Henderson KY Man Once Stayed Aloft on a Kite Over the Ohio River for 12 Hours

On a beautiful weekend in the tri-state, it's common to see tons of recreational traffic on the Ohio River. Sunday was a great example. All that sunshine, all that dry air.

Mostly, you'll just see boaters--speed boats, pontoons, houseboats--and folks swimming and, on a few occasions, water skiing. But about 60 years ago, a more unusual sight was available for onlookers and river travelers. Well, maybe it was unusual then, but the activity known as kite surfing has grown in popularity over the last six decades. Today, it's known as kite boarding.

Kite surfing or kite boarding has ALWAYS looked like fun and something that I would never try, gotta be honest. However, had a man named Dick MacInnes felt that way in 1964, we wouldn't have a great story to tell about Kentucky.

But, truth be told, there isn't a whole lot of information about MacInnes staying aloft for 12 hours over the Ohio River back in 1964. (This is why I don't get why kite boarding and kite surfing are interchangeable terms; they're not exactly the same activities.)

In some circles, it's labeled a world record, but in Guinness, there is no MacInnes. This man, in particular, seems quite perturbed at the lack of available info about Dick MacInnes.

But that dude didn't look hard enough. Usawaterski.org has made available a 1964 issue of a magazine called The Waterskier, and if you scroll down to page 11, you'll see a letter MacInnes wrote to the publication detailing his Ohio River adventure.

Again, I'm not sure if the proper term--in 2024--is kite surfing or kite boarding. Whatever WHOEVER calls it, it looks like a blast, and with warm weather setting up shop for the next three months, maybe we'll see a little of both.

Or is "both" even correct? I'm so confused.