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COMP VEST * Features: *Competition Vest • 100% UltraFlex DS • Zipperless and Buckle-free Pull Over Design • Reversible • Segmented Foam Core • Anatomical Flex Points • Strategic Armhole Size • Boardshort Connector THE REVENGE IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN U.S.C.G. APPROVED

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S U C O F

A buttery Loch Lomand in spring

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C H R I S , A N D R E WA N DD A V I SR I D E T H E I R

S H R E D T O W N D R A O B

K C A R T S A DF E N G I S E D E R , R E G N O R T S

+ B O O T S

S T S E R O EF L B A N I A T S U S , L A C O ML O R EF R O DC O O EW R U P

A S U , T S WE H T R O CN I F I C A EP H NT TI L I U DB N A H

S P A R T OS R C L E AV T C E F I R ET L B A E C A L P E R

2 1 0 Y2 MA

S R E N I NL I K L EWA L B A V O M E R

L E E TF C E R I RAD O MF E T S Y ES S A SB S E L M O T T O B

D N I L R E D O NS A Y R YB SB O T O H P

C H R I S , A N D R E WA N DD A V I SR I D E T H E I R

S H R E D T O W N D R A O B

K C A R T S A DF E N G I S E D E R , R E G N O R T S

+ B O O T S

S T S E R O EF L B A N I A T S U S , L A C O ML O R EF R O DC O O EW R U P

A S U , T S WE H T R O CN I F I C A EP H NT TI L I U DB N A H

S P A R T OS R C L E AV T C E F I R ET L B A E C A L P E R

2 1 0 Y2 MA

S R E N I NL I K L EWA L B A V O M E R

L E E TF C E R I RAD O MF E T S Y ES S A SB S E L M O T T O B

D N I L R E D O NS A Y R YB SB O T O H P

Cover: James Young, nose grab to fakie Photo: LDB

Vol 2.3 CONTENTS 06.

Focus Morning glass at loch lomand

18.

The Ron All the news from the world of wake

22.

decongestant taste of things to come

24.

Schizophrenic jack wayne vents

28.

pond trotting exclusive with the wakeskate tour

31.

Subscribe commit!

34.

PArks interview talking progression

42.

SCotland trip adventures in the highlands

50.

IBIZA exactly what it says on the tin

54.

EURO Road trip the wheels keep on turning

62.

hot spot the series kicks off

68.

Playground turkish delight

70.

mystic big air boosting in basildon

74.

voyeur syndicate is watching you

80.

boxed window shopping

84.

how to tackle obstacles with richie hiney

86.

the otherside jack wayne talks rock

87.

20 questions brad smeele on the spot

94.

Board bag Festival essentials

96.

The darkroom devoloping humour

Editor

Andrew Eddy eddy@sensationgroup.com

VOL 2.3

International Editor Reed Watson reed@sensationgroup.com

Head Graphic Designer Richie Hiney richiehiney@gmail.com

Writers Collective

Erik Ruck • Reed Watson • James Young • Jack Wayne • Jules Haley • Johnny Carne • Matt Crowhurst • Jacob Slone Richie Hiney

Photographers Collective

Jake Lewis • Jamie Smith • James Young • James Sharrock • Ben Hannam • Alex Gardiner • Reed Watson Tristam Slater • Josh Letchworth • LDB • Ronix

E B I R C S B SU

Web Design

Jonathan Dicks jonathan@thefreshlab.co.uk

Music Column

Sam Hall info@goldierocks.co.uk

Operations Director

Emma Hartley emma@sensationgroup.com

e 31

on Pag

Publisher

Mark Durston mark@sensationgroup.com

Syndicate Wake is published by Sensation Group The Orchard Abersoch Gwynedd LL53 7LD, UK.

Distribution enquiries: +44 (0)1758 710011 info@sensationgroup.com Contents copyright of Syndicate Wake Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.

General Enquiries contact

The articles appearing in Syndicate Wake reﬂect the opinions of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the publishers or editorial collective.

+44 (0)1758 710011 - info@sensationgroup.com

Editorial Enquiries contact

+44 (0)1758 710066 - eddy@sensationgroup.com

Advertising Enquiries contact

+44 (0)1758 710066 - mark@sensationgroup.com

Disclaimer: The activities described and photographed herein are performed by trained athletes. Attempting anything contained within these pages could result in serious injury or death. Sensation Group is not responsible for any injuries sustained by readers or the failure of any equipment shown herein. Printed in the UK

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N O R E TH

GLASS BUTTER BEACH LINEUP

O’NEILL FATBOY WINNER The results are in and we have a winner! Will Bradley takes the Limited Edition O’Neill Fatboy beanbag as top prize in our online competition. Known for his style and pop Will is a well known face on the skate scene and this old school style shot has just earned him some stylish comfort. O’Neill, like the Queen celebrating their 60th Anniversary this year will be winging a Fatboy his way very soon.. niiice!

SIGNED STEVE DYER JOINS VAMPIRE TEAM

THE HOTSPOT COMPETITION IS UNDERWAY AND THINGS ARE HEATING UP The launch of the Syndicate Wake Hot Spot series saw riders of all ages and abilities take on the Obrien Transfer Box at Box End Park. With an early start to the season, kicking things at end of March was a bold move and from a cold start the Hot Spot saw a welcome crowd session the box for four hours. Read more on page. 62

LOUIS FLOYD & WILL MANNS JOIN SLINGSHOT

ALEX MILBURN SIGNS WITH MO4

Alex is a developing rider who is storming the Ten feet High competition, winning last years overall Rookie contest and taking second place in the first event of this seasons Intermediate comp. We think Alex is a star of the future and are trying our best to help him get there with our brand of products including the MO Bad wakeboard and MO4 Vest. We also sponsor him with our other Brand LBC (Light Boardcorp) with Boardies. He is a great ambassador for our brands even in this short time. He works hard to improve and spread the word.

WAKE THE LINE RESULTS

We are looking for more team riders at grass roots level (Rookie / Intermediate). We invite interest

Wakeskate: 1. Daniel Grant 2. Lukas Suess 3. Jan Kissmann

Wakeboard: 1. Raph Derome 2. Kevin Henshaw 3. Steffen Vollert

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N O R E TH

WM SKI JUBILEE BIG AIR Another Jubilee weekend event also took place at WMSki, an open format jam session for all the riders over 45 minutes lead to some big tricks being thrown and even some very close double flip attempts. It was however James Harrington who laid down three different 9’s on his wakeboard to take the title to everyone’s surprise - including his own. Jack Wayne took the air trick title with his signature tweety 5, demolishing some previous bangers landed by some of the locals and visitors alike.

HANNAMS WAKE HUB OPENS The most eagerly awaited System 2.0 park of all time has finally arrived! The Hannam’s Wake Hub is also now fully open and operational with a park full of UNIT obstacles and two very committed men behind it the Wake Hub is set to be a destination for skaters and boarders alike. There is no place run by riders so down for the cause, this place is on the map and they are open! Two System 2.0s along with coaching and enough toys to keep you busy on the water, it is happening, go check it out! See www.hannamswakehub.com for more details.

Breo Official timing partner of Wakestock 2012 Legendary festival Wakestock returns again this year and has partnered with Breo - the events official timing partner. Wakestock 2012 promises to be bigger and better than ever before and Breo’s key message; Don’t live a bland life - have fun and escape the everyday reflects the very nature of Wakestock – Europe’s largest Wakeboard music festival.

As the official timing partner Breo will ensure festival-goers don’t miss any of the demos, bands or DJ’s with Breo clocks stationed throughout the festival site. As official sponsors of the WWA Rail Europeans Pool gap competition Breo will give riders the opportunity to put the watches through their paces. The event, which takes place on the stunning Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, is a

FESTIVAL WAKE PARK OPENS

This year’s line up includes the likes of CALVIN HARRIS, DIZZEE RASCAL and ED SHEERAN, ANNIE MAC, ZANE LOWE, KATY B, RIZZLE KICKS, DJ FRESH LIVE, CHIDDY BANG, ALL AMERICAN REJECTS, HADOUKEN! FLUX PAVILION, HIGH CONTRAST Feat. JESSY ALLEN & DYNAMITE MC, DOCTOR P, YOUNGMAN and BURNS along with many, many more. The event will also feature some of the hottest wakeboarding action from around the world in the form of the open water competition in Pwllheli Marina and the Pool Gap Comp on site.

Festival Wake Park in Basildon is now fully open along with Festival Board Sports, their onsite Mystic flagship store - full of all your favourite wake goodness. They recently played host to the Mystic Pro Am Big Air contest where riders of all levels threw down for a shot at the podium. Tom Brooks took the Ams title while nick Davies took the top spot in the Pro division. Check out page 70 for a full write up on the event.

About BREO: BREO was founded with two things in mind... Simplicity and style. These beliefs continue to underpin everything the brand does. Back in 2008, BREO founder, Rob Morrison spotted the need for an alternative kind of watch. The kind you can wear without worrying about. The kind that fits with your sporty image. The kind that doesn’t make you look like you’ve completely lost touch with fashion. Cue BREO. With its simple design, affordable price and vibrant bright colours, it captured the imaginations of active and stylish people the world over. And its success has inspired a whole range of BREO products. Some tell the time. Some help you listen to music, yet all follow the same concept. They bring simplicity and style crashing together to produce fun, bright, quality products. If you would like any more info, images or samples please do not hesitate to get in touch chloe@canoeinc.com or call 0203 216 0022.

Use your smartphone to read this QR code and d ow n l o a d t h i s a s a p d f.

combination of a top music line up and extreme sports action.

CANOE INC. 9 1 B R I C K L A N E , L O N D O N , E1 6 Q L . + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 3 216 0 0 2 2 / C A N O E I N C . C O M

For more information contact C h l o e L o n g s t a f f o n 0 2 0 3216 0 0 2 2 or email chloe@canoeinc.com

JUNE 1 -2 st

US Pro Tour 2 - Boat FORT WORTH, TEXAS, USA

1st-2nd Wake The Line Obstacle, System 2 GERMANY

20th Talent potential day

WAKEUP DOCKLANDS

8th-9th

US Pro Tour 3 - Boat BRANSON, MO., USA

16th-17th South Lakes Old skool Comp SOUTH LAKES, BEDFORDSHIRE

16th 10 Feet High Stop 2 - Cable SHEFFIELD CABLE

21st-24th Wake N Country

Cable Board/Skate TNG CABLE, TOULOUSE, FR

20th HOTSPOT WM SKI

21st Red Bull Harbour Reach Obstacle, System 2 LYME REGIS

28th US Pro Tour 5 - Boat KNOXVILLE, TENN, USA

28th HOTSPOT

HANNAMS WAKE HUB

AUGUST 2nd-5th WWA Wakeboard

Longest Day - Cable WMSKI, MILTON KEYNES

US Nationals - Boat OHIO, USA

23rd

Stop 2 Wake & ski rider league HUMBERSIDE, WSC

24th

AOD Stop 1/UKPT Boat 1(2) - Boat QUAYSIDE, SURREY

4th

28th - 30th

Battle Falls CENTRAL FLORIDA

4th-5thIrish National Champs - Boat

29th - 30th

10 -12

30th-1st July UK Open Boat Wake & Skate Nationals QUAYSIDE, SURREY

KIEV, UKRAINEWISCONSIN, USA

25th HOTSPOT

CLUB WAKE PARK

Nationals JBSKI, SURREY

Ultra Sport Demo Day 5 JBSKI, SURREY

US Pro Tour 4 - Boat MONROE, WASH, USA

20th -26th E&A Boat Wake & Sk8 Champs

21st-22nd UK Cable Wake & Skate

23 23

16th-19th Glass Butter Beach NORTH WALES

21st-22nd Wake Challenge - Boat

DAR

HUMBERSIDE, WSC

PORTUMNA, IRELAND

2nd Ultra Sport Demo Day 4

CALEN

UKPT Boat Stop 2(3) QUAYSIDE, SURREY Stop 3 Wake & ski rider league HUMBERSIDE, WSC

