Congratulations to Sean (age 13) for earning his WKC "Protege" rank! Sean was ripping at Wildcat last night and landed regular and switch front rolls, back rolls, and 2 switch backroll kiteloops, fishing pole style. Awesome dude. Sean is now officially a WKC member and will soon have his own profile page. Watch for Sean charging for his "Master" rank in the next few weeks and if you see him riding give him a high 5. Way to go Sean. Pump it and chunk it! (Photo: Mark McGinnis -Tenderfoot & Dad, Liam & Sean)
-Captain Greg'eh
Awesome riding ACE! Way to represent the WKC!
Full details at ACE Rocky's profile page!
Awesome wind lately has made for some great riding. My brother is down for a couple of weeks so we have been having a great time so far doing all things redneck. Howizard did a late night session at Wildcat last night so my bro and I decided it would be a great idea to try and shoot him with fire works while he was riding. This provided for great fun however with a 30mph head wind it was difficult to keep him in range. Good times none the less. Today proved to be another great day of riding and T-Todd, Rookair Keith and I did an 8 mile downwinder from the National sea shore border to Bob hall pier. Highlights included lots of naked folks (apparently its a bit lawless that far down the beach) a half sunken van (which I just had to grind) and an extremely large tree half in the water (which I also had to grind). Rookair Keith proved his skills riding static and over powered on a sixteen without any major incidents. Later that day T-Todd and I attended a meeting at Wildcat with some concerned Portland citizens regarding clearing some of the concrete out and removing the oyster hazards to make the park more kiter friendly. Initial plans are underway and we hope to see some action taken by the new year. We then ended the day riding at Wildcat. Awesome day yet again. Too many to count lately. Oh and ACE Chatwell is competing in Cabarete, Domincan Republic this week at his 4th PKRA event. We should here from him shortly. Pump it and chunk it. (Photo "Rookair" Keith cooking up some blue crabs after kiting)
-Captain Greg'eh
Captains Joey72 and Inklegg have established the "WKC East" which is the East Coast Chapter of the WKC. Details are on Joey72's profile page and the WKC East link (to right). Check it out!
www.wkceast.blogspot.com Nice work Captains. Hope to pump it and chunk it out there some day.
-Captain Greg'eh
What a wicked weekend. Great winds right through to today. Lots happened at Wildcat if you weren't there to see it for yourself. Spectator events included one of the gnarliest crashes we've ever seen. Captain T-Todd and I were pretty sure the guy was dead. Amazingly he walked away after looping his kite several times on land. He was dragged all the way up from the water to the posts by the sunshade through the tall grass, thorn bushes, and who knows what else. It was interesting that he did not make a direct path to the posts but instead zigged and zagged a little with each change in looping direction. This accident was easily preventable in that you could see it coming a mile away. A novice rider attempting a stylish beach landing, which went horribly wrong. Not to mention the inability to simply let go of the kite (bow kite as well). The other highlight happened early in the day. It was a domestic dispute involved a loving couple SCREAMING at each other (husband riding and wife flying kite on land) about what kite the other should be using and how lines weren't adjusted right etc. I carefully stepped in to see if I might assist in adjusting lines etc and almost had my face chewed off. It was so ridiculous I had to laugh. Isn't kiteboarding supposed to be chill, and fun? And isn't marriage supposed to be about compassion and understanding? Where is the love people, really? Anyway all this made me realize that it might be time for some "Rules" at the park that go beyond the "un-written" rules since apparently some people from out of town are just not that bright.
Rule #1 - Loving kiter couples - leave your boxing gloves at home. You're killing my buzz.
Rule #2 - Unless your name is Chatwell, your probably not impressing anyone with your skills, so save your face and take it easy around the shoreline.
Rule #3 - Let go of your kite. Free lessons in "how to let go" are available.
Anyway these are just off the top of my head. On a positive note, Rookair Jeremy did a solo bay crossing on Saturday. This was not a planned event, which makes it more fun of course, he just took off. Things got a little hairy on the way back as he was totally lit on my 16m with a static bar, but he did prevail. Props to Jeremy for making back. Seekers Liam and Sean tore it up again all day. Howizard, El Jeffe, T-Todd and I tested the new Vapour. Rocky was pumping and chunking, hungry man huge after just getting back from his Gorge trip. Soon to be Tenderfoot Brent got some good runs in and Patrick (aka Shaggy) got some night riding in after teaching. T-Todd, Jeremy, Liam, Sean and I all left Wildcat around 7:30pm and went to cut up Rockport until 10:30 that night. Rockport was going off, totally lit on 12's, butter flat water and darkness. I rode until my arm fell off, luckily T-Todd found floating in the weeds and stapled it back on. It was a great day.
