Boating Industry Canada October 2016 - 21

Keswick, Ontario. It's very close to Lake Simcoe which is
ringed by literally hundreds and hundreds of cottages.
We traveled to Mount Albert, Ontario on Highway 48 and
met with Christine Benns who, along with her husband Ross
and their partner Ian Bowie, own Rail Yard Wake Park.

Where It Started
Christine and Ross went to a cable park for the first time six
years ago. Both were from Scarborough in the Greater Toronto
Area, they were cottage water skiers and they immediately
liked the idea. Their daughter got up the first time and Ross fell
in love with the idea of how a cable park makes wakeboarding
accessible to everyone.
Christine explained to us that Ross pushed hard to launch
the business and looked into it over several years. The cable
system had been invented back in the 1960s in Germany by a
company called Sesitec, (http://www.sesitec.com/englisch/system-20/system-20.html). Now cable parks are a worldwide
phenomenon with 60 parks in Germany alone. Sesitec has 270
parks using their system 2.0 now. There are other cable systems out there as well, but Christine felt Sesitec was perhaps
the leader.
The way that Rail Yard Wake Park got started was that
Christine and Ross just live a short distance up the road in
Mount Albert and they had noticed a little lake that's right by
the side of Highway 48.
Investigating the idea of a wake park, Ross discovered that
only certain bodies of water can be used. They can't dig their

Rail Yard Wake Park has lots of places for people to relax and watch
until their turn to ride comes up. In the background is their store
where equipment, drinks and snacks are available.

own lake the way operators in the United States sometimes do.
Our bylaws prevent that. The lake that they have is easily seen
from Highway 48 and it belongs to a private landowner. It had
been a peat bog but after the peat had all been removed, the
owner was left with a small lake.
They found out who the owner was, met him and they
came to an arrangement. The town was called in to rezone the
property to allow for recreational use so that they could bring
in the Hydro service and a few other things that were required.
Christine explained it took them a year and a half to get it
going and they opened in 2013.

The Staff at Rail Yard Wake Park
You won't be surprised to know that there are some major
wakeboard enthusiasts out there and Christine said that her
staff were all really dedicated and some of them are so into this
that she calls them "lifers". They are into the lifestyle and
express their love of the sport with their clothing, graphics and
decals on their vehicles.
Of course, in Canada this is a seasonal business, but that's
great for the students who can get summer employment there.
Rail Yard Wake Park is a teaching school certified by
Waterski and Wakeboard Canada and all of their people have
to take a four-day course at the beginning of each season. It's

www.boatingindustry.ca 21

http://www.sesitec.com/englisch/system-20/system-20.html http://www.sesitec.com/englisch/system-20/system-20.html http://www.boatingindustry.ca

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