LOUGH MUCKNO, IRELAND th

WWA World Series 2/World Champs, Wakestock - Boat ONTARIO, CANADA

SEPTEMBER 1st AOD 3rd stop

LDB, JBSKI, SURREY

2nd Wakesurf Championships QUAYSIDE, SURREY

9th

HOTSPOT LAGOON WAKE PARK

15th

HOTSPOT FESTIVAL WAKE PARK

15th

Ryan & Tony Memorial event HUMBERSIDE, WSC

22nd HOTSPOT FINALS WAKE MK

22nd AOD 4th stop

QUAYSIDE, SURREY

29th Stop 4 Wake & Ski Rider League WHITE ROSE, WSC

11th-12th Riverfest - Boat Demos COLERAINE, N. IRELAND

11th Wakeboard UK Pro Tour

JULY 5th-8th Wakestock

ABERSOCH, NORTH WALES

Ultra Sport Demo Day 6 TBC WMSKI, CIRENCESTER

14th Mastercraft junior boat Nationals HUMBERSIDE, WSC

15th Wakeboard UK Pro Tour HUMBERSIDE, WSC

Talent potential day QUAYSIDE, SURREY

QUAYSIDE, SURREY

11th HOTSPOT CLUB WAKE PARK

14th Talent potential day QUAYSIDE, SURREY

15th Squad training day QUAYSIDE, SURREY

18th 10 Feet High Stop 3 - Cable SHEFFIELD CABLE

16th -19th WWA World Series 3, Worlds - Boat WISCONSIN, USA

NT A T S E G N O C DE

The road can be long but the destination is always worth the trip, Dartford Tunnel. Basildon bound Words: Andrew Eddy Photo: Jake Lewis

ever have the wheels of Syndicate turned harder or faster of the last few weeks with the summer season in full flow in the Northern hemisphere with more trips and competitions than you can shake a stick at. In just a short time we have travelled from the far reaches of Scotland with the Liquid Force skate and Loch Lomond crews, christened Fox Lake after it has laid dormant for 60 years on the east coast of the chilly North and winched some amazing spots along the way. We travelled on from Scotland to the sunny shores of Ibiza and lived to tell the tale after witnessing some of the sights there and being a part of the launch of a new charter there. As if that weren’t enough our voyage continued to Holland onto Germany with the Relentless team to take in the sights and visit one of the craziest wake setups you could ever imagine. Four cables and two System 2.0’s meant we left Langenfeld with a special place in our hearts, coupled with the Wake Up competition they hold there annually as part of the Wake The Line qualifying series - it was one to remember.. or at least try. On top of our travels we have also run three Hot Spot events, each standing out for it’s own reasons. There have been highs and lows along the way with a full report from page 62, each has produced amazing experiences and exposure for those who deserve, old or new faces. Along the way we have also seen a resurgence in the Big Air competitions, firstly on the Jubilee weekend was the WMSki Big Air followed by the biggest event of the Jubilee going off with a bang at Festival Wake Park thanks to the Mystic Pro Am. It’s not over yet, quite the opposite. We as a people still have busy times ahead, with Wakestock fast approaching, followed soon after by a heap of other contests as we lead into Glass Butter Beach and the second Red Bull Harbour Reach at Lyme Regis. We have lots to do and lots of places to visit, with yet more additions to the destination guide this summer with the Hannam’s Wake Hub now fully open and operational (with a huge array of toys) along with the newly christened Fox Lake opening very soon. This is not the end of the list, more the beginning for what we are seeing is growth. All these things are fantastic for our sport, the more places we have to ride, the more people get into the sport and the industry grows. Every single place is important, every single participant is important for the continuation of our fine water art. If nobody bought paintings anymore, there would be no artists. The same goes for the wake industry - on a slightly different scale - by supporting each other and encouraging our sport to grow we enable it become bigger and better than ever. Check out Parks Bonifay’s view on the way forwards in our interview with him from page 34, a man that knows the industry better, there is none. As we look to the future of our coming adventures and reflect on those of the past, one thing is what draws all these things together, that is our friends and fellow riders. Without them it would be pretty boring going for a ride on your own all the time or not having a mate to drive the boat for you. So stick together, look after each other and keep riding, it’s why we love the sport, all of us - so get to it!

TEAM RIDER: MATT CROWHURST

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IC N E R PH O Z I H SC

Front board gap, Jack Wayne

LONG TERM SHREDDER JACK WAYNE TALKS STRAIGHT IN THIS MONTH’S VOICE FROM WITHIN

Words: Jack Wayne Photos: Andrew Eddy

moment i saw it. Thinking back, I reckon it was a Shaun Murray section of an old wakeboard vid – and I do mean video, not DVD – in a movie called Fluid. What comes to mind now is not exactly the actual tricks but just the resounding impression of together that created something completely mind blowing to me. This same love of the sport has and will stay with me forever. Getting all nostalgic and revisiting memories of my early days on the water inspired me, does create some food for thought when I look at where the sport is right now.

It’s always the way with action sports. You get movements and progression in every direction, movement or trend. Right now, the technicality of what is going down on boat, cable and on obstacles is, often, kind of hard to actually believe. It has come about largely because of bigger wakes, taller, poppier cables, two tower cable Systems – namely the System 2.0 – and of course more and more obstacles for people to play on. Whatever blows your hair back on the water, there is no denying that riders dropping 1080s and pushing for that next 1260 (Danny Harf the man behind the only recorded 1260 to date) and the whole

are throwing is more than a little impressive – it’s certainly what is going to get crowds pumped and entertain the masses at events such as Wake The Line. What is wakeboarding to you though? Is it just about striving for the next big trick and getting more and more tech? Thinking back to Shaun Murray and my other hero of the time, Scott Byerly, they had that bit of something extra. At the time the moves they were pulling were just as crazy and progressive, relatively speaking, many of which not even thought possible until these guys did them. Not only were they pushing the limits of what was

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possible on a board, however, but they were stamping their own style on every trick because for them and a handful of others at the time, circa mid to late 90s, stomping a new trick and moving on to the next one wasn’t what it was about. You had to own the moves you threw so that your own influence, interpretation and style came through with every second you had on the water. I do see it here and there and can also understand why this mindset is lost to a few riders, of every ability level. When the sport is pushing so hard and so fast, it’s everything you can do to keep track of it, never mind physically keep up with it. Perhaps though, the idea of keeping up with the pace of progression isn’t in just learning new trick after new trick. If you can learn anything from Mr Murray and Mr Byerly who, while perhaps not at the forefront of the sport as they once were, are still very much two of the biggest names around, that individuality and thirst for owning what they did on the water sits firmly with them still today and so they still sit firmly as favourites with fans of the sport today. Quite simply, style counts. When I’m walking across the bridge at JBSki or any cable come boat park for that matter, I enjoy spotting a rider in the distance and knowing exactly who it, not because you recognize their face or what their wearing but because of how they’re riding and what they’re doing. This can of course work the other way round where you notice a rider because of what you consider to be bad style but personally preferences aside, as long as you take to the water truly trying to create something while you’re out there, immersing yourself in what is one of the most fun pastimes you could be involved in – well that is the road to owning what you do! What tends to go toe to toe with the idea of individuality and this ever present spectre of good or bad style on the water is contest wakeboarding. Purely by the fact that you’ve got a selection of people (usually three judges) judging what you do on the water when they may have very different opinions to you on what is ‘cool’ or not, what is ‘legit’ and any number of slang words to pigeon whole something subjective, there’s going to be a clash of opinions. Differing thoughts and alternate paths is what makes wakeboarding and action sports so unique and addictive – you can make it your own in anyway. As this is the true nature of our sport, at its roots, it’s going to be kind of difficult to set parameters, rules, regulations and formats to something that is so inherently subjective and well, fluid. I did my time in contests way back when I enjoyed them a lot. I guess they gave me the grounding in the sport and a hell of a lot of good time stories with friends on the road. The more formulated, structured contest scene is not where I’m at right now with how I would choose to spend my time on the water but that isn’t to say it has it’s place. Once again, that’s the beauty of the thing, get involved or don’t but have an impact for the better in some form if it’s something you care about.

Jack boosting a hoochie vulcan in front of James Harrington at WMSki

Slone

The Wakeskate Tour Interview

Syndicate’s international editor has been on the road following the waeskate tour around america. in this exclusive interview founders silas thurman and ryan dahlem talk progression and are leading the way with the wakeskate tour Questions/Photos: Jacob Slone and Reed Watson Answers: Ryan Dahlem and Silas Thurman

The Wakeskate Tour has kicked off its first season with a bang. There

are new faces and new tricks at every event. The Wakeskate Tour is quickly becoming one of the best things that has ever happened to the sport of wakeskating. It’s finally evolving in to its own thing like we always wanted. This time in Pond Trotting you get The Wakeskate Tour’s first ever interview. For the readers that haven’t heard of you guys, What is The Wakeskate Tour? The Wakeskate Tour was started to show the progression of wakeskating to the world. We wanted to showcase the amazing riding that has been going on in the most recent years and build an arena for athletes test their skills. We’ve built the Tour around the riders so the format and conditions are best to reflect the current status of wakeskating. Whats different about The Wakeskate Tour than other wakeskate contest that have happened in previous years? It all starts with the format. We have given the riders a lot more time in each of their heats and in the finals. We use the best pulling devices as to give the riders as much time and as much consistency as possible.

Were hoping that with the allotted time and consistency that in the end you will truly see who was the best that day as opposed to other events where sometimes you just see who got lucky or who pulled the weakest heat. The Wakeskate Tour is also a series of multiple contest with points to be earned at each stop and an overall champion to be crowned at the end. How did you guys come up with the concept for the tour? It started with Nike’s Retention at Ben Horan’s house last year. Ben, myself, and Nike wanted to have a Pro-am contest to show the world what wakeskating has become and has the potential to be. After Retention went so well we decided to start a series with the same plan in mind provide an outlet for wakeskating to grow and a place for progression to happen. Who are the people that you chose to involve, and why did you choose them? Myself, Ben Horan, Nick Taylor, really started talking early about a tour being necessary for the sport to evolve and make it possible for other guys to make a name for themselves. Reed Hansen got involved in the early stages and Aaron Reed and Danny Hampson have been

Watson on board since the beginning as well. After Retention went so well, but a lot to handle at the same time, Ryan Dahlem jumped in and he and myself basically tag team the logistics of the overall event. All in all though it really is a group effort. Tad, Ian, and Roland literally handle the entire media side. I can’t say it enough if everyone you see working at the event didn’t do what they were doing it wouldn’t go on. We’ve built an amazing platform that I’m sure now will grow, but if everyone wasn’t helping out so much this would have failed. How did you choose the locations for The Wakeskate Tour stops?

Slone

That was the easiest part for us. Ben had a spot, Reed through his property out there has been working non stop, Nick bought property just to have his own compound and have an event, Toe Jam has primarily been at the Projects so that was a no brainer, and Aaron Reed has a great relationship with TSR and has done events there in the past so as far as choosing the spots that was easy. As for the countless hours that the riders Ryan Dahlem and Wakeskate Tour staff has put into the builds that’s another story. It’s really the whole community of wakeskating pulling together. The riders want these to happen and they are all pitching in. Who are the sponsors for The Wakeskate Tour? Rockstar Energy, Nike, O’Neill, Remote, Obscura, Byerly, Fox, Ronix, Supra, Yamaha, This is the first time the top 18 riders have been payed in a professional wakeskating contest. Why did you guys decide to pay out the top 18 and invite them in to the next event?

How long does each contest run and what’s the format? Is it different for each contest? Each contest runs for 3 days. A day of practice a day of qualifying and a day of bracketed competition. Each contest will have the same format. The format is open for qualifying so we take the top 6 lines all day. Those 6 qualify to the bracketed day of competition. the bracketed day starts with 6 50 min quarter final heats of 4. 2 from each quarter final advance to the semi finals. There are two 1 hour semi final heats of 6. The top 3 qualify to the finals. Finals is one 2 hour heat of 6 riders.

Left: Reed Hansen, backside big flip at the Retention stop Top: Daniel Grant switch 360 over the rail - not for ants Above: Ben Horan hits a locked on frontside noseslide Below: Frontside tailslide, frontside big spin out for Austin Pastura Watson

We want the sport of wakeskating to grow. And to help it grow we felt that we need as many riders out there putting as much of there time into wakeskating as possible. So if we can pay as many riders as possible then maybe they can spend more of there time wakeskating and less time trying to make money just to wakeskate. Wakeskating is small and it’s always been hard for anyone to break into it. It’s always been hard for anyone outside of the top ten to make a cent. We really feel that paying deeper will promote participants.

The Wakeskate tour has had two stops; The Byerly Toe Jam and Retention. How many stops are scheduled for the tour this year?

