Subtropical storm Melissa brought significant flooding and rough surf to parts of Delmarva. Flood warnings remain in effect through Friday night. Taylor Goebel, tgoebel@delmarvanow.com
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The evening Victor Gong realized he wouldn’t make it back to shore was the evening he did not know a subtropical storm off the Atlantic Ocean was pushing in abnormally high tides and rough surf.
It was only after the sun slowly disappeared on Oct. 10 that Gong felt the wind shift and pull him further down the Rehoboth Bay, toward the Indian River Inlet.
Perched on his windsurfing board and desperately trying to get his mast back on that night, the retired Ocean City doctor didn’t know a kiteboarder had died at the same location a week before.
Heavy winds had pushed the 48-year-old kiteboarder into deeper water, and agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, launched a search on Oct. 4. After two hours, that man’s body was found near Tower Road.
It was the same place where Gong began his harrowing journey a week later, stranded overnight in the Rehoboth Bay for six hours.
Gong wished to stay anonymous with the incident out of embarrassment, he said Tuesday, but he realized sharing his story could help fellow windsurfers and kite boarders stay safe.
The night he got in trouble, Gong was only a quarter mile away from where he started, but the winds made it impossible to turn back.
As the sky tilted from orange and pink to deep purple and onyx, he watched people leave: Two beach-goers on the shore, then just a small dot, and then he was alone.
Background: Windsurfer spends harrowing night in Rehoboth Bay after getting stranded
He used his whistle. No one heard.
He kicked at the water, trying to gain momentum. It was about 8 p.m., well past sunset.
His girlfriend, Victoria Gaither, was in class and wouldn’t be home for another few hours.
Gong kept kicking, trying to drift back ashore. If the winds squeezed him into the Indian River Bay, he could be swept out to the ocean.
“I figured I had a 60-40 chance I could make it,” he said, then laughed in hindsight. “At worst, I die.”
Pushed to the middle of the bay
Gong was trying not to panic.
He knew if he got anxious, he might make a mistake and fall in the water, which he did, a few times.
The water temperature was in the low 60s, and air temperatures had dropped to the 50s by nightfall. A wetsuit helped, but it wasn’t the full body kind.
For the next six hours, Gong had to stay crouched in one uncomfortable position — left leg bent and right leg long — to balance himself on the board.
He thought about death four or five times an hour.
But he tried to fill his mind with other things: construction projects, loved ones.
He thought about Gaither a lot.
They’d been together 16 years at that point. Gaither was sent by WMDT 47 to do a story on him, when she was working there as a broadcast journalist.
Now, Gaither was at a writing class at Wor-Wic Community College, and Gong was trying to survive for however long he’d have to be on the water.
“I was scared, trust me,” he said. “I was praying a lot.”
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On the other side
Gaither got back to their home in Bishopville at about 9:30 p.m.
She didn’t see Gong’s car but wasn’t too worried. He told her he was running a few errands in Ocean City after his windsurfing session.
He’d make enchiladas when he got home, Gaither remembered him telling her. He’d probably be back around 10, so she decided to lay down and rest.
She woke up after midnight. Still half in a daze, she checked her phone. Nothing from Gong. She called him. No answer.
But seconds later, her phone rang.
It wasn’t Gong.
A Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control official identified himself, then told Gaither her life partner was missing.
“I jumped straight up,” she said. “My heart was pounding.”
She told the man on the phone that she’d come down, then took her dog for a walk, threw her shoes on, put on a coat, took a breath and locked up the house.
“It was eerie because when I was on the (Indian River Inlet) bridge, I could see the helicopter in the air,” Gaither said. “I knew they were searching for him.”
Landed, but still in danger
Gong traveled several miles south before finally reaching the marsh.
Luckily, the wind pushed him up against a community near Millsboro. He waded through the marsh, his legs like jelly from the stagnant position on his board, before reaching the pavement, hard and welcoming under his boots.
“I wasn’t happy enough to kiss the ground, but I was happy,” he laughed.
This was his 60-70% mark: The Ocean City doctor had treated many patients for hypothermia at his urgent care centers, so he knew he had to find shelter.
It was also 2 in the morning. Floodwaters from the storm off the Atlantic had filled the streets.
Tired and bewildered, Gong knocked on the door of the first house he saw. No one answered.
The second house had a Land Rover in the driveway. Afraid of being perceived as an intruder, Gong figured his best bet was to lay low and hop in the vehicle for shelter until the owner woke up.
During those four or five hours, a helicopter was searching the Rehoboth Bay, using thermal heat to detect Gong’s body.
At about 6 a.m., after a few restless naps, Gong saw a man step outside the house.
The man looked at Gong, tired and frayed in his bright orange wetsuit “like I was crazy,” he said.
Using the wary man’s cell phone, Gong called Gaither.
When she heard his voice, she started crying immediately. The police took over and told the homeowner that yes, Gong was indeed missing.
The man, much less wary now, took Gong inside and fed him breakfast: oatmeal, toast, organic almonds — “healthy stuff,” Gong said.
According to DNREC, Gong was located at 7:45 a.m. at Bay City in Long Neck, 12 hours after his journey began.
After reuniting with Gaither, Gong returned once the floodwaters receded to pick up his windsurfing board.
“I told myself, If I couldn’t find my windsurf then I’d probably give up the sport,” he said.
He found it.
Days later, Gong chalks his survival up to two things: God and luck.
When he looks at the bay at night, he thinks about what happened.
“I guess it’s an opportunity,” Gong said, standing next to his board at his Bishopville home. “I thank God. I feel like I owe him something. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I owe him something.”
He’s going to put away the windsurfing board for the year, though he was “tempted” to go out one more time.
Gong doesn’t mind waiting. He knows ski season is coming up.
DNREC safety reminders for windsurfers and kiteboarders
After a kiteboarder was found dead in the Rehoboth Bay on Oct. 4, DNREC officials shared requirements and safety tips for windsurfers and kiteboarders.
If you go out:
- You must have a life jacket and sound-producing device (a whistle or a horn)
- Inform someone of your expected course and when you expect to return
- Don’t stray too far from shore
- Wear a wetsuit to avoid hypothermia
- Look out for and avoid other vessels and their wakes
- Stay aware that your sail can block your view of other vessels
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