Kitesurfing and mountain biking Hill Head 85-year-old is remembered after dying in the French Alps

David Cummings, 85, who lived his life to the full and was a considerable part of the kitesurfing community at Hill Head, Fareham, died in France after going out there to mountain bike.

The pensioner changed the way he lived after his wife died of breast cancer more than two decades ago, and the loss of his loved one pushed him to start living as much as he could.

For the first few years after his wife’s death he spent nine months of the year away, windsurfing, kiting, skiing and snow boarding.

He was taught to kitesurf by Berny Maginn at Hill Head, and he went out to New Zealand to kite with him, and he has also kited in Brazil and Costa Rica.

When he returned home on a more permanent basis, he unintentionally left a mark on the kitesurfing community that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

David died in the French Alps on Christmas Day after he experienced a heart attack and he has left behind his three beloved sons who had an intimate funeral, but wanted to include his friends in a memorial at the beach where he spent so many of his hours.

His son rode his trailer, which would normally contain his kitesurfing equipment, down to Hill Head with some of David’s ashes in the back.

The kitesurfing community came together for a memorial in which they took David’s ashes out to sea on a board and they formed a circle of surfers to pay tribute to their friend.

Ben McInnes, who has been friends with David for 10 years, and is also part of the kitesurfing community, has decided to start a fundraiser to be able to get a bench at Hill Head in his memory.

He said: ‘Basically, we are in a Facebook group called Hill Head Kite Surfers and there is quite a big kitesurfing community that come from around the area and Dave used to speak to everybody down there and he used to bend your ear for 10 minutes and it would turn into an hour.

‘His family had a private ceremony but they wanted to have a memorial as well so his son rode down his bike and his trailer and there was some of his ashes that came out on a surf board.

SEE ALSO: Slimming World: A consultant has seen her group numbers soar and is encouraging people to become healthier

‘There was a big circle of us on boards. It was really cool, it was an amazing way to go out, it was lovely.’

In 2015, a film, which was produced by Prime and Fire, called The 77 Year Old Kite Surfer, explored his life and what drove him to live his life to the fullest.

In the short film, David said: ‘I live in paradise here, I don’t tell too many people, but show me somewhere better – it’s not possible.

‘It’s like flying on a cloud. If heaven is like this, then I would be very happy to go. You’re out there and you’re oblivious to the problems in life and you go as far or as little distance as you like, it is beautiful, it is a different world.

‘When I die and I’m getting near the end of my life, I’m there are kites up there.

‘You never know when you are going to go.’

Ben created a GoFundMe page and within the first few days people had donated over £600 to help pay for the bench that will have David’s name on and the fundraiser has since reached £1,530 out of the £1,900 target.

Permission for the memorial bench will be applied for from Fareham Borough Council. The bench will cost approximately £1,415 and Ben is hoping to get the application submitted before April as the price is set to increase.

The 42-year-old also said that he would like to have some extra money raised, and this will be donated to the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service – Gafirs – which helps any kitesurfer who gets into any trouble when they are out to sea.

Ben added: ‘He had a lot of friends and everybody was sad to find out that he had passed away. He passed away on Christmas Day in the French Alps and I think everyone was happy that he went out the way that he would have wanted.

‘We will all miss him terribly. I honestly thought he was going to keep going until he was 100 because he was as fit as a fiddle so it was a big shock but I think everybody was happy knowing he passed away doing what he loved.

‘Dave would always sit on the bench and that is where he would be if he wasn’t kitesurfing himself, and I think it was always his dream that we would get a bench for him and it is nice that people have donated to do this.

‘We are hoping to make some excess money, which we would like to donate to Gafirs so that if any kiters get in trouble it is them who come out and help, and I think Dave would like the fact that we would be giving them some money as well.’

For anyone that would like to donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser, click here at www.gofundme.com/f/davey-boys-bench