Watson

Five stops are scheduled for 2012 Toe Jam, Retention, BattleFalls, Obscura Championships and Swanee Pro. Can any AM rider come and try to qualify for the events? Yes we encourage all riders am and pro to come out and ride. Anyone can qualify and win. Do you plan on trying to do more stops next year? Taking it to the west coast or international? Yes, we hope to take the tour to the west coast and abroad for the 2013 season. We’d love to hear from anyone who would like to have a stop. This honestly is just about progressing wakeskating. If someone has a good spot and the means to support an event we’d love to talk and possibly run a tour stop in there area. How does The Wakeskate Tour points system work? And is there an over all winner for The Wakeskate Tour? The Wakeskate Tour has an overall points system with points to be earned at every stop. Then overall champion be will crowned at the 2012 Transworld wake awards. From videos of The Wakeskate Tour stops so far the riding seems pretty progressive from contests in past years. Do you think that The Wakeskate Tour’s format helps this?

Watson

Above: Nick Taylor taking a different path over the obstacles with this backside 180 Below: Travis Belsito frontside flips out the pool at Toe Jam

Well we sure hope so. We are giving the riders more time than they have had before and better setups. All in the hope that we will see new tricks and lines at every event. Everyone at the stops seem to be enjoying themselves, the riders and the fans. What’s the party like at The Wakeskate Tour? What did you guys do to try and make it more interactive and entertaining for everyone? The whole weekend is a party at the wakeskate tour. There is always something going on anytime day or night. We just wanted to let wakeskating take a hold of the vibe of our tour. The whole community is so welcoming and friendly. We knew that it would be a family reunion at every stop. And so far it has been a blast. For the fans and riders that don’t come to The Wakeskate Tour stops, why should they? What are they missing out on? The community of riders and their families are like no other. Whether you are a seasoned pro of just a first time wakeskater, you can come out to our contest and interact with Ams and Pros alike. You can even ride with them. Really if you support wakeskating and want to see it grow you should join everyone at these events. At the end of the day it’s just about having a good time and seeing great wakeskating while your at it. Our thanks to Silas Thurman and Ryan Dahlem, The Wakeskate Tour founders.

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M eet ... PARK S BO NIFAY possibly the most influential rider to ever don a wakeboard. he has been at the forefront of progression, in the most ground breaking movies and done some of the craziest shit you will ever see. he is parks bonifay. Questions: Erik Ruck Photos (this page): Josh Letchworth Other photos: Ronix In this interview, long term friend and fellow Ronix rider Erik Ruck sat down with Parks for Syndicate to get the low down on what he thought about the industry’s direction and change that he has witnessed from the inception of the sport. Evolution has been rapid and from the early days of wakeboarding being a sideline to the now all conquering oligarth that it is today - few people have had a better perspective. ER. When you were 15 did you envision the wakeboard industry to be where it’s at today? PB. Well I think it would be hard to imagine the sport to be where it is today from when I started! When I switched from skiing to wakeboarding my ski friends thought I was crazy. They said it was a novelty sport like knee boarding... then look what happened. Wakeboarding blew up, and took over the whole industry! Nowadays, with the way the boats and wakes are, the progression is on the rise for sure. That’s just one side of it too, now you have the whole cable/wakepark side of things which will change the way people will have access to wakeboarding and wakeskating. The sport’s about get bigger, better and more accessible. It has come a long long way! Hahaha who knows where it will stop!

Welcome to Slayshville

Above: Switch front to fakie at Blue Lake in Clermont Top right: Parks slayshing beneath the high reach Right: Late roll to blind ER. What’s your favourite Pointless memory? PB. I think my favourite memory is when we were editing stages of Incomplete (the Pointless crew’s first movie). We would all be packed in Shane’s room all picking what song we wanted to ride to! It was just a really good vibe, everyone helping everyone with their section. Good times at Bonifay Ski School! ER. How has all the new technology changed the way you look at riding; whether it’s what you’re riding or what is pulling you?

PB. The technology has come so far, both from what we ride and what’s towing us. With boards and boots it is night and day difference, with Ronix we have come so far since we started. I can’t believe how comfy and supportive the boots are! Also how light the boards are, and with those two things it’s allowed us confidently try and push the sport of wakeboarding! Add that to the new ways we are getting towed by from new boats to new cables - it has completely change the sport! The new X Star wake is so big, for years we were kinda at the mercy of boat companies to make a bigger boat which thankfully they have! If surfers want a bigger wave they go find a bigger swell. If skaters and

Nose scarecrow at Blue Lake, Clermont

Left: Park’s method is better than yours Above: His rail riding is too.. snowboarders Want to go bigger the build bigger boosters and ramps! We rely on these boat companies to produce a bigger wake.. which thankfully they have! Also the System 2.0 has completely changed the sport for better as well, the rails we can build and the way you can produce contests using them right in front of people is amazing! It’s perfect for a live TV format, maybe even good enough to get wake back in the X Games! ER. What is your career highlight so far? PB. I would have to say landing the 1080 in 1999! I didn’t really know it when I landed it but know but I’d say that’s it! ER. What’s your favourite aspect of Shane’s riding? PB. I’d say how creative and steezy he is! I may be biased but Shane has the sickest steez . It’s hard to believe we’re even brothers! Hahaha he just adapts to things so quickly and his wakeboard trick names are just amazing as well! ER. Best concert you have seen lately? PB. Well I haven’t seen a good one lately, but the Phish Show that we saw last year at the George in Oregon was pretty all time! If you have a chance to ever see a Phish Show make it happen! You’ll be in for a real treat! Haha ER. If you had a chance to be the show director for a new show at Cypress Gardens how would it differ from the shows of your parents era? PB. Hmmmm that’s a great question! I think you would need a Lot more special effects! More water cannons, more pyrotechnics! I think you need a good stage show as well, like Cirque du Soleil on water or even stage pools you could build and tow the whole thing by a 2.0 ! So it’s right in peoples faces, splash zone in full effect!

ER. So PB your really in to sky diving. What’s up with that? PB. Well it’s something I always wanted to do ! Jumping out of a plane ! Is one of the most intense and free feelings there is. It’s as close as you can get to flying and I always wanted to fly. But really started skydiving so that I could do the stunt for the end of my movie where I dropped from a helicopter after getting towed up from wakeboarding! ER. What is the all time greatest, most classic Radar Lake story? PB. Hahaha well it’s a hard one to pick! It’s like picking a favorite child! But I really Like this one.. We were all sitting around the camp at Radar and then all of a sudden something in the fire blew up and sprayed this sizzling hot liquid out! It hit Jeff here right in the face.. then the very first thing he says is ... “CHAD YOU MOTHER F****R!” as he is just looking around the fire to find Chad and kill him hahaha then Chad says “Jeff I swear to God it wasn’t me!” It’s just so funny that if something explodes in a fire it’s pretty safe to just blame Chad! So years go by as we tell this same story around the same fire for about the next 4 or 5 years. Then one of the following years up at radar Josh Letchworth slips up and spills the beans to someone (I’m not sure who) that it was him that put the half bottle of beer in the fire that night! It was the best! ER. What’s next for Parks Bonifay? PB. Man I just want to keep giving back to the industry. Whether it’s designing and shaping boards for Ronix, making the next generation boat for Mastercraft or helping Red Bull create new contest and athlete projects. I want be involved in every aspect of this industry! Contest, judging, product, coaching; this is all that my passion has ever been - wakeboarding and I don’t see that changing ! And if a I can pop off a few more banger tricks that haven’t been done yet along with another iceberg and a another trip to Tahiti is on the to do list as well! Who knows what the hell Nitro Circus is gonna do in the next few years!! Oh yeah there’s more to come... a lot more to come!

skating scotland

Christening Fox Lake in style with a fronstside boardslide on the bucket, Ollie Moore

Lewis

taking a ride on the scottish side Syndicate went on the road to see what scotland had to offer three skaters in search of wakes and winches Words: Andrew Eddy Photos: Jake Lewis and Andrew Eddy

Road trips, friends and riding are three of the funnest things about being involved in our sport. They all make you laugh, cry and sometimes swear but we all love them in different ways and that is what makes the combination of the three so good. We set out with a mission to wakeskate our way around Scotland with Team Liquid Force. With a winch equipped Red Bull truck a choice of three different size Nautiques including a mighty Super Air 210 at our disposal courtesy of Loch Lomond Wakeboard. Ollie Moore, Taylor Dell, Reed Watson and Matt Crowhurst was the team - more eclectic than a Bjork album; and a lot more talented too.

The road to Loch Lomond is not as long as it seems if you take a direct route from say London you will be there in an afternoon without a worry. However if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take a direct route it can take you slightly longer... early into the journey the team bus encountered a very close call to an accident on the motorway not serious, but enough to shake a certain navigator into taking an hour detour half way around the M25. A few calculations later and the team was back on track and with newly appointed navigator Oli Oli Moore (standing in for Tom Tom who was away on business). Another detour later in the form of collecting camera man and shredder Reed Watson from the outskirts of the outskirts of Northampton we were on our way to Bonnie Scotland. A few hours in and the ever energetic Ollie Moore and Taylor Dell getting itchy feet and with a certain skate park in Stoke on Trent almost on the way detour three was in operation. A cruise round for the boys and some interesting skate wobbles pulled off by Taylor we were back on the road full of ice cream and excitement for what we were going to find in Scotland. A few hours later and a total journey time of around twelve hours for an eight hour trip - we were there. What the trip had not prepared us for was the karaoke in the local hotel to the Loch Lomond Wakeboard camp. Without hesitation Taylor and Ollie were queuing up with their favourite Britany Spears requests and the evening began. you might think that Taylor may not be the most gifted person when it comes to singing or someone who would have too much of an idea of rhythm.. you are correct. Time to retreat to the cabin for some shut eye ahead of the next five days of riding. It was on. The beginning of the tour started with some boat sets around some of the most beautiful back drops you are likely to find. With tree lined mountains surrounding the loch it is enticing to ride, even if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just cruising around looking at the vast array of sites along the way. Put onto that some of the most varied and talented riders around and we had all the makings of a dream shoot. Boat sets locked in and some exploring time in the afternoon led us off into the woods to find something to session. After some Bear Grylls moments later and a fallen tree had been transformed into our log jam. Coupled with a handy rock incline nearby along with a wall ride just beyond the incline

Lewis

Clockwise from top left: 1. Ollie Moore, backside nose poke 180 2. Nose half cab for Matt Crowhurst at Loch Lomond 3. Weir gap for Taylor Dell (Photo: Lewis) 4. Backside shuv down gap, Reed Watson 5. Switch backside shuv wake to wake, Ollie Moore

Lewis This page, clockwise from top left: 1. Matty C popping a body varial 2. Moore taking on the formidable Leith drop

3. Indy off the ramp at Unit 23, Moore (Photo: Lewis) 4. Indy off the wake, Crowhurst 5. Ollie gaps the wire near Dunbar

Opposite page: Above. Another day another shuv to bank for Reed Below. Taylor kicks things off early behind the 210

we had ourselves a tidy little line ready for a session when we were. Ask the evening drew in we retreated to the cabin once more for some down time ahead of another early start on the water. Exploration was our next days mission, while checking Google Maps is all well and good for finding spots to go and winch - seeing them is crucial. With a few investigations under our belt we found our place. The Gartness Bridge was our spot, one section was an inclined bank which was hittable in both directions - up or down river. The river then turned a slight corner into a rocky gap drop. Winchaholic Watson was in straight out the gates, checking landing zones and take offs. All clear and the session was under way. Dropping some cheeky 180’s and back shuv to banks, the spot was christened. After another evening session on the winch and after finding such a fun spot it was going to only lead to one thing.. a return. As we moved into the next phase of the trip the someone turned up the heat and things started dropping. Another early morning set for Mr. Crowhurst taking the first spot on the dock, shredding it up in front of the Loch Lomond tour vessel (never missing an opportunity for a bit of show waking) and making the most of some sweet water. Taylor and Ollie took it upon themselves to shred as hard as possible, more shuvs, big spins, and wake tricks than you can shake a stick at. Our next journey led us back to our newly found spot of fun, this time for some drop action. Winchaholic got the usual first few test runs under his belt without any dramas. Moving on was our first plan after the few hits but one after another, after another after another lead us to making an afternoon of the spot. Oli Oli the navigator might well have taken the winch crown after some filthy hits and a lot of fun later the sun was setting once again. Done with skating outside the team were after a different type of satisfaction so we headed to Unit 23, Scotland’s biggest skate park.. indoors. After nearly breaking Taylor before he got the hang of skating Moore and Reed sessioned the half pipe in guilt after eating a certain fast food chain’s food before hand. Another one bites the dust. A new day and a new dawn on the road trip and time to leave base camp Loch Lomond Wakeboard, Edinburgh and the new Fox Lake site was in our sites. We arrived before their delivery of their brand new System 2.0, there was however an

Lewis

e! r e h e r e w u o Wish y

It’s flippin great here

Rockin in S

Clockwise from top: 1. Ollie’s switch 360, big and clean 2. Ollie Moore flips more than Maccy D’s (Photo: Lewis) 3. Taylor christening the incline at Fox Lake 4. Rural wall ride for Ollie 5. Reed putting in the effort for the log jam

cotland

e k a L Fox

Opposite page: Left. Big popping, mirror 3 shuv, Dell Right. Frontside log jib from Mr Moore

few was ballsy but left it unlanded which led to Oli Oli “full time navigator, part time wakeskater” to take the baton. A couple of hits in and the winch was beginning to become unhappy with it’s situation so a day was called. It remains unlanded. The challenge is still set. incline, a dock, a digger and we brought a Red Bull DJ truck (winch equipped) to the party. Done deal. Arriving to the new spot that had been dug for 60 years and had never seen a board near it was a lot of fun. With some grading work still taking place on the site, a 360 slew (big digger) was on hand for a little jib to christen the waters. Mr. Moore took care of business with a front board jib. Setting up of the incline rail was next ahead of the full christening party took place (Watson, Dell and Moore) slaying it with switch bigs, wall rides and all the shuv offs you could ever want.

