Not only is the wind on Maui really strong, but it can also be very gusty, and although the kiting did not turn out to be super fun, I went for it anyways.

Maybe I shouldn't have ... this was when I fell out of the sky in a wind lull. I was not prepared for such a sudden landing and landed very hard with all my weight on my front (left) foot.

I felt something crack, and knew right away that something was wrong.

A few minutes later, my good friend Kyle carried me out of the water, my other friend Stefano took care of my equipment, and Sky went immediately for the car and drove me straight to the ER.

I guess it's a pretty normal "injured in the US" story, but for me it was quite a new experience, having to sit in an Emergency Room for 6 hours!!!

Turns out, my fibula was broken and I would not be leaving for France the next day. I was pretty bummed in the beginning.

I've never been seriously hurt ... the most I ever broke was my little toe, and that was really nothing ... so I really had to get used to just hanging out and putting my leg up.

The US, I soon realized, is a great country in which to be injured! Since it was my left ankle that was broken, I could still drive myself around in the standard-shift rental car. This wouldn't have been possible in Germany. where the cars are all manual shift!

Plus, Wal-mart and Safeway have little electric carts you can drive around while you shop, so I decided to stay in the US to recover, where I wouldn't have to depend on other people to get around.

Also, not having been injured before, I didn't realize how lucky I actually was with my fracture: it was simple and clean and did not need any surgery.

Plus, the fibula is not even weight-bearing, which meant that I only needed to be in the cast for 4 weeks and then walk around in a boot for 5 days after that. So it was really not that bad!

I started rehab in week 5, which was just a few days ago, and am very much looking forward to being back on the water soon again.

I am going to San Francisco on the 9th of June to compete in the US National Race Championships, which is going to be my first competition of the 2008 season ... a late but hopefully good start into another great year of traveling around and competing.

After the Nationals, I will head to Greece, for the second stop of the KPWT World Tour.

I'm trying to get my muscles back asap and am feeling positive about what is going to come.

See you soon again on one of the beaches!