A new watersport attraction is coming to the Ottawa River.
The first “cable park” will let residents try wakeboarding and waterskiing without a boat.
The cable park is the first of its kind in the Ottawa area and a 10-year dream in the making for owner Brandon Fasan.
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“For me it’s a community-enrichment project,” he said. “There’s so many barriers to entry with wakeboarding: boats are expensive, gas is expensive. I’m offering people a way to try it for $20.”
Normally wakeboarding and other tow sports involve a skier or boarder being pulled behind a boat.
Cable park technology eliminates the need for a vehicle. Instead, the person is pulled via a zipline-like mechanism attached to an overhead line.
The line is suspended over the water between two towers and allows a rider to continue in an endless loop.
Fasan has competed as a member of the Canadian freestyle kayak team and has worked as a guide for Esprit, a whitewater-rafting business that operates on the Ottawa River.
“A lot of people don’t have access to watersports,” said Fasan. “I like breaking down barriers, I like showing people new experiences and having people try things that they thought they could never try before.”
“It’s something everybody can do, at just about any age. We try to make it a cottagey-type environment, with canoes and kayaks. You can really come out and hang out for the day.”
Capital Cable Park plans to share some resources with Esprit, including their location in Mansfield-et-Pontefract, shuttle services and canoes and kayaks on site.
The park will offer rentals, safety equipment and lessons on site.
Fasan plans to open the park on next month’s Victoria Day long weekend.
While the current park is about a 90-minute drive from Ottawa, he plans to eventually bring the technology closer to downtown. He said concerns from the city about recreational zoning and finding appropriate land mean that for now the park will exist in Quebec.
This article originally appeared in Metro News.