Our final day saw a return back across the country to the shores of Loch Lomond for a final shred on the boats and a session on the log jam. With some super low cloud coming in first thing the insane backdrop suddenly turned into some sort of horror movie setting with the cloud ceiling almost touchable the ethereal lake, mirror calm was an epic sight. Not ones to disappoint the boys shredded hard, Watson dropping the cleanest, laziest kickflip you’ll ever see. Taylor boosting a huge 3 shuv way out in the flats and Ollie deciding that he can’t decide what his favourite trick was so did all of them.. don’t worry kids - we filmed it too.

Onward and outwards we left Fox Lake with more action scheduled around Edinburgh in the form of some gaps and drops that had been checked out as potentials. A few more gaps, walks and fence climbs later and we had found another spot. This time a fallen fence in a narrow stretch of river, not huge in itself but the cable running across the top of it made it a worthy ollie. It’s not all about the biggest drop you can find but sometimes the smaller ones are the funner ones. That said, our next destination was big. The Water of Leith waterfall was a formidable 8-10 foot drop with a fairly short run out on relatively fast running waters. After some teeth sucking from the boys the question was raised about how possible it was. Never one to back down from a challenge Taylor took the handle and went and found out. Taking the first

With set of full cameras and memory sticks, tapes and hard drives it was time to make one last ting to do before heading home.. take another detour. Oli Oli was offline either that or a communication error lead to another bonus tour of Glasgow before the drive back to the rainy south. A trip filled with adventure, driving and wakeskating was rounded off with some team notes taken in the car which proved an arduous task for the trip secretary Taylor Dell, who took numerous satisfaction surveys on the road home. Never say no to a road trip, a few mates and some planning will make for good times and plenty of motivation to ride. Get out there, go see new places and meet new people - it’s not an advertisement for a dating site, it’s simply what is out there is good and we have plenty in our lands to keep usall busy. Go explore.

Welcome to

ibiza

showakingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest hit the water in ibiza for a colaboration of wake and the most famous party island in the world...

Johnny Carne recounts what memories he has of Ibiza and the launch of mamboats Words: Johnny Carne Photos: Andrew Eddy

ver the last few years I have been fortunate enough to travel a fair amount with Wakeboarding and I have been on some awesome trips - I have also been on some pretty horrendous excursions involving rain and tents in the middle of butt-f*** nowhere. So when Crowhurst got in touch telling me to get time off work for a trip but with no further details I was skeptical - even more so when he said it was the following week and he would have to wait until a couple of days before the trip to confirm details. When Matt finally stopped being cryptic and weird I managed to ascertain that the trip was to Ibiza for an all expenses paid showaking extravaganza - I knew instantly that this was what I was put on this Earth for; and after a nervous wait for trip confirmation (flights booked on Wednesday 16th - flight out on the 17th) I found my self watching the novelty easy jet safety video accompanied by Matt and Andrew Eddy Syndicate bossman heading to the worlds most renowned party spot.

Storyboard left to right: Laying it out, MC back roll - Johnny Carne is always excited and confused - Another day, another strong coffee and pizza for breakfast - Israel Planas taking it all in (this page) - Feeding time at the zoo - The final photo from the parasailing excursion Carne confused once more Above: High five for the showakers in front of Cafe Mambo Below: This is not a scene from a movie, this is 10 women in a boat cruising around Ibiza

It transpires that Matt was out doing some demos back in 2001 for Radio 1 weekend and had, since then, always wanted to take wakeboarding back out there in some form whether it be freeriding, show-waking, events or of course just for some excuse for booze and general debauchery. The Trip came about by Matt contacting Michael Hardicker at Mastercraft UK looking for an Ibiza connection and as fate had it he had just arranged, through Mastercraft Spain, the sale of two rather majestic Maristar 55’s to Cafe Mambo to be used for luxury charters with the option of waterskiing and wakeboarding behind them too. Mambo’s 2012 opening night was to be on 18th May and to tie in with this they wanted to launch the new luxury charter service known as ‘Cafe Mamboats’. In order to create some more buzz about the launch and to dazzle the crowds it was decided that two extremely good looking and statuesque wakeboarders were needed to perform jaw dropping stunts and whirling derbish maneuvers right in front of crowds on opening night - showake central. When we arrived we were greeted by the man behind Cafe Mamboats Adam Creedy who along with his fiancé Kelly had been working hard to the last minute to make the trip happen -total legends. We went straight to the harbor and out in one of the brand new Mastercraft Maristar’s to get some riding in and work out what tricks we could manage in the slightly choppy conditions and we also met up with Spanish

wakeboarder Israel Planas who said he hadn’t ridden in a few months - first trick raley front edge - double ejection - came up laughing his tits off ; it turns out that Israel, as well as being a class wakeboarder, is a consummate professional at taking car crash-esque stacks providing top entertainment throughout our trip! We then met up with brothers Christian and Alan - owners of Cafe Mambo and general top boys in the San Antonio area. After being treated to steaks and ‘disco chips’ (chips with sauce!) and an endless supply of Mojito’s Alan cracks out a bottle of the infamous Hierbas liqueur and proclaims that the wakeboarding is not important tonight and that we have to leave Ibiza saying that we got smashed and partied like rockstars - the rest of the evening consisted of more Hierbas followed by Moet and some exceptional dance moves - finishing with me passed out hugging a potted plant outside our apartment waiting for Matt and Eddy to navigate themselves through a random construction site somewhere further North on the island.

Above: More super showaking time with this uber laid out tantrum from Johnny Carne in the open seas of Ibiza Below: Not to be out done, JC takes a hoochie ride over MC’s front lip

Nursing slight hangovers we hit the water on Friday to get some footage using a local parasail legend to get some aerial shots - the guy told us that he had only killed 3 people and that they were all accidents - regrettably this was actually true and his inability to control the boat meant that Eddy spent most of the time dangling about 4 foot above the water until he was eventually dunked almost losing all the ankle high footage of me and Matt waving in 4 foot chop - almost a disaster That evening the showake demo went off perfectly with an abundance of raley based tricks accompanied by a plethora of laid out tantrums and scarecrows. This is not the arena for grabbed tricks or any tricks involving a handle pass. After whipping the onlookers into a frenzy we wowed them with our piece de resistance the ‘High Five Raley’ - Harley Clifford take notes. The trip ended with a fairly non - eventful night being treated to VIP entry in the club Es Paridis and me sexually assaulting all the workers in KFC followed by a girl who only got away because she was too heavy for me to carry - lucky girl. If people wonder what the best things about being a wakeboarder are then I can guarantee them that trips like this are what dreams are made of! Thank you so much to all involved and I beg you to have me back in Ibiza for the closing parties! Thanks to my Sponsors - Ultrasport, WMSKI, O’Neill Wetsuits, Bro! Clothing

One to one coaching sessions available, as well as introductory sessions for beginners, or you can simply have a session riding with some friends. With two system 2.0 systems and 8 UNIT obstacles including a pipe rail, 3 kickers, and rooftop you’ll have plenty of options.

Find us on Facebook to see our progress: ‘Hannam’s Wake Hub’ www.hannamswakehub.com

THE RELENTLESS

BANTER BUS 1 VAN, 5 RIDERS, 5 DAYS, LOTS OF FUN Words: Matt Crowhurst Photos: Andrew Eddy

’m really quite drained! Yes, driving for any length of time will deplete the energy cells but I’m used to being on the road a lot so it’s not this alone. A few hours of riding every day for four days on the trot will most definitely take it out of you but it’s my body that feels this kind of exersion and this doesn’t account for my present mental state. Few nights on the bevvies and at least two very big nights indeed will certainly kick you in the nether regions when it comes to energy levels but, once again, there is more to it. The kind of empty, hollow, ‘want to crawl under a rock and keel over’ emotions coursing through me right now come from something else, something altogether more non-descript. Perhaps this brief outline of our Relentless road trip through Holland and Germany and the extended words after may help capture the essence of my present situation; One rather large Relentless tour bus, five days of tarmac time taking us through Holland and Germany sessioning some rather awesome cable parks and every feasible video and stills recording device known to man in place to document the adventure. The crew of six lads, and here’s the rub, consisted of four Relentless team riders, one team rider stand-in and one Syndicate Mag editor. Of these six, three had not long been back from Ibiza, therefore energy reserves were low from the get-go. Three were very much singletons, two of those already disappointed at their sarging prowess in Ibiza. The other three betrothed men would spend much of their time giving abuse for the inexplicably poor attempts of afore mentioned batchelors’ to ensnare the ladies. One group member, perhaps he in charge of trip, would receive constant abuse from start to finish for rather inexcusably aiming to manage certain things such as getting to places within the rough time frame outlined in the schedule for the trip, not coating the inside of the bus in as much rubbish and debris as possible, help with tent erection, snapping and filming of the actual wakeboarding and so on. One crew member felt it necessary to talk constantly, for 5 days straight, the content of his chat consisting of nothing short of complete and utter inane, ‘relentless’ b!*#!cks. Two out of the six would attempt to join in the constant stream of abuse aimed in all directions with less than average results which, in turn, would always lead to the banter being aimed firmly back at them. One of the six would be named Dolphin boy by a local following his drunken verbal communication with the outside world being limited to very poor imitations of dolphin noises. Throw in the odd ‘passing out in the toilets’, sleeping outside tents, getting picked off dancefloors and escorted away from dance area (several times in one night), minesweeping drinks filled with cigarette butts and you may start to get the picture. Oh, and not forgetting the most random, inappropriate nonsensical chat that I’m finding really hard to explain and the setting for our story is as complete as I’ll ever be able to fathom – welcome to the Banter Bus! You’d be forgiven for thinking that there wasn’t much focus on wakeboarding and skating

Clockwise from far left: 1. All aboard the banter bus! First stop - Holland 2. Crail poke out the pipe with Playboy crew on hand 3. Signature Hoochie for Johnny Carne 4. Young Lad destroying another flat bar with this back lip nose press 5. Crowie strutting his stuff with this back board, 270 shuv out 6. Steeze filled melon 3 burger for LDB

