The first day of the 2016 La Ventana Classic kicked off under blue skies and 20 knot winds with the Kitexpo/Gear demo. Featuring the latest 2016 gear from Best, Airush, Slingshot/Ride Engine, Naish, F-One/Manera, Ozone and Cabrinha, participants were able to test out the latest and greatest in kite and board technology.
Cabrinha pro rider Evan Netsch taught a freestyle clinic while F-One’s Nico Landauer explained the ins and outs of foiling to eager-to-learn kiters.
Halfway through the afternoon the official La Ventana Classic party bus rolled up with a full load of rowdy kiters ready to duke it out on the Party Island Downwinder Poker Run. The teams were dressed to the nines in flamboyant costumes and were chomping at the bit to drink, float and be merry. Grom Gormley, infamous announcer and event schemer, explained the rules behind the Poker Run. Nothing says Baja fiesta like a mandatory beer chug at the start. Teams of 5-8 friends lined up and chugged their beers simultaneously before each team blew up and rigged a single kite to pull their Liquid Force branded party island six miles downwind to Baja Joes. On their downwind adventure, the teams had to stop at each of the five pre-set buoys and cut a floating bottle that contained a single playing card.
At the end of the day, sun and wind weathered participants stumbled off off their party islands with card filled bottles in hand, awaiting the night’s award ceremony and party at Baja Joe’s where their poker hands would be revealed to see who had the best poker hand.
The boozing continued to the night as each team: The Classic Crew, Golden Dolphins, Too Cool 4 Skool, Part Time Heros Full Time Legends, Space Invaders, Purple Nipples and Pirates De Cortez each downed a shot of tequila. Grom explained the rules to the crowd with energetic showmanship and drew a card at random to see who win 2016 12m North Rebel along with free booze for life at Baja Joe’s. The winner was none other than Elevation Kiteboarding’s own Marie Leclerc.
A special award was created for the most interesting story of the day, and was aptly named The Road Runner Especial Award. This award went to Adam Withington, who saved the day for his team. Upon running out of margaritas, Adam hopped off his team’s raft, ran to the closest gas station to purchase a bottle of tequila and sprinted back to his team’s island to make drinks for the crew as they floated offshore on their way to the finish line.
The final awards were given after each team had revealed the cards they collected earlier in the day. Team Too Cool 4 Skool won the winning hand with three eights as the band started up and continued the party into the night.
Gallery:
