Fernando Javier Cappi, a 32-year-old kitesurfing instructor known in the sailing community as "El Chino," died on Thursday, August 6, 2026, after disappearing while performing maneuvers at a spot called El Chaquito on the Setubal lagoon near Santa Fe, Argentina.
Cappi ran his own kitesurf school in Santa Fe and also taught shooting. Those who knew him described him as meticulous in how he taught and especially attentive to students who were nervous about getting in the water.
The video from shore
His girlfriend, Karina Moya, a former Argentine and South American hammer-throw champion, was filming him with her phone from the shore as he performed jumps, not realizing she was capturing the moments before his disappearance. In the recording, which became one of the key pieces of evidence for authorities, her voice can be heard asking where he was and saying she could not see him. Contact with Cappi was lost at around 5:15 p.m.
A 20-hour search
The Argentine Naval Prefecture launched a search operation that lasted nearly 20 hours across the lagoon and surrounding area without locating Cappi. On Friday around midday, rescue teams found his body in the derivation channel in front of the El Quilla Yacht Club, about 15 kilometers from where he was last seen. Prosecutor Maria Laura Urquiza took over the investigation and ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death, which remains under investigation.
People who took part in the search said Cappi was wearing all the required safety equipment, including a helmet, life vest, neoprene wetsuit and specific boots. Weather conditions were not extreme either. Gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour and waves over a meter high were recorded around midday, but by the time of the accident the wind had eased to 40 to 45 kilometers per hour, speeds specialists consider normal and manageable for someone with Cappi's level of experience.
Investigators' theories
Among the lines of investigation being examined by experts is the possibility that Cappi became entangled in the kite's lines after a fall. Another theory points to underwater currents, water hyacinth or branches carried by the water that may have prevented him from surfacing in time. Authorities are working to determine which of these factors, or what combination of them, explains what happened at El Chaquito.
First death of its kind in the province
The case has hit the provincial sailing community hard. According to figures in the sector, Cappi's death is the first recorded in Santa Fe during the practice of sailing or kitesurfing. The impact he had on the sporting community, his students and those who knew him went beyond his immediate circle of friends and family. He was remembered as generous and passionate about teaching, someone who put particular effort into helping people who arrived at the water afraid, and who had founded his own kitesurf school where he passed on techniques and safety protocols with the same dedication he brought to his shooting classes.