Clockwise from top left: 1. Matt pressing the pipe at The Bricks 2. Brothers in arms.. 3. Johnny steezing a front board on the handrail 4. Young Lad showing how things are done, in a rental jacket 5. LDB pushing the nose hard at The Bricks 6. Switch back board nose for Jonty in the evening sun

throughout from that little intro. Considering the crew’s reason for hitting the road I don’t think we could really be forgiven for not focussing on our water time which is why, in and around all the rather inexplicable activity throughout our time on the road, there was some of the most fun times I and the rest of the crew have every had on the water at a handful of Europe’s best cable parks. Late Wednesday night, before we’ve even contemplated setting off from LDB’s house – the base of operations for many trips such as these – we were a passport down. Having been the most organised out of anyone in getting his kit packed on to the tour bus nice and early, Jonty only realised at about 11pm, four hours before the planned departure that he’d rather cannily left his passport at home in Banbury. So, off he pops leaving me to continue sorting, LDB and James to cosy up in front of film, Johnny to catch some shut eye in Eddy’s car while Eddy chose the Thames Court car park, just next to his car as the perfect place for a couple of hours kip. Jonty made it, we got packed, on the road and on to our Channel Tunnel train with minimal stress. Whether the crew liked it or not, we did have a schedule to keep and as the person in charge of keeping out tour to some kind of schedule, it was quite early on in the trip that the abuse started. Pretty much from the moment we set off. The constant abuse that we all received, all be it I more than others, included plentiful amounts of playground name calling. Steven Stressington and/or Stressington Bear are rather tame examples of what was thrown in my direction, and far more PG than the majority of the many cruel names given. Any kind of alliteration worked well with banter and by adding ‘…ington Bear’ to, well, most things in any sentence to emphasize something, coming from a conversation digression into the pros and cons of Paddington Bear, it seemed to add that much more weight to the insult. With just three hours under our belt through France, Belgium and Holland we were lakeside in the blistering heat at Down Under Cable, Utrecht situated just 30 minutes outside Amsterdam. The awesome facilities and just as importantly, incredible atmosphere comes down to the way the place is run and as it’s all headed up by Sjors Van De Kerkhof, a pretty bloody handy, boat, cable and rail rider himself, it’s no surprise that the setup is out and out a riders cable. Sjors, as always, hooked us up a treat with free riding on the cable and all the time we wanted on the System 2.0 set-up running right along the main cable. The Teva Blue Line, as it’s called, is a pretty unique set-up when it comes to System 2.0 parks. While there are more of it’s ilk popping up throughout Europe now, Teva’s vision came in the form of no small investment at the start of 2011 with UNIT flatbar, incline, spine kicker, one of the first Quarter Pipes in situ permanently alongside the S2 itself, all when there was very little else around that matched up. Yet again, Teva with Sjors and his team, were hosts with the most and not only did we get to ride all day getting our tan on in the Dutch sun, but we had a bit of shoot for Playboy Holland as well. Of course, we were all hoping to be splashing around with various bunnies from the mag but instead we had the pleasure of teaching one of their journo’s, Marcel, to wakeboard along with his Mrs and the mag’s photographer. They were cool crew, loved their time on the water and we all got to smash ourselves up on the quarter pipe trying to get ‘that shot’. It has to be said that considering Young and Jonts were hitting it for the first time they dialled straight in. Johnny and LDB came away relatively unscathed. You wouldn’t have guessed, however, that I’d hit this very pipe a couple of times before, by the state of my bashed in, now extremely malformed elbows. Young actually took a beasting for his efforts too but did come away with one of the best shots of the whole trip.

Some rather fat burgers later, over looking the lake and the huge inland public beach with many a reveller lapping up the sun, we simply did not have enough energy to session the standing wave. Yes, they have a wave machine there too. So, the love bus was loaded up and we hit Ultrecht for a bit of ‘site seeing’, a drink or two in the park before Young got behind the wheel for the four hour trek to Wasserski Langenfeld, Germany. That was one mightily eventful road trip. Once again, Sergeant Stressington Staines had to get on everyone’s case reminding them that our tents certainly weren’t pitched, sat in a park in Ultrecht a good four hours away from Langenfeld at roughly 10.30 at night. With many a grumble later and many a scary moment on the way back to the van watching LDB getting to grips with skateboarding on busy main roads, we were off. Young and LDB did a sterling job up front while those of us who had been drinking rocked out with some quite skilful air drums and guitar for four hours straight. James and Lee swiftly repaid us for our annoying antics by throwing their pop up tent out of the truck to see it erect with minimal stress, pile themselves in, sleeping bags and kit inside, zip themselves in and leave us to a melee of tents that made literally no sense whatsoever, in the early hours of the morning with minimal light or sober comprehension to aid the pitching effort. I’ll also add at this point our three blithering batchelors were/are generally about as much use as petrol in a diesel engine and twice as annoying, when it comes to anything logistical. Three hours later we were in uncomfortably in bed! Dripping with sweat and sleeping bags welded to our persons it was about time to see what the biggest cable site on the planet had to offer. It was a first time for us all at Langenfeld and while we’d all been told of this parks insane level of facilities, descriptions we’d heard up until that point really didn’t do it any justice. Think ‘ski resort, come beach holiday, inland’; that’s the best possible description! Four cables, a plethora of the best obstacles you could hope to have at one site never mind on everyone of the four cables here. Bars, restaurants, System 2.0, camping area, multiple beaches, awesome pro shop huge swimming area across 50 acres of lush rolling parkland. In short, a wakeboarders wet dream! Langenfeld is owned by the Suess family who have more than a big part to play in the annals of the German wake scene! Grandfather Suess (to the youngens that are now pretty much running the place alongside the rest of the family) excavated the land back in 76, put up the first cable and away they went. It’s no secret that wakeboarding is popular in Germany. As a predominantly land locked country apart from a small stretch of the northern coastline, the only way the countries inhabitants can get their equivalent to our seaside excursions is by finding some fresh water to laze by. Well, this fact hasn’t been ignored and across the entire country are a multitude of lakes catering for just such days out, bringing the beach lifestyle to the people. Add to this a cable park on many of these lakes/come country parks and you not only have an awesome day out, but an entire nation more than familiar with the sport of wakeboarding. Langenfeld has led the charge on this front for a very long time and now we see why. Over the course of the weekend, thousands piled through the gate simply to soak up some rays, cool off in the water, drink and dine shore side, all with the backdrop of various water dancing exploits on the cables surrounding them. Our first bout of water time in Germany wasn’t going to be a warm up toe dipping exercise, throwing ourselves straight at the System 2.0 park onsite, including the raised pool, stair set used at last years Wake The Line and the new, improved and much larger UNIT quarter pipe. A good amount of elbow bashing later plus some tidy manoeuvres from the crew on all obstacles and it was time to move on to our next venue for the arvo - The Bricks. Both Langenfeld and The Bricks are situated in mid-west Germany right between the cities of Dusseldorf and Cologne. A half hour drive, even more banter, and I’m ashamed to say, plentiful amounts of hollering at any female with in eyeshot of us and we arrive at yet another altar at the church of Wake, surrounded by a testament to how the Germans simply do it right. At the heart of a huge sporting complex consisting of Olympic rowing lakes, smaller boating lakes, athletics tracks, football stadiums and public parks in every direction is a cable site that has been around a good while. Once again, the cable or, cables I should say, sit as the focal point for all sunshine revellers of every age as they enjoy a day out in a park that we’d all be more than happy with, regardless of the boarding facilities included. The Bricks has been around since the 80s as well, was once a full size, rectangular cable of the old

school design and guess what, it is the Suess’ behind this wee set-up as well. Lukas Suess, cousin of Flo, Benni and the rest of the Langenfeld crew, runs the show, alongside his family. As one of world’s best wakeskaters he more than understands what makes a cable park work and it shows. They started from scratch last year, tearing the cable down, splitting the lake down the middle but not before draining it and concreting all the obstacles into the lake bed, hence ‘The Bricks’. Two hexagonal cables were installed with pinpoint precision around the pre-placed obstacles and the result is non stop rail riding fun! Thank you Lukas for hooking us up. Back to Langenfeld to join the 500 or so riders/campers/party people that were all in place by now for this ‘WakeUp Party Weekend’ where boarders descended upon the park from across the country to get hooked up with non stop riding all weekend on any of the cables, camping, breakfast, the option of pro coaching and a good few nights of party. We stocked up on supplies and got semi loose but nothing too crazy. There were still two days of it to go after all!

Clockwise from top left: 1. Camp Relentless enjoying some down time after some afternoon sessions. 2. More obstacles than an Army assault course, Langenfeld has them all. MC, switch back lip 3. James taking a different approach to the pool rail 4. Young Lad showing how things are done, in a rental jacket 5. LDB taking a ride on ‘The Wall’ at Langenfeld 6. Jonty makes short work of this front board tail press Saturday was all hands on deck once again at the System 2.0 set up because the following day would see the last in the three stop series of Wake The Line Qualifiying events, each of which offering four spots in the main event, taking place the following week. With the two US stops done, it was the last chance saloon for a lot of riders from Germany and further afield, making this qualifying event the most subscribed and the most hotly contested by far. This showed from very early on throughout practice. If you take the UK as an example of how far obstacle proficiency has come in the past two to three years where we have a decent number of more than handy rail and obstacle riders. Well, this can easily be attributed to the increase in obstacles at every cable and S2 park in the UK. So what would happen if you had a hundred times the number of obstacles across ten times the number of cables. You’d get the level of riding we were paying witness to this weekend courtesy of the wakeboard infrastructure across Germany and all of Europe.

From the S2 we ventured out into the wonderment of Langenfeld and by this time the cues on every cable were really quite something else. It was the first really hot weekend of the year, it was also a big bank holiday weekend, there were 500+ rider/campers on site plus all the other cable members and so the outcome was only ever going to be cues. Such is the efficiency of our Germanic counter-parts, those cues still didn’t last forever. All cables were set to automatically ping you off at three laps, which while annoying was the only way the place could function. Some cables were busier than others so we just floated around sampling it all. After a break, the borrowing of a rather large trolley to transport boards, skates, cameras, esky and an Eddy around the park, we were set for another outing. Johnny had written off riding in the evening bout, both him and Eddy had Saturday night fever in mind from early on such are their hormones. So we shoved cameras in their hands – should have told Johnny how to work the 7D - a selection of beers and pre-mixed ones at their feet and left them to it on the dock of one of the back cables with just a handful of other boarders and skiers getting a sunset session in.

Clockwise from top left: 1. LDB does not stop pushing or pressing, over poke front board tail 2. Rock and Roll all the way through. MC, rock to fakie 3. Young Lad taking the preferred approach with this front board 90 out 4. Not just a funny mouth. Carne with a solid back lip 5. Jonty pokes out a chunky indy backside 3 6. On the road again in the Banter Bus.. this time destination - home.

One of the older cables we’re assuming as it was a rectangular four corner set-up, slalom course down the back, flatbar, kicker, box and S-rail on the first straight. The S-rail session we had was definitely my personal favourite of the trip. A weird rail to get right but when you do it is the sweetest sensation. There was doubles riding for a bit of Contour action and after half an hour of playing, snapping and filming Eddy and Johnny decided to go kneeboard crazy for a couple of laps. Then it was all aboard the trolley transport back to the showers giving into the continual whining about from James about us not showering. His insistence on us all going together and him watching to make sure we showered properly was concerning to say the least. From here on in things started to go a little awry. We did buy quite substantial amounts of alcohol to get our evening started back at the banter bus. We did spend quite a lot of time there, perhaps too long. There was the same non stop ‘lad’ banter about all the usual, including plenty of recanting the wise words of ‘The Game’ – if you haven’t read it, you need to. It’s safe to say we were ready for a jolly good night. So, from the moment we ended up at the bar, Eddy chatting up a local Mum and daughter combo, Jonty getting straight into his Dolphin impressions, Johnny telling me I was being too ‘grabby’ with Lee and James waiting in the wings should any help be needed, we were well set for an eventful one. Never has a cable building been put to such good use than at this particular Langenfeld shin dig. OK, so they need a big building on the dock because they are so busy all the time, but with all wake related ornaments swept to one side, a DJ booth materializing in the rafters, ready made podiums lining the walls, dancing on barriers, hanging from steel girders, mobile cocktail bars outside and one well and truly rammed house of some very enthused people it was literally one of the best lakeside soiree’s we’ve partied at. Somehow, after some leg aching and voice wrecking dancing and vocals later, Young-blood and I were the last ones left standing. Luckily, I had a tent to myself when we got back to our car park campsite – yeah, we couldn’t be bothered to pitch our tents on the actual campsite – because Johnny had gone AWOL. On to the Sunday of fun. Well, not so much considering it was contest time and heads weren’t where they should be. As far as contests go though, this one was up there. A ready made beachy amphitheater surrounded the S2 park and a full house of spectators. Who else but Australian German local Clint Liddy was on the Mic keep the masses informed, I hit my judging duties joined by Eddy on camera. So it was left to Young, LDB, Jonty and Johnny to throw down against some of the best rail riders in the world – 40 in total – to secure one of the four qualifying spots. Not easy but going on the way the boys had been riding, certainly not out of reach. Perhaps, the three days of solid riding had taken it out of them. Maybe the night before took it out of all of us but LDB was not his usual silky self on the rails and Young missed getting through to the next round by a whisker. Judging heats of 10 to pick out the top four is not easy but riding in those heats would have been even harder. Johnny, rode good and while I’m sure he’ll admit that his high end riding has for the most part been focussed on the wake, he killed it on a technical course against some serious tech riding! Jonty was hanging in there for the Brits though, squeezing through to the semis. Come that next round to make the final of 10 he needed something special on the stair-set and more of the same on the rest of the course. Boosting a huge melon grabbed air off the pipe and a meaty backside indy 180 off the kicker just wasn’t enough where others were killing it out of the pool. Jump ahead a good few riders into a final that was rather insane, Nate Perry, Steph Vollert (who went on to score third at Wake The Line), Ollie Breumland and Philipp Turba making up the final four through to WTL 2012. It was a long hot baking day in the sun for the event, some quite jaw draggingly impressive riding and still another night on the sauce before we were homeward bound. It’s safe to say that by the time we got back to the rather smelly, stained and rubbish filled sanctity of camp Relentless, with a veritable Apple store of film watching on the go, full energy cell depletion was complete. Having not anticipated quite fully the lack of enthusiasm for another night of it earlier on in the day, we proceeded to stock up on more party starting juices of all kinds. Perhaps it’s the Meerkat, on ‘tippy-toes’ alert mentality of those not so betrothed that just keeps them plugging away at social shenanigans but LDB, James and myself could simply not keep our eyes open. A few episodes of Californication later and we were hitting the hay. A fair few beers, jaegers and whatever else later and the thriving threesome were off, almost never to be seen again had it not been for our new Danish friends finding one of them in the toilet passed the F out! Eddy eventually located the porch to his tent, Johnny found the porch to our tent, Jonty located some grass cannily situated in and around our enclave and that crowning glory of their last night. An deconstruct of our campsite equal to the frustrations of the construction phase followed. LDB and James rather satisfyingly at odds with the popping down of their pop up number. We added another to our flock for the ride home in the form of Ben Howells and while the back of the bus/petri dish of shame and regret that had festered all weekend only worsened with alcohol sweats and verbal abuse, James and I found fresh air solitude up front, a good six hours of travel ahead before we could cleanse ourselves of this amazing, painful, beautiful, dirty weekend! Do go out to Germany and Holland on a wakeboard road trip! Do get a big old bus to travel in with a cluster of good time Charlie wakeboard fans! Do embrace the banter while ridiculing those that have none! Do take baby wipes, bin liners, air freshner and chewing gum! Do take your own ‘one man’ tent!

The launch of the Syndicate Wake Hot Spot series saw riders of all ages and abilities take on the Obrien Transfer Box at Box End Park. With an early start to the season, kicking things at end of March was a bold move and from a cold start the Hot Spot saw a welcome crowd session the box for four hours. A host of names and rookies alike took to proving what was what in an attempt to be crowned the first Hot Spot victor. From the outset there were a few stand out hits from the local crew and the likes of Ben Hitch smashing out transfers and boned wall rides for fun. A few of the younger BEP riders such as Tom Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Cruze were keen on the title and after nothing less than an action packed first half we were still without a clear winner. it was at this point that Jonty Green decided to take it upon himself to step things up a notch. After a few quiet laps Jonty boosted a tantrum over the whole obstacle from the on

ramp to past the down ramp of the A-frame. Our attention was held. A couple of attempts later and the waterborne ninja boosts a chunky indy tantrum to blind over the gap, landing backlip - 90 out to complete the most insane transfer you will ever see! Aside from the technicality of the trick the coconuts required to throw it are an entirely different matter. Matt Burns meanwhile was holding things down for the skaters meanwhile and being a connoisseur of the no binding variety took a fairly convincing victory with a variety of shuvs over, and across the box and spine but finally nailing the coffin shut with a 3 shuv over the hip. Decx Clifford, Scotty Broome, Kurt Graham were all on hand throughout the afternoon all pitching for the title. With Decx boosting some huge transfers and glides off and over the box while Kurt and Scotty B steezed out on the wall ride, it was strong but sadly not enough to take away the title.

Stop 2 of the series saw a return to the south for a round at Liquid Wake Park on their freshly delivered Pipe Rail. A fairly new addition to most peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rail conquests, the pipe was going to take some mastering and without too much time for practice ahead of the competition it was an open book for everyone. The initial stages were taken up largely with a few wobbly hits here and there from most riders before finding their groove and conquering the new style obstacle. Charlotte Bryant and Steph Caller were battling hard (without perhaps knowing it) for an edge on the top, however it may well have been her unceasing lap after lap that got it tuned in - Steph took top spot for the girls with some super boned out front board, 90 outs among others. Wakeskating also saw an elevated drive in round two, Ollie Moore and Taylor Dell going lap for lap with Taylor driving hard for a bigger spin off the pipe while Ollie taking things differently with a side on approach and ollie on front boards all the

way, front board to revet was the first hammer then finally taking the spot with front board 90 shuv out, clean as a whistle. The wakeboarders were all still fighting hard for it and with some of the LWP regulars all taking a shot at the title with some notable appearances from Mark Molinaro amongst others - it was all to play for. With some 270 on and off variations there was not a lot to be held between a handful of the riders. With Jonty Green making another appearance but not having anything to do an invert over he was less of a threat. This time it was Scotty Broomeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s turn to shine. Taking no notice of the on ramp and taking things as they should be ollieing straight onto the top of the rail, nose press to back 180 out sealed the deal for the Aussie import leaving some close runner ups yet still setting the tone for the rail riders around the spot. Another storming session and a heap of improvement from the riders throughout demonstrated what the Hot Spot is all about. More riders, more involvement and more fun. Simple.

Hot Spot Round Three saw the Syndicate team descend on Wake MK on for session on the WAKEMK rail which is a sturdy test of skill for riders of all levels. We saw some solid performances early on in the session from Lottie and Tom Harbottle both slaying it with decent end to end hits and some backboard 3 out from Tom. Local Will Manns was next on the water showing full well why Slingshot have just picked him, front boarding the mighty WakeMK rail is no mean feat, put that together with a huge ollie on to front board on the flat section was looking like the victory might be in his sights.. However, things do not always turn out how they may seem. With a couple of the riders taking a fall, nothing seemed awry when the cable stopped not long into the session. This is something that is not uncommon and can happen for any number of reasons so no alarm bells were ringing in our heads just yet. Not until our attentions were caught by the WakeMK cable operators sprinting to the aid of a fallen rider on the dock. Within just a couple of seconds they were tending to the cardiac victim with CPR, the whole dock around him suddenly turned into emergency mode. People took to their stations and their Emergency Action Procedures were executed with military grade efficiency. The help of another local rider and surgeon; Jen Isherwood was immediately on hand to help keep our fallen friend alive. Thirty five minutes later and concern was high and the mood was desperate,

however with continued work from the crew and ambulance team the man was safely wheeled off to the ambulance. He survived. He survived not least because of a well trained team of staff around him and some luck to be in the right place in the right time when a disaster took place. This event showed more about the type of people that we have around our community, the people in our wake environment on a day to day basis. There are great people amongst us, we are all in this together because we love it the same. A lot of training is undertaken by all of our cable sites and operators to keep the sport safe. This terrible thing that happened showed the best of many people and those people are part of the community and the spirit of our sport. In respect to our downed man, we halted the Hot Spot immediately without question and will not be awarding the title to anyone just yet.. we will however be returning to WakeMK for the series finale in September. This is an arduous sport and incidents like this can happen at any time and in any location. Witnessing these events it highlights the importance knowing basic first aid and CPR. Learning it by a going on a short course is the least we can do and hopefully will never have to use it, but as we saw - without it you maybe without a friend.

CONFIRMED HOTSPOT DATES BOX END PARK - OWNED - JONTY GREEN, MATT BURNS LIQUID WAKE PARK - OWNED - SCOTTY BROOME, OLLIE MOORE WAKEMK - SUSPENDED WMSKI - 20TH JULY 5-9PM HANNAM’S WAKE HUB - 28TH JULY 12-4PM CLUB WAKE PARK - 11TH AUGUST 12-4PM WAKE UP DOCKLANDS - 25TH AUGUST 12-4PM LAGOON WAKE PARK - 9TH SEPTEMBER 2:30-6:30PM FESTIVAL WAKE PARK - 15TH SEPTEMBER 12-4PM FINALS AT WAKEMK - 22ND SEPTEMBER 12-4PM

Eddy

S D N U O R G Y A PL

Hip-notics

james young takes us on a whirlwind tour of hip-notics in turkey, one of the hottest cable destinations in Europe Words: James Young Photos: James Young and Jamie Smith

t the beginning of the Season I traveled to Turkey to see my bros Jamie Smith, Baris Ozoral to Turkey to get some rinding in before the season hits. Whilst I was there we shot early in the morning and evenings a lot to capture the amazing sunset that Antalya has. I’m going to give you a run down of Hipnotics as I love this place a lot and can’t wait to head back there. Since opening in 2008 Hip-notics Cable Park has become the first choice for Wakeboarding Holidays in Europe. Located 30 minutes from Antalya airport the park boasts three man-made lakes and accommodation for 50 people with plans to double it within the next two years. The main cable has six obstacles and two kickers which are currently being updating to keep the layout fresh. There is a beginner lake running at slower speeds to cater for those who are not comfortable on the main cable and a third lake with a pair of Little Bro’s for invert practice. More recently Hip-notics have used the third lake to provide pro coaching from the likes of myself, Freddy Von Austin, Nick Davies along with Jamie Smith there as the resident coach for the 2012 season. The coaching has proved to be a real hit with the visitors this year with many people returning already this season to learn more tricks. As such they plan to expand this further going forwards.

During the summer the climate is stable in the mid to late 30’s with water temperatures of around 27 degrees. But the peak seasons tend to be spring and autumn when things are getting a little cooler in Europe. On site facilities also include a hot tub, a sauna, massage, beach volley ball and a games room. Off site there are many other attractions within a short drive such as gokarting, water parks, Turkish baths, clubbing and shopping to name a few. The park provides nightly excursions to these attractions but there is also car hire available should you want it. The general feeling of the place is really chilled. There are beanbags and day beds located all around the lake, which creates a really relaxing environment when you are not riding. It is a popular destination for amateurs on holiday and pro’s training alike… you never know who is going to be there during your stay but you are likely to be sharing the cable with some of the world’s best. The evenings are very relaxing with beautiful sunsets over the mountains making a great backdrop for those post-ride drinks. They even provide a projector for viewing movies or showing footage from the days riding, which is played out on the roof of the huge canopy over the restaurant area. The kitchen provides healthy home-cooked meals with the right combination of carbs, protein and greens to suit an active holiday. From this you can see why I love going back there, I’ll be back soon!

Eddy Left page: Top: Another day, another banging evening at Hip-Notics Lower left: James Young taking in the sun with this melon off axis 180 Lower right: Jamie Smith enjoying a sunset session This page: Top: Tail nosebone for Young Lad in the Turkish sun Above: Tuskish evening adventures Above right: Classic Turkish scenery Right: Young back lip on the nose

Mystic big air at festival wake park

The newest wake park in the country teamed up with mystic to hold their first ever competition. put together some of the ukâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest riders, an oversize cable and the best comp format you can get and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll understand what made this event a spectacle. Words: Andrew Eddy Photos: Jake Lewis

The Mystic Big Air was not your average cable competition, often they can be a little on the long side of life and leave you watching and waiting for riding for larger parts of your time. This is necessary sometimes but in this case action and impact was much higher in the agenda. The format of normal competition was scrapped in favour of the jam format with riders getting two or three runs (two riders on the water at all times) to lay down their best trick off of the kickers at Festival Wake Park. In front of a large crowd fresh from the huge shopping complex there was more than just the prize on the line - pride was at stake too. The riders from both the amateur and pro section all stepped up to the plate and with flexible format there was plenty of big tricks going down in all directions.

