Wakesurfing -
Summer is officially here and do you know what that means? It is time to get out on the water and enjoy the weather! As you enjoy your day relaxing on the lake, you’ll see boats doing all sorts of different activities, where the possibilities of water sports are endless.
Some of the main ones you’ll see are water skiing, kneeboarding, wakeboarding, tubing, and wakesurfing. Wakesurfing has become very popular recently as boats are being manufactured to better accommodate the sport. Many compare it to wakeboarding or even surfing.
What makes wakesurfing different you may ask? Well… Wakesurfing is essentially surfing, but you are riding the waves created by a boat instead of the ocean. It’s different from wakeboarding since you are “surfing” close behind the boat rather than behind the wave.
Before you get behind the boat, it is important to make sure that you have the proper equipment, starting with your wakeboard. There are three different board types to choose between - surf, hybrid and skim. Most beginners would use surf style boards as they are stable and great at catching waves. If you love to show-off and do tricks, then the skim style board is for you. They have smaller fins which allows for making spins and skate-inspired turns. Finally, there is the hybrid style board. This board is a mixture between the previous styles and offers the best of both boards with stability and agility.
Other things that are essential to wakesurfing would be boardshorts (or a swimsuit), a wakesurf rope and an appropriately sized life jacket. Once you have all of these, you are ready to ride the waves.
There are two different stances when it comes to wakesurfing. You can either have a regular stance, which means you ride with your left foot forward, or a goofy stance, which is your right foot forward. How do you learn what kind of stance you have though? Well it’s easy. All you have to do is get into the water and see what feels natural to you. It’s all about knowing what foot you consider to be dominant. Once you have determined which foot is dominant, remember to always keep that one closer to the nose of the board. Now it is time to get up and start surfing!
You might not get up immediately, but it’s important to remember that it is okay to fall down. It’ll give you a heads up of how to ditch if necessary. I have a few tips to help when you get started. Don’t try to pull yourself up - instead focus on staying in a fixed, strong position to allow the boat to pull you up. It is recommended to exit the white wash as you get comfortable with standing up. Once you are standing, feel free to slowly shift your weight from your heels to your toes in order to enter the wave again.
If you are in the waves and you start to notice that you don’t have any tension on your rope anymore, you can safely throw it to the other side of the wave or into the boat. You are now officially wakesurfing! Before you know it you will be a pro and doing a bunch of cool tricks. So put on the stylish shades, shorts and jackets, and skim the wakes where the wind jet's your hair back and the pictures turn out perfect!
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