Thanks to Michel Blinkhorn, there's three guys around today who might not have been so lucky if it weren't for her rescue. 

Byron Bay isn't the tamest of beaches around, and the place known as 'The Wreck' is known for pulling swimmers out in dangerous rips. Last Wednesday while Michel was kiting, she noticed three men in need of assistance, all three caught in the dangerous current. Using her 5.5m kite, the 45kg girl dragged two of the three men to shore by body dragging them through the break. The third man used the kiteboarders surfboard to stay afloat until another surfer came to his assistance.

"This quite petite young kite-surfer spotted these guys in trouble, there wasn’t much of her. One of these guys would have made three of her," says onlooker Darren Bell. He was watching the rescue unfold from the beach, and also says that it was all over by the time the police arrived, thanks to the girl. 

Local kiteboarder Jeff Varcin was also there, and when reporting the incident on the Seabreeze.com.au forums said: "I have no doubts, (and neither did the police and rescued swimmers) the outcome would have been tragic if she wasn't there."

This is good news for the Byron Bay area, which over the last few years has struggled with kiteboarders getting a bad wrap from the press and local groups. Hopefully, this latest incident will shine a new light on the sport and point out it's good points, rather than the bad. 

Read everyone response to the incident on the Seabreeze.com.au forums here. 

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