The setting sun adds color to an unusual event as seven national and world champion athletes wakeboard and wakeskate their way from Mackinac Island to St. Ignace behind Star Line ferry LaSalle Wednesday, July 7. Passengers aboard nearby Star Line ferry Marquette II heading to Mackinaw City crowd the decks of the boat to view the sport. Pictured (from left) are five-time world champion wakeskater Reed Hansen, 2009 National Champion wakeboarder Adam Errington, two-time world and national champion and three-time wakeboarder of the year Rusty Malinoski, and 2008 Junior Men's wakeboard champion Jimmy LaRiche. Six wakeboard athletes and one wakeskater were pulled behind a Star Line ferry last week, much to the surprise and delight of passengers on board the last two daily boats leaving Mackinac Island Wednesday, July 7. Most of the athletes taking on the challenge of crossing Lake Huron to St. Ignace are national champions and two are world title holders in the sport. The athletes said the experience was exciting and just plain fun, and they would like to return again next summer.

Rusty Malinoski is unfazed by settling darkness as he hits the ferry boat wake, getting lift to perform a tantrum flip as the vessel nears St. Ignace. Ferry passengers cheered in appreciation for his skill and the excitement of seeing it live. Wakeboarding is a sport similar to waterskiing, but on a board like those used in snowboarding or surfing. Wakeboarders strap into their boots, which are bolted to the board. Wakeskating, however, is slightly different and more challenging. The athlete rides on a similar board, but there are no attached boots, rather the rider's feet are free and rest on top of the board without any support.

“This was the most awesome experience that any one of these guys has ever had, to be towed by a 3,600-horsepower ferry boat,” said team manager Todd Hicks after the crossing. “It was an incredible experience and they were very, very excited.”

At left: Pat Ramsay of Star Line gets an autograph on her wakeboard event poster from athlete Gunnar Shuler. Holding his board, he is about to step onto the deck of the ferry to wakeboard his way to St. Ignace. The team was on an annual summer promotional tour for Fox Racing of San Jose, California, a sportswear gear and clothing company that sponsors the group. This year the athletes are traveling in northern Michigan and Wisconsin.

“This is our international wakeboard team,” said tour manager Aimie Cappa. “They are the athletes kids watch on TV and follow regularly.”

Mr. Hicks traveled in the team's boat, following behind the Star Line boat to St. Ignace, ready to collect any of the men who might tumble into the 64-degree water.

Adam Errington watches teammate Rusty Malinoski perform a wake jump. Round Island Lighthouse and Mackinac Island's west breakwall are visible in the background. “I've always loved being on the water all the time,” said Gunnar Shuler aboard the Star Line boat while preparing to make the cross- ing. “One of the greatest things about wakeboarding is the places you go and the people you meet. It's just a great sport in general and it's just a lot of fun to do.”

Mr. Shuler, of Janesville, Wisconsin, has been wakeboarding for 10 years, starting in the sport when he was eight years old. He was joined on the tour by his brother, Gus, 15, the youngest member of the group.

Taking part along with the Shuler brothers were multi-national champion and a multi-world champion Rusty Malinoski, 2009 junior men's national champion Bob Soven, 2008 junior men's national champion Jimmy LaRiche, and 2007 junior men's national champion Adam Errington. Also making the trip was Reed Hansen, a five-time world champion wakeskater and a fourtime national champion.

At left: Wakeboarder Adam Errington kicks up spray as he focuses on the horizon and begins a flip called a tantrum. “It's going to be cold, but it's going to be fun,” said Rusty Malinoski as he prepared to jump into the water. Mr. Malinoski grew up in Humbolt, Saskatchewan, and has been wakeboarding for 15 years.

Normally, the men are pulled behind a special wakeboard boat which, unlike a speedboat, is designed to have a large wake the athletes use as a springboard of sorts for airborne tricks . Star Line's ferry provided a similar wake.

“Those big wakes, those are impressive to them,” said Mr. Hicks. “That's like a bag of cookies and a glass of milk at the end of the night. It's an incredible reward to have a wake that size coming off a boat that big for them to try and edge at or catch air or create some kind of trick off of that wake.”

Excitement runs high as Star Line's LaSalle ferry picks up speed and the wakeboard journey from Mackinac Island to St. Ignace gets underway. Wishing each other a fun adventure are Adam Errington (from left) and Rusty Malinoski, while nearby, Reed Hansen and Jimmy LaRiche get serious as the challenge begins. With still enough daylight remaining, the team had gathered on the end of the Star Line dock on the Island shortly before 9 p.m., carrying their wakeboards and signing autographs for excited fans as they waited for the St. Ignace boat, the LaSalle, to moor.

