Felix Louis N’jai was training to represent Gambia in the Olympics. Kiting will make its debut in Paris. Photo: Erin Loscocco//Facebook
Last week, at Wildcat Beach off Point Reyes in Marin County, three friends who were camping nearby went for a swim in the ocean. According to firsthand reports from witnesses, one of those friends was attacked by a shark and disappeared beneath the water. Search efforts were fruitless and the swimmer was not found (rescue and recovery efforts were called off this week). That swimmer, who met a tragic end while celebrating a friend’s wedding, was identified as Felix Louis N’jai, a popular member of the West Coast kite surfing community.
Felix, a tech entrepreneur who moved to the Bay Area from his home country of Gambia some 20 years ago, was, according to friends, a fantastic kiter and an even better human who mentored other young people getting into the sport. He often told his friends in the wind community, “I’ll see you in church,” when referring to the pursuit.
“Felix was everything to every one of his friends,” said David Thawley, a close mate of Felix’s. “We felt like he was part of our family, and I know so many others felt this way too. He brought pure joy, love, and light everywhere he went. He radiated like the sun. The idea that there is no trace to be found of Felix is haunting. It’s grotesque that something so improbable and so dark is what consumed somebody that was such a bright light.”
Felix was reportedly training to represent Gambia in the Olympics in kiting, which will make its debut in Paris as one of 10 sailing events. But it was his love of other humans as much as anything else that endeared him to the tight-knit wind community.
“Felix was the epitome of stoke,” said Will Sileo, an editor with The Inertia who also foils and knew Felix through the San Francisco windsports community. “The wind could be nuking, or just barely enough for him to get up on his kite foil, and he’d be smiling. Better than that, he’d be cheering you on. For him, the stoke was an experience best shared, and his joy was infectious. At Crissy Field, you might find a few wingers and kiters setting up on the grass, mostly keeping to themselves, until Felix showed up, started chatting with one person, bringing someone else into the conversation, and before you knew it, his big laugh was booming out across the Bay, and everyone’s day was just a little bit better. That was the power of Felix Louis N’jai.”
Felix was a staple in the wind scene from San Francisco to Hood River (see below). The authorities have yet to officially call the incident a shark attack given the lack of physical evidence.
Regardless, Felix will be missed by all who knew him. He was 52 years old. RIP.
