highlights the scalpel like precision of his check turn to rail grab.
Davey’s got an international reputation for being a hard charger. If you pull into the barrel at “The Zoo” in Australia, you don’t even need to explain yourself. You’re mentally insane. On Davey’s “last wave” he ended up a bit too deep, a bit too high on the wall, and then somersaulting with the lip directly into the hard sand bottom. How hard did he hit? It ripped entirely through the shoulder panel of his new wetsuit and impacted his shoulder hard enough to inflict a type 3 – shoulder separation.
Paging Dr. Rebstock……. Not only is Patrick one of the best kitesurfers in the world, he’s also an engineer, photographer, mad scientist and I guess a doctor too. Davey initially thought it was a dislocated shoulder and asked Patrick and Llew Simmons to reset it so he could get back into the lineup.
If you know Davey, you know he’s got one of the most positive attitudes of any person you will ever meet. On the way to the emergency room, his pain level started at a 3 and then quickly grew to a 10 by the time we got to the Bonner Bridge. Pain aside, he was still laughing his way through it and planning his way onto the event staff to help us as an announcer. They boy’s got skills with a mic too, so obviously I took him up on it (and am looking forward to it!). We’re even planning to set him up as “The World’s Most Comfortable Man” on the beach while he’s announcing…
There’s not much emergency rooms can do with a separated shoulder, other than treat the pain. Your next step is to consult with an orthopedic specialist. First Flight Orthopedics, lead by local kiter Dr. Matt McKenna, opened up an appointment to see Davey today at 1:30pm to evaluate the damage to his shoulder and make plans to bring Davey back up to 100%.
We saw this NCDOT sign on the way up to the hospital and joked about pulling over on the way home to get a shot of Davey posted up next to it. It was even funnier watching Davey weave his way through the “foot f#$%^&ckers” in yellow hospital socks while taking the shot. With all the doom and gloom most people would be experiencing, Davey was just stoked to capture the moment while looking forward to the rest of the event, however he could help or participate, as well to watching his friends tear the bag out of it. True class. Total stoke. Total Commitment. Davey Blair.
Follow the Cape Hatteras Wave Classic all this week at REALwatersports.com/chwc