With passengers and athletes aboard, the ferry left the Mackinac Island dock, got into position in the harbor, and stopped. Star Line crew dropped the gangplanks and the athletes slid down them on their wakeboards, landing in the lake. Ski ropes were quickly tossed into the water one at a time until seven were deployed.

At left: As the LaSalle docks at the Star Line Railroad Dock in St. Ignace, Marte Johansen (left) and Astrid Christensen of Oslo, Norway, say they were lucky to take the last ferry from the Island. The two women cheered on the wakeboarders during the trip, and said the experience was the perfect way to end their vacation in the Straits. The Mackinaw City boat, the Marquette II, filled with passengers, held back at the dock with plans to travel alongside as long as possible to allow passengers time to watch the event before heading to the south to its mainland dock in the Lower Peninsula.

Once the wakeboarders gave the signal they were ready, Larry Spencer of Star Line got the boat underway. The men were immediately up on their boards, and passengers cheered. The boat quickly left the calm waters of the harbor, passed the breakwall and Round Island Light, and headed into the light chop of Lake Huron. The Marquette II ferry followed and the Fox team boat ran alongside with its crew keeping on eye on the athletes.

Seven athletes on tour with Fox Racing begin their wakeskate and wakeboard adventure, leaving the Mackinac Island harbor behind at 9 p.m. as they head to St. Ignace. Pictured (from left) are Adam Errington, Rusty Malinoski, Jimmy LaRiche, Reed Hansen, Gus Shuler, Gunnar Shuler, and Bob Soven. “The idea behind it was to start inside the harbor and to take off and ride for however long it was they could go,” said Mr. Hicks. “We were thinking it would be probably be half way between [the island and the mainland] and those guys rode all the way to St. Ignace. That's how excited they were.”

The team was cautious on the journey until they were about threequarters of the way to St. Ignace. Then, to the delight of passengers, the men demonstrated why they are champion wakeboarders. They crisscrossed under each other's lines, changing spots behind the boat, and they took to the air over the wake. They moved to the side to gather speed coming at the wake, and as they hit it, they flew up into the air about 15 feet before turning upside down, flipping around, and landing on the water.

Ferry passengers screamed with excitement.

“We were blown away,” said Marte Johansen of Oslo, Norway. “It was absolutely wonderful. We were so happy to take the last boat and what a good sport.”

She and her friend, Astrid Christensen, were on vacation visiting downstate Michigan friends, who recommended a trip to the Island.

“It was a nice ending to a very nice day,” said Ms. Christensen.

Wakeboard fan Tony Frey from Toledo, Ohio, and his family drove to the Straits to meet the athletes. For them, being on the ferry and watching the tricks was a bonus.

“I could not believe their flipping,” he said. “It was wonderful.”

First-time Mackinac Island visitors Jack Burns and Janet Rudlong of Andover, Minnesota, said the unexpected show made for an entertaining trip back to the mainland.

“We didn't expect the rooster tail and the wakeboarders,” said Mr. Burns. “It was a nice surprise.”

Of the seven men in tow, three fell during the trip and four reached the Star Line Railroad Dock in St. Ignace.

“The experience was absolutely incredible,” said Mr. Hicks. “Those guys have never done anything like that. For them to have experienced something like this, that's just priceless.”

The team visited the Mackinac Island Wednesday to sign autographs and promote the Fox Head brand, which is sold at Nadia's on the Island and in Mackinaw City and which is Fox's top selling, pri- vately owned retail store in the Midwest, said Mr. Hicks. Dave and Denise Haribar own the stores.

“They were really nice guys,” said Mr. Haribar, who added he would be happy if they came back next week.

The experience was positive for Fox and the athletes, said Mr. Hicks.

“The goal is to come back,” he said. “It is one of the most beautiful settings the team has been involved with.”

Making the wakeboarding stunts possible took some work. The athletes got the idea when they saw the wake from a Star Line boat while they were in Mackinaw City. Mr. Haribar said he spent most of the day trying to make the event come together. He called Mike North, general manager at Star Line. Knowing the men were champions at the sport helped alleviate some of Mr. North's initial safety concerns.

“I was a little nervous with that many going,” he said. “I figured if something didn't seem right when we were leaving, or they didn't seem to know what they were doing, I would have called it off.”

Mr. North said his own experience of waterskiing across the Straits behind the boat last summer also helped him weigh the decision.

In a few weeks, said Mr. North, he and Craig Skutt of St. Ignace are planning to repeat their own crossing of the Straits with a plan to raise funds to support local causes. Remembering the rough water and crossing the men experienced last summer, he said weather conditions will be a determining factor for the timing of the trip. This year, he said, they will wait for calm winds and seas.