MACkite Boardsports Center — Local services in Grand Haven Charter Township

I would not recommend to take Kiteboarding lessons there. We had an awful experience with the private lesson ($399) at the Muskegon MI location. It was our summer vacation and the kiteboarding was supposed to be a gift for our 19 years old son who had some experiences with KiteBoarding in Canada. We thought it would be nice to give this to him before going off to college. Our frustration started from the beginning. We booked this lesson (12-3pm) 3 months ago but only one week prior to the lesson, they emailed us that someone was available to teach at 2:30pm. We booked 3 months ago but no one was assigned until one week prior?? On that day. We went to the meeting location around 1:50pm to get ready. The meeting place was just storage and there was no one to talk to. A couple of instructors came by but looked puzzled that we were expecting the lesson... There was no reception at the meeting location so we could not contact the office. An instructor finally showed up around 3pm. And he said that he was told to come at the last minute and rush to be there. I could tell that he was not ready to teach mentally and not so happy to interrupt his weekend. And then another frustration started. I do not call it the lesson, but the 3 hour lecture at the beach. The instructor talked and showed him how to do 95 % of his time. Our son was not allowed to even touch the equipment in the first 1.5 hour. The instructor finally let him kite towardend. However, although he was kiting well, the instructor took the kite away from him immediately. It looked to me that the instructor cared more about his equipment than his learning. I was not sure how much this instructor had teaching experience. There was no actual kiteboarding in the water although our son begged him several times to do so because he was ready and had some experiences in the past. And the lesson was not even 3 hours. We found later that they tried to contact us to cancel the lesson around 2pm on that day because the wind was not sufficient. However, the meeting location did not get any reception so we did not get any messages and kept waiting for an instructor to show up. I understand that it is a difficult sport and depends on the weather. However, my biggest frustration was communication. Should they contact us at least noon on that day?? Don't they know there is no reception?? I wish they would contact us about the cancellation at least by noon so that we get a full refund and could do something else on that day. We wasted a whole...

The MACKite crew is a community of very active kiteboarders who clearly love the sport and are deeply knowledgeable. My wife and I did a two day intro course and bought a really nice starter kit afterwards. Here are our impressions: We thought the sport looked super fun but didn't know people who do it so we took the plunge for a lesson. It is definitely an investment so we really hoped the instructor would be competent and make good use of our time (and money). We were not let down! There is a lot to cover in 8 hours and Alex used time efficiently without rushing. You really do need to focus on each task! The training site is safe and functional. Safety was a strong emphasis in everything. Small class size limited to three people is great, and essential really. We just had two and that was ideal. The class is geared toward teaching the basics you need to know to go out and practice safely on your own (not solo, but unguided with friends) and they really work to get you there. We feel and our instructor feels that we got there (though there is still much to study and practice). They were flexible with scheduling sessions to accommodate wind. The shop is awesome, everybody we met associated with teaching or retail absolutely loved the sport. They all wanted to share their love and help us not only get started but continue to play beyond the lessons, giving tips for good spots, used gear options. We talked with several people before committing to the gear and nobody pushed us into it, just shared inspiration and advice from experience. When we went for the gear they worked with us on price and upgrades since we had done the lesson. Be prepared for the spend, but if it's anything like other amazing pieces of gear we've bought, like packrafts and backcountry skis, you'll never regret having bought it if you use it! Finally, competent people can be hard to find in the world. This...

Intrigued by efoiling for years, we finally learned of the efoiling lessons in Grand Haven while visiting Holland MI. Since it was the last week of the summer, we were able to get a last minute lesson for my husband and me the very next day.

The conditions at the Pottawattomie Park lake in Grand Haven were perfect. Katie welcomed us and was all set up for us when we arrived. She showed us the remote, the equipment and gave us instructions on the water. Katie was patient and let us master gliding on our stomachs, then knees, and then standing up on the board with ease. Foiling, on the other hand for me, was not as graceful. My husband quickly mastered the foiling as a windsurfer. I, as a SUPer, on the other hand, needed much more practice and Katie guided me through each step.

Eventually, my husband and I were able to foil on the board.

Katie was knowledgeable and gave clear instructions with each step. She was able to get two 50+ year olds up on the board foiling! We were able to play on the water until our batteries got low (about 1.5 -2 hours).

I highly recommend Katie and MacKite for a...