-Captain Greg'eh
Captain T-Todd reports that apparently Master Kansas adopted an SPCA cat that looked pretty darn cool only to have it turn on him the next day and chomp on him about 16 times in a ferocious and apparently un-provoked attack of claws and teeth. It even bit through his toenail. This is all rumour and hearsay at the moment but we will keep you posted on his condition. In other news, we had a great afterwork session today with a good crew turnout. T-Todd did yet another bay crossing, this time on a surfboard. He wanted to land in the marina and enjoy a cold beer on the patio of Joe's Crabshack before returning home but the Police chased him out of the marina. Why can't everyone just get along? The McGinnis family came out from Rockport and Seekers Liam and Sean rode until dark hucking new moves and shredding it up (with dad too!) Liam (age 10) is hucking backrolls now so he is going to be promoted to "Rookie" as soon as I get him a chain. Sean was trying new moves like toe side backrolls, scarecrows, and surface handle passes. Keep it up bro's, you'll be local champs in no time. ACE Chatwell is in the Gorge schooling everyone I'm sure. A potential kite sponsor invited him down for a photo shoot and kite testing. Let us know what you think of the Gorge Rocky when you get a chance. As for me, I rode into the rocks today (first time ever) but thanks to some higher power and I guess some skill under pressure, my gear and I came out unscathed with just a small cut on my foot. Definitely a scary moment though. Its looking like it might be a decent weekend with kiteable winds in the afternoons and evenings. See you on the water!
-Captain Greg'eh
There appears there may be a lot going on this weekend with the WKC so burn something and pray to the wind gods for mas viento. ACE Chatwell is back in town chunking new moves. Captain T-Todd and I rode the beach today along with Jeff Francis who has been MIA for the last couple of years (nice to have you back dude), and WKC "Lurker" Mike Danish was spotted at Wildcat today and later rode at the beach, which was going off.....lots of wind and big waves. Eddy Petranik and friends are in from Boise (Eddy is an avid paraglider and kiter and good friend of Howizard and I.) Apparently he has a cracked or separated rib so be sure to give him a friendly elbow or two. Also rumour has it that several riders are up for induction or promotion as Seekers. WKC Captains will be paying extra attention this weekend to see whom is worthy so bring your "A" game. -Captain Greg'eh
A few members of the Consulate have been seen in public not wearing their WKC hardware. You know who you are. WKC members of all ranks are permitted to enforce appropriate and multiple acts of roguery and shenanigan should you fail to don your ranking hardware.-The WKC Captains
Somber Sunday was the mood. It was Joey72's last day as a Portland local as he is moving to Norfolk, Viginia to finish off the last years of his military service. Howizard, myself and Joey had a great time riding at Wildcat in close formation, sending walls of water at each other and bumping kites etc. It was classic of days gone by when we assumed we would all be here for life. T-Todd would have liked to have been there but he was busy cutting someone out of a car with the jaws of life. It was a beautiful day. The winds were light but it was great to just get out and ride. Later that evening we took the WKC bus out for some redline hairpin turns. Joey managed to go from zero to 50mph from stop sign to stop sign under the freeway at Buddy Ganem. It sounded something like this. wwwWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASCRREEEEEEECH. And took just about that long. Good times. On a positive note, Joey72 and Jeff Pottinger (AKA Inklegg, former Portland resident and an original WKC Outlaw) will be starting the "WKC East", as in the East Coast Chapter of the WKC. They aren't far from Hatteras so I'm sure they will be kiting together soon and bringing the WKC mission to the East Coast. Best of luck bro's. If you didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Joey, leave him a comment on this page or his profile page, or email him at
iccsw72@gmail.com . Pics of his last day below. Pump it and Chunk it Joey, you'll always be local to us. You'll be missed.
-The Consulate
With the much anticipated return of Captain Joey72, a special event was sure to unfold. It started with an innocent gathering at Howizard's place for some fajita's and gradually escalated into shooting eachother at point blank range with plastic pellet guns. Then of course wrestling came next, in doors and out (standard practice really) T-Todd took the worst of the shootings, resulting in an impressive cluster of welts on his right forearm, from multiple shooters (El Jefe & Kansas mostly). Kansas narrowly avoided another massive Shiner nightmare wedgy and somewhere in between events, we decided Joey needed a mohawk (which I executed with the assistance of Howizard -applied egg whites for structure and El Jeffe - final touches). The obvious next stop was the Seamans center however it was 11pm by this point and we arrived to closed doors, so we rolled over to Mulligan's pub. Here the fun continued with Joey72 and T-Todd going head to head in a pint guzzling comp. I think Joey72 won by a fraction of a second. That's when things started to get a little blurry with extremely large drinks the size of fishbowls, and Joey72 calling some special forces guy "metro" which ironically didn't end up in a fight but had the dude's girlfriend flirting with Joey the rest of the night. Great time, great friends. Some pictures below.
-Captain Greg'eh
WKC Creedo
- Ride – get out of bed and shred.
- Respect – fellow riders, the public, and the beaches.
