The third annual Waketoberfest has come and gone and I am pretty worn out from all of the fun. It kicked off Thursday, October 11th at the Dam View, Lake Austin, with the “much anticipated” premier of WakeTV #11. People started shuffling in about 7:00 p.m. to start enjoying some cheap suds from our sponsor Dos XX. Jocko, who was supposed to get in at noon, didn’t arrive in Austin until nearly 7:00 due to heavy fog at the Houston airport, but he was greeted with a big applause when he entered the Dam View.
After a round of “hellos” & hugs, Jocko presented a fresh copy of #11 to show to the eager crowd. Several segments drew huge applause from the gathered group of boarders, especially (Odessa, Florida native & 360 Wakeboard Club honorary member) Wes Brisco’s featured rider segment where he gives mad props to Waketoberfest.
After viewing #11, many people got together for “skate night” (a Thursday night tradition here in Austin). Everyone met at Mt. Arbor, an 8 story parking garage in N. Austin, to get their carve on. The local Dregg’s skateboard rep & 360 club board member, Hunter McDonald, brought out plenty of boards for everyone to ride. Jocko got footage of everyone carving the concrete, while 360 club board member Shellie Senetaire got carved when she hit a nice little oil slick on the 4th floor.
The vast majority of people started showing up Friday to claim camping spots. My Friday morning started bright and early as Shellie and I organized the boats of outlaw riders for Jocko to shoot. Our 8 a.m. start time got pushed back to about 9:30 a.m. by the same fog that delayed Jocko in Houston. Our 1st boat of riders included Billy North, Kurtis Raughut, Brad Ward & 2001 Vans Triple Crown National and World Champion in the Masters Division, Billy Garcia.
Billy Garcia started his set with a few hits on the PVC kicker, pulling out some nice blind 180s & 360s. All was well until cameraman, Todd Kemper, decided to sit on one of the banks floating the kicker at which point the kicker did its best Titanic impression & sank in the cold 10’ water. After pulling the kicker out of the water, shooting went on as planned.
A BIG thank you goes out to Sail & Ski of Austin for supplying the new Super Air Team Editions for the outlaws to ride behind and for us to use as chase boats. After we were done with the morning outlaw session, it was time to grab a bite to eat and get ready for the afternoon outlaws to ride. Once again, we were delayed by that darn Houston fog. I was supposed to pick up East Coast Rider, Wes Brisco at noon, only to find out that he was stuck in New Orleans due to the fog.
As we waited for the Houston fog to clear, we were treated to some sick riding from local outlaws Drew Mason, Jobe, Scott Hareland, JP & pro rider, Matt Lockwood. Lockwood fresh off his 9th place finish at World’s, absolutely went off. I finally got the call that Wes had been at the airport for over an hour, but luckily another one of the missing outlaws, Paul Pearce, happened to be picking up one of his buds that had also been delayed and snagged Wes as well.
Everyone attending enjoyed a sunny afternoon of freeriding as we wrapped up the WakeTV shoot and got cleaned up to head back down to the Dam View for the Friday night festivities. Luckily I live right down the lake from Emma Long Park and had the advantage of getting cleaned up at home. While my crew took showers, we watched the weather report as a storm packing 65-70 mph winds slowly moved in, at which point we decided it would be wise to go to the Dam View by land instead of saving 10-15 minutes by boat. We showed up at the Dam View and it was raging.
WakeTV #11 was shown on the big screen again for all that missed the Thursday night viewing. Tige boats and The Ski Dock had World Champion wakeboarders, Cobe Mikecich and Kieth Lyman on hand to show the awesome new Tige 20V and participate in the festivities. Some people started getting calls warning all that came by boat of the big storm approaching, at which time the 2-3 boat loads jumped in their boats & headed back to the park. Unfortunately, we received calls after they left that it was at the park and heading our way (that really must have been a fun boat ride). The majority of us were still on the top outside deck as the 65-70 mph winds came out of nowhere knocking over bottles, tables & chairs as we all ran inside for cover. Once inside the party raged on to the sounds of Omar and the Howlers.
Saturday morning started off with some awesome free breakfast tacos at Ski Shores, courtesy of Nautiques. After breakfast, things were off to a slow start due in part to the heavy rains the night before and hey, we’re wakeboarders, damn it! A lot of the D.U. contestants slept through breakfast and almost through registration, but as it warmed up, heads peaked out of tents and campers made their way to the event area. Due to the saturated ground, Red Bull decided not to put up the Red Bull hospitality tent for the athletes, but we made due with the Tige BBQ tent.
As soon as we had the 20 riders signed up, the D.U./Kicker contest got underway. All of the riders gave a 100% effort as they braved the huge D.U.s the Tige 20V was throwing. In the end, Keith Lyman took the top $300 prize with a stand up run that consisted of a huge off axis 360, Grab Roll to Revert & a Blind 360 off the kicker. Second place honors went to Drew Mason, and Billy Garcia took 3rd. These three beat our other notable riders such as, Chris Ramirez, Wes Brisco and Matt Lockwood. Taking home the best crash prize of $50 was Ben Morgan, who went out to brave the D.U.s and kicker on his wakeskate (Wakeskate? Sounds like a ringer for best crash). During the contest, the crowd was entertained by the (Dos XX inspired) commentary by Hunter McDonald and myself. After the contest, Keith Lyman, Wes Brisco and a few others hyped the crowd with some exhibition riding and huge tricks off the kicker. Many people took advantage of the great weather and got in some free riding before the party at the Pier that night.
Everyone headed over to the Pier around 8:30 for the Saturday night party and Texas Bikini Contest. I want to be the first to apologize for the girls not showing up for the bikini contest. We had six confirmed contestants, but they were no shows. The more everybody partied, the easier it was to block out the 80s music that was booked by a sorority that was having a party there too. Frat guys and gals and wakeboarders mix about as well as oil and water, but we all overcame it and had a good time anyway.
Sunday morning came way too fast, as many people started packing up camp and taking some last sets before the long haul home. Shellie, Jocko and I gathered up some of the last outlaws to shoot for WakeTV. This being my first Waketoberfest as a board member of the 360 Wakeboard Club, I found myself working more than partying, but it was all worth it to hear the satisfied riders tell me what a good time they had.
Thank you to everyone that made it out. I can’t wait until next year! Until then, everybody stay safe and make the most of every moment you have.