The amateur riders headed out first for their battle and with some of the new locals at Festival very keen for some healthy competition and a big crowd to impress - entries were not short. Perhaps one of the youngest competitors was Matt Muncey, smashing out some solid hits and eventually taking third in the amateur division behind his much senior rivals with Tom Brooks and Bal Sido (other Festival locals) coming first and second respectively. A worthy mention must go out to some of the riders sporting Jubilee attire including a flag attached to a board in honour of the weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebrations.. gotta love a bit of dress up or board pimping opportunities. Next out the gates were the pros and with a very strong lineup including Lewis Cornwall, Cain Hamilton, Nick Davies, James Young, Tim Woodhead

Clockwise from Essex: Nick Davies enjoying some after comp time at Festival Board Sports Above: Cain Hamilton charging hard for a 1080 off the Hyperlite kicker Above left: Amateurs and Pros alike are welcome to battle it out at the Mystic Pro Am Far left: Lewis Cornwall charging with an oriental glide

among many others - it was going to hell of a battle. The kickers were set and the crowd watched in anticipation of what was to come. Most have probably never seen wakeboarding on this level and to take it to a new audience is a great thing and also a great responsibility - you don’t want to be giving them the wring impression of our great sport. The crowd were not disappointed, it rapidly turned into a mobe and spin fest. Cain, Lewis and Nick were taking no prisoners and the friends on the dock were now head to head. All three were throwing down nothing less than 9’s all the way with Cain coming too close to landing a 1080 off the Hyperlite kicker. Lewis and Young demonstrated they were not to be put down and both hit some bangers, Lewis taking prisoners on the spin front and Young going for an all out mobe attack. It

was however a certain Mr. Davies who turned up the heat. You’d be forgiven for thinking that a Mystic rider at a Mystic event on a Hyperlite kicker was a favourite - not true. You would not be forgiven for not giving him the first prize for the biggest and probably cleanest switch toe 1080 you will ever see. Having witnessed a few 10’s they never stop giving you the wow factor but this was beyond that. To say that the crowd enjoyed it may well be the understatement of the century and without a doubt Nick enjoyed it as it took him to eventual top spot in the competition. Following the display of awesomeness was the opening drinks and celebrations for both the full launch of Festival Wake Park as well and Festival

Board Sports, the new and fully stocked on site shop at Festival Wake Park. It is as you would imagine your ideal shop, it’s big, it’s got music, it’s got a chill zone, it’s got a heap of all the best kit you would want to find in Santa’s grotto and probably more toys than Santa himself. A few cheeky after comp beverages in the shop always makes for a good atmosphere and with a fair number of people still hanging out on the banks of the lake it was a great end to a killer comp. Not often you get to say that, but for once it is true. Long live the Mystic Pro Am - see you next year. Results: Pros: 1. Nick Davies 2. James Young 3. Lewis Cornwall Amateurs: 1. Tom Brooks 2. Bal Sido 3. Matt Muncey

Top left: Nick Davies hitting a huge indy backside 180 Top: Festival Wake and Board Sports crew with the pro podium Middle: Amateur podium preparing to spray an escaping Nik Green Bottom: Pro podium popping off

KickďŹ&#x201A;ip / Evan Gambetta / Reed Watson / Southern California, USA Seat belt frontside roll to revert / Oliver Breumlund / Andrew Eddy / Langenfeld, Germany 270 on to back lip nose / Nate Perry / Andrew Eddy / Langenfeld, Germany Front board pipe jib / Steve Dyer / Ben Hannam / Hannamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wake Hub, Cambridge Backside air over the wall / Shane Bonifay / Alex Gardiner / Montpellier, France 74

MO4 “BAD” The MO4 Bad series has arrived. MO4 Wakeboards are the latest brand out of Europe with a small but dedicated lineup of wakeboards, and related products. The BAD is their pro spec board which features an infinity rocker (3-Stage). This is very aggressive and gives awesome pop. The board does feature a fairly wide middle and a v-spine that runs down the base. These two features create a super stable and easy to ride board that is really soft in the landings and easy to control. The Bad has four moulded in fins towards the edges for power turns and control, and two central fins that can be removed or replaced with different sized fins depending on your riding style. This wakeboard is designed to perform just as well in the wakepark and behind the boat. The Bad has a hybrid rail, which features a rolled edge in the central section for better wear on the sliders and less edge catch, and then it tapers back off to a standard edge towards the tips for better carve hold in turns. • • • • • • • •

Available in 3 sizes: 134, 138, 142 3-Stage Rocker V-spine base Moulded in ﬁns 2 removable center ﬁns Slider Base Hybrid rolled edges Flat Top design

Slingshot SP wakesurfer Hand shaped by Tony Logosz, Slingshot’s all NEW SP 5’0” and 5’4” Wakesurfers offer the control and stability of a longboard with the agility and performance of a short-board. Featuring a variable tucked hard rail for added bite in the aggressive turning pocket, double concave with an aggressive V spine through the tail for looser transition from edge to edge, and a large volume profile, these boards provide unmatched performance for any level of wakesurfing.

CTI Knee brace

OSHEA 3.2 SWELL SHORTIE Perfect for those summer sessions! In a no compromise design, we have generated a 360 anotomical ﬁt, combined with ONLY the very best materials. Made exclusively from 100% limestone based neoprene, the ultimate in stretch warmth, ﬁt and durability As with all O’shea wetsuits we use only the highest grade neoprene throughout each suit.

So, you’re recovering from injury and possibly surgery, or you love your ligaments the way they are and want to protect them… how can CTi help you get back on your board? CTi’s claim to fame is a rigid frame and non-elastic straps for top performance. Together they create maximum stabilisation for the knee and prevent those excessive movements that can lead to ligament injury. CTi’s superiority over alternative systems is borne out by thousands of satisfied sports people, as well as top surgeons and associated knee specialists. A patented four-bar linkage hinge system means the CTi accurately mimics the natural movement of the knee which allows a wide range of motion, meaning you’ll still be able to perform your favourite tricks, while a mesh fabric coated with super skin-friendly Sensil® Silicone creates a breathable padding system for the CTi, virtually eliminating migration and keeping the brace firmly in position. No matter which ligaments you have injured, or want to protect from injury, the CTi can help. It also supports against cartilage damage. Properly fitted, the brace can help prevent the small twisting movements in the knee and prevent the ligaments from moving excessively.

Hyperfreak XT2 Shorts The X-Static® silver material, known for its an timicrobial, anti-odor and all-natural properties, has previously only been used as a medical product. X-Static®: Kills Bacteria & Fungi X-Static®: Destroys Odor O’Neill are the first to make use of its unique benefits and bring them into a boardshort. The result is a lightweight fully stretch boardshort with the added benefit of protecting you from bacteria and fungi as well as any odors.

Fox - Deadstock shorts • Fox Deadstock Boardshorts pretty much speak for themselves with an awesome all-over print made up of an amalgam of old-school • Fox logos all on super comfortable and super durable Mech Stretch fabric. • Mech-Stretch fabric offers 4-way stretch that stretches up to 107% of its original length. • Secure fit stays on the waist with concealed Micro Rigid Tape sewn in the top of the soft lined waistband. • Progressive fit offers slimmer fit that sits at knee with tapered leg opening. • Scoop hem at front seam prevents shorts from catching on the knee. • Detachable wax comb in side zip pocket. • Velcro fly and drawstring waist. • 100% polyester mech stretch.

Triplefin Shorts Protest High Performance Protest brings a high performance men’s boardshort line this summer with all the features you need for a killer day of surfing. Three different models with features like strategically placed 2-way stretch for ultimate freedom of movement, Dobby fabric to prevent rash, mesh panels for comfort and lightness and a ultra flat lace closure to keep your shorts where they belong. Sounds good? Ask your local Protest reseller for the Triplefin, Blacktip, or Fishstick boardshort.

2012 Mystic Empire 3/2 Long Arm Shorty Mystic have now got a kick ass reputation for bring some sick looking suits to the wake market and mixing things up a bit, and the Empire range doesn’t disappoint. This graphic is available in full suit or long arm shorty as well as junior suits. The long arm shorty is made from Mystic’s all new super stretchy neoprene they have introduced for 2012. This makes the suit lightweight and flexible for all your summer shredding. The tattoo graphic will make you stand out on the water as you own that new trick, so for those posers out there go for green or red, for those of you who might want to shy away from the attention a little the black adds a touch of class to your set up.

2012 CWB Prizm Boot Something new for the cable monkeys in 2012 from CWB, all about making getting in and out easily without compromising support and comfort. The Prizm boot comes in 2 parts, the outer boot gives support and is attached to the boot with the lightweight Gen6 plate. Then the internal neoprene shoe which keeps you toasty and warm in all weathers as well as making the walk around the cable a little more bearable with all the mud and gravel etc. Then put the 2 parts together and you a boot that performs just as well as any conventional closed toe boot, so the Prizm gives you flexibility and ease of use with a price tag way below anything similar on the market.

Teva Mush Frio Lace Ion-Mask Shoe A ﬂip-ﬂop you can wear all year-round there's an idea! That's exactly what's been created with the Teva Mush Frio Lace Ion-Mask Shoe. At 154 grams per shoe, you'll barely feel them on your feet. The Mush construction means that you'll enjoy maximum comfort as well. Finally, the shoes can be smashed down to pack inside even the smallest of carry-on bags; forget paying overweight luggage fees...

Straightline Henshaw Pro series • SL Pro Series End Cap: Injection molded nylon plastic end cap that prevents handle roll • Lash Guard: Molded inner section of endcap keeps your hands free of handle lash • 4mm Dyneema Leader: Lightweight, Dyneema leader line, no stretch • Oval Grip Diameter: Oval grip with EVA backed UltraSuede grip material • T6-6061 Aluminum Bar: No ﬂex, no bend, lightweight bar extrusion with built in floats • SL Pro “Y” Connect: Spliced leader line with no stretch connection, molded with Straightline Logo

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O T W O H

TACKLE OBSTACLES with Richie Hiney

Any modern day cable is almost guaranteed to have an obstacle of some kind. In the past 10 years there have been a massive influx of obstacles of all shapes and sizes. Whether you are thinking about hitting an obstacle for the first time, having trouble reaching the end of a rail, landing heavy off the kicker or wanting to progress then this simple set of rules and guidelines is what you have been looking for. The most important thing to think about when you are hitting any obstacle is your approach. Once you have mastered the approach you will be able to hit any obstacle with minor adjustments to your edge. The cable is always pulling you and if you do not take the correct line into the obstacle you are at the mercy of the line. In the diagram below I have included three different lines into a kicker indicated by a red, blue and green line. The red line represents a bad approach into the kicker and a common mistake. The blue line is a text book line into the kicker perfect for learning and spin tricks. And finally the green line demonstrates a pro cut that you can work up to getting serious height! Follow the pointers on the diagram for some tips that will help you to develop these lines and step up your game. • The red line results in a heavy landing with the rope pulling you back under the cable making it very hard to ride away

Jonty Green demonstrates the perfect approach

• Perfect approach is followed by the perfect landing

• Make sure that your board is always perfectly flat when you hit the kicker or you will be thrown off onto your front or back

1 met er

• Lots of tension on the line and speed to carry you - FLYING!

• To maintain a straight line into the kicker aim for the bottom left corner and keep your eyes on it • Never ﬂatten oﬀ more than a meter away from the kicker

• Never line up with the kicker this early! by the time you reach the obstacle the cable will be pulling you back towards the running wire.

• The blue line will feel a lot faster than the red line but don’t be put off! • Always try to start your edge from the otherside of the cable running wire

• Board on edge

• Board ﬂattened oﬀ

• If you are being pulled oﬀ the side of the rail then you have flattened off too soon or not carried enough speed into it

1 meter

• If you are falling oﬀ the rail on this side then you are going too fast

• For larger rails like A frames and rooftops you will need to carry more speed as the up rail will slow you down

• Never line up with the rail this early! by the time you reach the obstacle the cable will be pulling you back towards the running wire • Again start your edge from inside the cable running wire and keep your line as straight as possible

• Think of yourself as a weight on a pendulum. When you are not on an edge while riding you will naturally return to the neutral position under the cable. If you were to hold the weight of the pendulum out to the side and release it, the weight would swing in towards the neutral position

Ollie Moore taking these principals to the next level with an ollie on

The Plight

Jack Wayne returns for this month’s Other side

What came first the drums or the board? The music came first, ever since I was born I was addicted to music and with my dad being the singer for The Move and The Hollies I was inspired from a very early age. The board came into play when I was around 12 years old and I was on holiday in Spain and tried it for the first time. To be quite honest though.. they both go hand in hand. What made you pick up the sticks in the first place? I think it was a mixture of things. I tried all the instruments before drums... guitars, bass, but in the end I found out II just loved hitting stuff. Drums to me just help get stuff off my chest. At first they were just loud and felt like a good stress reliever but the more I played them, the deeper I got into them and realized they are the best sounding instrument of them all. I just simply cant tell you really... I just LOVE drums. How important is having another focus for you? I like to get involved with as much as possible really. I have always been rather hyperactive and I think the variety keeps me entertained. Too much of one thing can just simply get on my nerves and I need a break so I find it really important to have lots of things in my life to mix it up. How do you feel your drumming has influenced your life? It’s been amazing to me. I have met some amazing people, played some amazing festivals and shows, travelled around with it and seen some great places. I have so much I owe to music, it truly has made my life incredible. I wouldn’t change it for anything. Music to me is Life. What have been your highlights in both your wake and drumming careers?

