By now I’m sure everyone out there has at least seen the new creation from the genius that is Pat Panakos and the owner of Sesitec Cable Systems, Christian Von Lerchenfeld. For those of you who have had your head buried in the sand for the past 8 months, the Sesitec System 2.0 could be the biggest breakthrough in our sport since the invention of the tower — yeah, that’s right, I’m claiming it. The System 2.0 is a portable straight-line cable system that operates in both directions allowing for a continuous ride as long as you can last.

The System 2.0 made in debut last year at Wakestock when it was featured in the Oakley Wakeskate Pool Jam. And of course it has gone on to star at the Red Bull Wake Lab, first in downtown Orlando and most recently in Tempe, Arizona. The rail set-up at the Wake Lab wouldn’t have been possible without this new cable system. Never before have people been able to witness non-stop action while watching any wakeboarding event; either the boat had to stop to switch out riders or the handle had to be taken back to a waiting rider in your typical winch jam contest.2010-04-07

Since Pat played such an active role in the creation of the system it’s only natural that he’s got a couple currently set-up at The Projects , the legendary wakeboard and wakeskate camp located on the east side of Orlando. I’ve been staying out here for the past week, but I’ve been really busy running all over the GOA (Greater Orlando Area) doing interviews and shooting photos so I haven’t had a chance for a test ride. Today I found myself with some time to kill and decided to get on the water and give it a go. I’d watched a few people ride it earlier in the week and was a little hesitant especially on the turnarounds; you have to cut out pretty hard and the carrier whips you back around in the other direction. Wake Park Project employee Kris “Salty” Salteski was the man behind the controls and gave me a few quick pointers and off I went. I’ve only ridden behind a fixed cable system a couple of times and it felt odd that there was not the roar of a motor as I left the dock. The turnaround was surprisingly easy as was loading the line for some little airs. I did mess up a few of the turnarounds only because I was having so much fun, I forgot it was time to edge out. Unfortunately, I’ve been suffering from a bum shoulder and cold all week so I only rode for about 5 minutes, but it was a blast; I’m definitely hooked. Pat told the next time out, he’d teach me how to do raley’s.

I seriously suggest everyone give this a go in the near future, I could only imagine how fun this would be if there were a few rails set-up. Apparently the plan for The Projects is to have 4 systems running in the rail park on all different levels of rails; I’m making sure I’m coming back here soon and my schedule is a little less hectic the next time around.