Search for kite-surfer off Nahant shore a false alarm

NAHANT – Lieutenant Tom Hutton of the Nahant Police Department said the hour-long search for a kite-surfer in distress could have been avoided if the individual called to notify police that he was all right.Hutton said several calls came in for a surfer in distress at 3:20 p.m. on Friday, and immediately police began a shore search, dispatching extra police officers, Nahant Fire Department, Nahant Ocean Rescue, State Police, environmental police and the Coast Guard to look for Tobias Weidner, a German exchange student from a Boston-area university who was reported to be an estimated 100 yards out to sea.Weidner, who was unharmed, said he was surprised to find the dispatched units were looking for him when he met them behind the Tides Restaurant.”Nothing happened,” said Weidner. “The equipment broke and I had to cut it loose because I couldn’t control it.”Hutton said with the extra units, personnel and vehicles that were dispatched, a false-alarm rescue like Weidner’s could prove to be expensive.”That was the third kite-surfer call we got today. I’m reading the reports and going, you’ve got to be kidding me,” said Hutton. “I don’t want to say it’s a pattern, but a lot of resources are being utilized ? I’m not going to say it’s a waste because you never know.”Hutton said he believes Weidner, being new to the area, didn’t understand the safety protocol that other surfers in Nahant are aware of.”Most surfers know that if a situation like that came up, they call us. They are a very self-policing organization ? but occasionally you get somebody down there who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”Bruce Walker, a kite-surfer from Lexington, said he saw Weidner when he found his way to the Tides parking lot from the beach.”We have a tight-knit community. This kind of thing we feel terrible about, but gear failures happen,” said Walker.Hutton said, “I know it’s a sport, and there are accidents in sport, but we’re trying to get the word out – you lose your kite, you lose your board, but when you make it to shore, call.”Weidner said he was grateful for the rescue attempt.”I think it speaks for the country,” he said.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].