Detroit Kiteboarding Rail Jam

The Detroit Kiteboarding Rail Jam went down this weekend on Lake St. Clair.  The event was held at the Blue Lagoon Marina and was held in conjunction with the Monster Fest music festival.  There was wind in the forecast for Friday so a bunch of riders showed up early to get in on the jibing.  Unfortunately, when I got there the lake was butter flat.  This led to some antics around the party tent like electric scooter racing and some longboarding around the parking lot.

After a few hours the wind switched on from nothing to 12M out of the Northeast which is a money direction at the Blue Lagoon.  We threw in the rail.  It was an up to super long made by Safety Rick out of aluminum.  It was extremely light for the size and is a great build for a removable slider.

Kites went up in no time.  Myself, Liquid Force rider Craig Cunningham, Kyle Krawiec and Best rider Sam Medysky sessioned the rail that was WAY too close to the shore.  Took some rail hits on a wakeskate which was a first and very tricky.  That stuff would take a bit of practice to nail down.  Took a break and grabbed the cam to snag some pics of Sam, Kyle and Jess making the most of the rail.  No comp really happened but it was a good time.

                                               Kyle Krawiec Up and Down

Later that night, Luke Wark rolled in from the Dusky and we had a 2AM ride.  The wind was supposed to die the next day so we took the wind while it was up.  Crazy feeling being out there with no one else around and cruising under the stars.

Saturday the Canadians secured some pulls behind a boat as the wind was non existant.

Demo Daze

So Saturday the forecast was correct and there wasn't puff of wind to be found.  Mark Kuban of Motor City Kiteboarding had dropped of a Stand Up Paddleboard for us to mess around with.  After seeing some people paddle around on these things I had thought they were a gimmick.  Now I can see the fun they are.  Nice and relaxing but more difficult than imagined.

                                            Luke Wark Taking a Paddle

We grabbed one of the Solosport boards and paddled it over by our campsite and had a quick photoshoot with it.  Really fun watching us all try it for the first time.  The lighter paddlers definitely had a stability advantage.  Would be really fun on inland lakes.  The comfort level is well better than a cramped kayak.  Its also nice to have the vantage point higher than that of in a boat.

Photos