Snowkiting in Florida? Yes!

SNOW IN THE SUNSHINE STATE!!
By Billy Bosch, www.GoodBreezeKiteboarding.com

The forecast predicted wind out of Northwest around 15-20 knots all day, which is normally perfect for Manatee Park. We reserved the pavilion area on the Banana River just outside of Cocoa Beach for the first Collegiate Kiteboarding Association Event of 2010. The event was hosted by Good Breeze Kiteboarding (Cocoa Beach’s local shop and school), Gator Kiteboarding (UF Club), and Knight Kiteboarding (UCF Club).

Photo Jamie Caceres

Everything was arranged and lots of people were planning on attending. There was one minor issue though: It was about 30 degrees and snow flurries were predicted! It all started off as a joke during dinner the night before the event because we knew no one was going to want to get in the water. I mean, this is Florida, we don’t do cold! Suddenly, a quick flash on the news showed a clip about Fred’s Snow Machine. I instantly pulled up the Google App and searched to find him.

After a little searching, I found a number and gave Fred a call around 8:00 pm. He gave me the low down and told me to let him know if we wanted the snow by the next morning, even if it was 3 am. Matt Sexton, Neil Hutchinson, and I all decided we wanted to make it happen but it was just out of reach financially, so we kind of gave up on it.  After an interesting night out on the town, we were winding down when Matt made up his mind. “Call Fred, let’s make it snow!” I was waiting all night for someone to say that! I got Fred on the phone around 3 am and told him we wanted 4 TONS OF SNOW.

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He showed up the next day with a big green snow machine. A large truck full of pallets stacked with ice shortly followed. We blew the snow the best we could despite a wood fence obstruction that limited where we could put the machine. It actually began to sleet while were laying the snow, adding to the effect.  A kicker and some rails were brought in as obstacles. The rest is history. The First Ever Snow Kite Event in Florida! We did learn that 4 tons of snow is not nearly as much as it sounds. Next year we need about 20 tons and a large sponsor!  Special thanks to Neil and Matt for their assistance in making it snow in Florida and Liquid Militia for the clothing donation!!

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