Kyle Rattray, back on the lake he grew up on.

Back in July O’Neill team members Scott Byerly, Collin Harrington, Nick Taylor and Kyle Rattray were given a mission: head north of the border to Muskoka and shred. Actually that was the mission for Scott, Nick and Collin. Kyle’s mission was a bit broader because he is originally from the Muskoka area (a beautiful, lake-filled region two hours north of Toronto) so he had to basically organize everything and plan the trip. Captain Kyle did a great job planning the assault, which allowed the rest of the O’Neill commandos to shred as hard as possible. Funny thing is for years I’ve heard of the Muskoka Militia, a tribe of native wake shredders who have banded together to fight for progression, but during our wake mission we did not encounter any militia… although maybe we did and didn’t even know it ’cause the Canadians are so darn nice.

Anyhow, the trip was insane. Muskoka is a gorgeous place to spend some time, especially out on the lakes on a wakeboard boat. We were able to shred big lakes like Lake Muskoka, small lakes like Koshlong Lake, and some winch spots that were all time. We got to hang out with lots of rad Canadians who treated us to things like ice cream, Caesar cocktails, not-Canadian bacon, local wildlife shows, fast boat rides and expensive beer. And most of all we got to shred and document it all for an upcoming article in Alliance Wakeboard Magazine. So be on the lookout for issue 2011.8 to see the whole story, you’re not gonna want to miss it.

Big thanks go to Eric Snidal and his crew at Pride of Muskoka Marine for helping plan the trip, organize lodging, and most importantly, boats. More thanks to Wayne from Pride of Muskoka, our good buddy Davey Crockett and his wild raccoon bunch, the Rattray family for opening their cottage to our ragtag band of hooligans and spoiling us rotten, Jono Boysen and Blake Tilley from The Ranch Wake Park for use of their van and shuttle services, and the fine folks at Muskoka Woods and the Base Camp private rail park. Without these awesome Canadians Mission Muskoka would not have been a success.