- Represent - the WKC & ride hard wherever you are.
WKC Mission
It is the mission of the WKC to bring together veteran and aspiring riders from all around the Corpus Christi Bay area in order to build camaraderie, provide equipment and accelerate the learning of sick, professional level kiteboarding skills in an exciting, hilarious and rewarding environment.
The WKC - What's in it for you?
Welcome new Seekers. If you have been given WKC Hardware and a WKC Rank then congratulations, you are a cool person and we like you. We also hope you enjoy being part of the WKC and the associated benefits. The benefits of being a WKC include:
Camaraderie: Always having someone to go ride with, both at Wildcat and other spots like group downwinders at the beach or a night session at Rockport. This camaraderie goes beyond kiteboarding as well. If we are doing something else fun we will likely call you to join in, or if need help with something else in life, ask us, we are a very dynamic bunch with a lot of connections, knowledge, experience, and access to material things. We have gear connections, travel connections, real estate connections, job connections etc. We also have access to boats, motorcycles, trucks, heavy equipment and even a plane! As a WKC member all you need to do is ask.
More Access to Gear: We encourage sharing within the WKC so if you are new to the sport and you are short on gear, or you want to try someone's board/kite or test something new that is out, we can usually provide. Trying different gear will make you a better rider and you will also figure out quickly what works best for you.
Accelerated Learning: You will learn faster as a WKC member, about both gear and riding. This is part of the reason why we have a ranking system and corresponding awards (dog tags hardware) for achieving different levels of skill. It is an incentive/reward system that is fun and helps prevent you from stagnating at a certain skill level. Feel free to ask for tips on gear and riding from other WKC riders, especially the Consulate (T-Todd, Howizard, Greg'eh, Patrick, Rocky). We will give you pointers that will make you better, faster and we can also make sure you are on the right gear at the right price.
A Unified Voice: As a WKC member you will be respected by the community as an ambassador of the sport, parks and community. As our numbers grow, we will have more and more of a voice with The City of Portland, The City of Rockport, The City of Corpus Christi and the kiteboarding community as a whole. This will help ensure that we will always have great spots to ride at and community support when we need it for WKC events. We already have a great relationship with the City of Portland and it should only get better as we become more involved in the community. There is strength in numbers.
As new Seekers of the WKC certain things are expected of you (things you are probably already doing otherwise you wouldn't be a WKC Seeker). Basically it comes down to The WKC Creedo of: Ride, Respect & Represent.
The WKC Creedo means:
1) Ride - Get out of bed and shred - when we call you to go ride, or do anything for that matter, do your best to show up or help out - its not just about kiteboarding, its about being a good friend.
2) Respect - Respect other riders, the beaches and the public. Be respectful to other riders on an off the water, pick up trash even if it’s not yours, ride safely when non kiters and kids are around.
3) Represent the WKC - be a cool person, help others out, thank those that help you and give back to the WKC. As a new member it is expected that some day you may become a member of the Consulate as a Master, Captain, or ACE. This means that as a WKC Seeker that you are being "observed" to see if you truly want to be a part of the WKC and believe in its Mission and Creedo. The easiest way to show that do want to be a part of the WKC is to simply observe the Creedo, so commit it to memory or tattoo it somewhere! Examples of showing your commitment are: Showing up for WKC events, coming up with new ideas/events/pranks for the WKC, wearing your WKC gear, helping out other WKC riders, giving when not asked to give (snacks, drinks etc), offering to pay for your WKC gear, sharing your knowledge and connections and most importantly being about fun. Basically you are role models for future Seekers, so be a good example and when you are a WKC veteran, new Seekers will look up to you for advice and help, and thank you in return. Pump it and chunk it. - The Consulate
Current WKC Seekers and Rank
- Jonathan Beaty - "Protege", Local - Rockport, May 2nd, 2008
- Sean McGinnis - "Protege", Local - Rockport, June 30th, 2007 ("Rookair" May 5th, 2007)
- Stefanie Douglass - "Rookair", Local - Corpus Christi, Sept, 2007 ("Tenderfoot" July 17th, 2007)
- Jeremy Hintz - "Rookair", Local - Portland
- Josh McClain - "Rookair", Local - Corpus Christi, July 9th, 2007
- John James (J.J) - "Rookair", Ghostrider - Houston
- Keith Despins - "Rookair", Ghostrider - Canada
- Liam McGinnis - "Rookair", Local - Rockport, Aug 20th, 2007 ("Rookie" July 17th 2007, "Tenderfoot" May 5th, 2007, )
- Brent Reagan - "Rookie", Local - Portland, July 17th, 2007 ("Tenderfoot" June 24th, 2007)
- Mark McGinnis - "Rookie", Local - Rockport Aug 21, 2007 ("Tenderfoot" June 30th, 2007)
- Chantal Archambault - "Rookie", Ghostrider - Montreal, Canada . June 8th, 2008