Sharrock

THE

E D I S R OTHE

Winning best trick a few days ago in this free ride format competition at WMSki in Cirencester was a lot of fun. Was pretty stoked considering it was the first comp I had entered in about 7 years! Traveling with my best friends is one factor for sure. Winning a load of British and European competitions years back was a great achievement for me and also placing 4th in the cable worlds. In Australia years back was definitely

one to remember. Even just letting off loads of fireworks and getting them taken away by the Police with Ben Hitch at the worlds in France one year was a lot of fun too. With the music, I think playing in front of thousands at Download festival at Donnington with my band The Plight was a massive highlight. I’ve actually just come back from Download festival it was out of hand! Black Sabbath played and I literally s@*t my pants they were that good! If you had to choose one or the other for the rest of your life, which would it be and why? You can’t make me choose! I simply can’t. They both have so many different things about them which make them amazing. If I really really had to choose though.... it would be music. With music I can make it until the day I die and it is the best form of self expression for me. With wakeboarding I fear my bones will turn to cheese within a matter or years. Are there any other sports that you are in to, and how much time do you get for them? I love skateboarding, snowboarding, riding dirt bikes and have always had a soft spot for trampolines... skating I think I do the most as all my close friends are into it too, it’s just a nice cheap way to stay fit and get fresh air. Snowboarding I hardly get to do but I plan on going very soon! I had some MX bikes a few years back but I ended up selling them, which kinda sucked but hopefully one day when I have the spare cash I’ll buy a new one. as for trampolines... it’s just far too much fun, if there is ever one near me I bet you I’ll be on it. What are the best parts of both industries and why? To me the best parts about wakeboarding and drums are just simply riding and playing in that moment in time. When you are mid ride there is nothing better than going big and nailing new tricks. Same as when you are mid set/ song at a show there is no stronger buzz of happiness/adrenaline. Nothing comes close. Nothing! I know that sounds more cheesy than the fromage section in Tesco but it’s true! Thank you to anyone who has been apart of my wakeboarding and musical journey, I love you all x

QUESTIONS

1. Where was the last place you rode? Cables Wake Park in Penrith, Australia.

2.What was the best thing about it?

There are both clockwise and anti-clockwise cables along with a 2.0 and a quarter pipe!

3.Last trick that you learnt?

Nice tweaked out indy while boosting out of the quarter pipe.

4. Next trick you want to learn?

Some sort of flip out of the quarter pipe or any double flip variation.

5.Favourite person to ride with?

Dean Smith, for 3 reasons: 1. He absolutely shreds!! 2. He is always super motivated and excited about riding and it gets me pumped to ride, and 3. Because his Axis wake is insane!!

6. Worst trick?

Tie double sided window winder to face plant..

7. Favourite obstacle? Quarter pipe.

Tuck knee batwing, Brad Smeele

8.Happiest memory?

16.Worst injury? Worst was my shoulder, most painful was the separated ribs.

9. Favourite destination to ride?

17. Interesting fact about you? I have been an extra in the TV series ‘Spartacus - Gods of the Arena’. I also just filmed as an extra in the movie ‘The Emperor’ and was on set with Tommy Lee Jones.

Stomping my first 1080 with all of my friends in the boat.

Lake Ohakuri, New Zealand.

10. Best thing about being a wakeboarder? The endless summer. I’m about to go into my 18th summer in a row. 11. Worst thing about being a wakeboarder? 1 ACL reconstruction, 1 full shoulder reconstruction, 2 broken legs, 1 broken foot, 1 separated rib and 4 compressed disk’s in my spine. 12. One thing you could not live without? Oxygen 13. Most motivational riding music? (hed)P.E. 14. One life goal? To win Transworld Wakeboarder of the year.

Arcisz

BRAD SMEELE

18. Favourite thing to do when not riding? Jam out on the Guitar. 19.Who got you into Wakeboarding? I first tried it with some family friends while on holiday. But it was my boys Ants and Brant who really got me into it. 20.What is the one question nobody ever asked but you would like them to ask? Who has been the biggest influence in your Wakeboarding career..? Mark Kenney - he was the first rider I watched that absolutely blew my mind.. He also helped me land my first two inverts.

15. Favourite breakfast? Breakfast in bed. 87

GIRL’S RIDE DAY

THE WAKE GIRLS ARE AT IT AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH A DEDICATED RIDE DAY AT THE QUAYS AD SOME PRO COACHING FROM SOME OF THE UK’S BEST FEMALE WAKE ARTISTS Words: Jules Haley Photos: Tristam Slater

A couple of weeks after the Girls Ride Day and I’m still buzzing! I can’t get over how well

it all went, how good everyone rode and generally how awesome the day turned out! I can still feel the magic in the air as everyone cheered each other on and our stoke meters went through the roof! The event kicked off at around lunch time, as we saw hoards of ladies embark upon Quayside Wakeboard & Waterski ready for some action. With the boat and the cable fully booked all afternoon, I knew we would be in for a busy day, however with fellow riders Sarah Kingdom and Lex Balladon on hand for some coaching, as well as the amazing Abbie driving the System 2.0, the one and only Phill Mitchell behind the wheel of the X2, and James and Tristam behind the lens, the day ran smoothly without a hiccup! In between riding there was plenty going on to keep the girls occupied. Hannah had her hula hoops out, Lex was giving a Nalu Beads workshop, Sharm of KURUP FIT was giving awesome massages, Olly was keeping the BBQ sizzling, the goodies from O’Neill and Mastercraft were keeping everyone smiling, and the endless Relentless was keeping everyone hyper! I was amazed at how awesome the level of riding was throughout the day. From people like Claire who was trying out wakeboarding for her first time (and nailed it!) to more experienced riders like Katie B who stuck her first Tantrum, the girls were on fire and were clearly feeding off each other’s enthusiasm. Behind the boat we saw girls like Hannah and Claudia tearing it up even after not being out for a while, Harriet sticking her first wake jump, and Sharmy and Kat proving that cable riders can shred boat too! Over on the System 2.0 the standard was no less, as we saw Lily steezing it out on the slider, Lottie showing us some massive air tricks, and Mavis getting her 180’s dialled! All in all everyone was really pushing it, and it was awesome to be part of such an awesome experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better day, and it was definitely one that will be remembered. A massive thanks must go to everyone who helped make it happen; O’Neill, Hyperlite, Mastercraft, Nalu Beads, Relentless, Quayside, Syndicate Wake and Wide-A-Wake. We were lucky enough to have the whole day filmed by James Watt at ‘Magnetoscope’, so watch this space for the video coming soon!!

Above left: Jules Haley leading the way with this melon 180 Top right: Plenty of raley practice on the System 2.0 Above: Massages on hand to rub away the pain Below: Getting some rail time at The Quays Bottom: Lex shows her skills with this frontside floater

S R E H FRES

Dob: 01/07/94 Riding since: Riding 4 or 5 seasons, 2 and bit wakeskating Cable lake: WMski Boat lake: Don’t really ride boat so where every I do end up riding Board: 39.5 Aesthetic Conker Sponsors: Aesthetic wakeskates, Sports aid, ION, WMski and Teva

maybe not so fresh on the scene but still fresh faced. killing it on all fronts James harrington talks skate James Harrington aka “Mini” has been around for a while now and slaying it every which way, rail, kicker, skate, board.. the kid can ride. So not quite a true fresher but he is still fresh faced and will be continuing to make an impact on the UK scene for years to come. That is in no doubt. Welcome Mini, a recent win in a… wakeboard contest? Yeah man, not really sure how I did it, there was some good riders there is well people trying to throw down some double flips and some other maneuvers, but I had some good preparation juice to help me. What drew you to wakeskating, were you a skateboarder or wakeboarder first? I skateboarded for a few years while I was wakeboarding, and my wakeboarding was going pretty good. I just got a bit bored of it and when I got on a skate it came pretty naturally, I was just enjoying it loads! Was it love at first try or did it take a while for you find your way on the skate? Pretty much because I was skateboarding for a while and also wakeboarded for a few seasons it helped loads with board control and then with the skateboard tricks it helped so much on the wakeskate so it came pretty quick. What would be your biggest inspiration to go out riding? I just love the feeling of learning new tricks and riding with friends and getting a good session going it’s super fun. What have you got planned for the rest of the season, any travelling with your skate? Just riding a lot really, I want to get up to Ben and Terry Hannam’s place a bit because it’s so sick there. Also going to France for the Wake and Country event and then WAKESTOCK which could get pretty wild.. oh and I want to

get out to the Europeans and Worlds! A few titles under your belt already here in the UK, what would you like to achieve next with your riding? I want to try and bring out cool videos while also trying to get some good photos and coverage. I also want to try and get top 5 at both the Europeans and World championships. Who has helped you out along the way with your skating career and who do you still love to ride with? Will Gibney was the first dude to get me on a wakeskate and he hated the fact that I got on to it and started to learn new tricks which he couldn’t do, he really didn’t like to be second best! Also just rode a lot with Matt Greenwood down at WMski so it was good to have a wakeskater to ride with most of the time. Now I really like riding with Ollie Moore, and all the Aesthetic boys. What was the last trick you learnt? I got a toe back 5 off the kicker, and kind of got a hard flip but want to land a nice clean one. What trick (and why) would you ask for Christmas if Santa delivered tricks? I don’t know really hahaha, it would be cool to do like some no comply things - like tapping the rail with your foot and stuff, keep it OG. Do you think having ginger hair gives you magical wakeskate powers? For sure man! I have super powers I know it, and the ladies love it whaaa! Like a boss! Big shout out to my sponsors for helping me out; Teva, ION, WMski, Aesthetic wakeskates and Sports Aid.

STOCKED ISSUE 2.3

TO STOCK OR BE SERIOUS ABOUT WAKE INFO@SENSATIONGROUP.COM 01758 710066

CABLE PARKS BOX END PARK

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MAY/JUNE 2012.3

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WAKEBOARD CAMPS/SCHOOLS LOCH LOMOND WAKEBOARD Loch Lomond Scotland www.lochlomondwakeboard.com

ABERSOCH OFFAXIS Glanafon Garage Abersoch 01758 713407 www.offaxis.co.uk

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QUAYSIDE WAKE AND SKI Coleford Bridge Road Mytchett Surrey 01252 524375 www.quaysws.co.uk www.ukwake.com

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LIQUID LEISURE Horton Road Datchet, Berkshire SL3 9HY 01753 542500 www.llski.com

CLUB WAKE PARK

Grendon Lakes Main Road, Grendon Northamptonshire NN7 1JW tel 07805270575 www.clubwakepark.co.uk

TEN-80 WATERSPORTS

West Midlands WaterSki Centre Tamworth Road, CLiff Warwickshire 01827 870203 www.ten-80.co.uk

EXTREME-GENE WAKEBOARD & WAKESKATE

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THE WAKEBOARD CAMP 848 W. Oscada Street Clermont, Florida FL 34711 1-352-394-8899 www.wakeboardcamp.com

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STOCKED

wakeboard camps in the heart of the wakeboarding world Located in Winter Haven Florida Camps for all levels Fully loaded x-star Pro coaching with Stew Mackie Beautiful lake front house Book now for May/June

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G A B D BOAR

Eddy

If you think you are having a bad day just remember there is always someone having a worse one.. or about to... nth.. o M t x e N

James Harrington takes credit cards

on the road with team monster, wakestock, red bull harbour reach, the longest day!!!