Thanks to the ever-present south-easterly winds, Cape Town is a hotspot for kite-surfers in the summer months, with Table Bay filled with colourful kites bobbing and weaving across the chilly Atlantic waters.
Alongside happy travellers and local kiters, the Cape also draws its fair share of global kite-surfing stars who use the European winter to stay in shape and practice their sport. It even attracts daredevil athletes, like the Red Bull kite-surfer who jumped over a plane – in mid-air! – in January 2025.
And now professional kite-surfer Giel Vlugt has shared his own aerial adventures in Table Bay, with a video posted on Instagram of Vlugt having to take to the skies to avoid – by leaping over – a humpback mother and calf in Table Bay. You can find the full video below.
Giel Vlugt is one of the most talked-about pro-kiters on the circuit, fast making his name in the Big Air Kite League as well as the annual Red Bull King of the Air competition held in Cape Town. He was also the first kiter to land a Double Kiteloop, a trick many kiters thought to be impossible. That trick also took place in Cape Town, in 2022.
In the latest video, Vlugt is far out in Table Bay and travelling at quite some speed when the pair of cetaceans pop to the surface. As the mother waves a fluke in the air – in greeting or warning? – Vlugt quickly takes flight and lands a safe distance beyond the pair, before continuing. The video has so far amassed hundreds of comments and more than 81 000 likes.
However, a handful of commenters expressed concern that Vlugt was too close to the whales or purposely sailed close to them. Under South African maritime regulations people and vessels are required to stay 300 metres away from whales. Of course, that’s not necessarily possible if they surfaced in front of him at short notice, making aerial evasive action his only option. Time Out Cape Town has reached out to Vlugt to find out more!
Here's the insane video of Giel Vlugt going airborne to avoid a pair of humpback whales in Table Bay…
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