Santa Claus ditches sleigh for water skis, makes a splash on Okanagan Lake

If you thought you spotted Santa Claus water skiing on Okanagan Lake, your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you.

A water skier dressed as the jolly old elf braved the winter weather on Saturday to head out for a session on Okanagan Lake.

Environment Canada recorded the maximum temperature in Kelowna as -0.6 C on Saturday.

In the video, the slaloming Santa is carving hard on his single ski.

Long-time Kelowna resident Noel Acres was the water skier behind the stunt.

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Acres said he has always wanted to go for a winter water ski and cooked up the Santa suit idea with a friend.

The water skier said he had a wetsuit on underneath his Santa costume.

Acres said wearing a Santa suit and beard makes it much more difficult to water ski.

Being layered up restricted his movement, he said, and created a lot of drag.

The stunt was filmed and is being used for promotional purposes by the Downtown Kelowna Marina.