As extreme sports grow in popularity around the world, people have been looking for new ways to enjoy themselves. Watersports have an obvious draw for people who live in areas with bodies of water. There are dozens of watersports that have grown in popularity over the decades. Wakeboarding is one such sport that has attracted many athletes. It has even reached the heights of international competition and recognition by several athletic boards. In the same vein, wake surfing has grown in popularity with people around the world.
What is It?
Wake surfing is slightly different from wakeboarding. In wakeboarding, the rider is attached to the board the way one would be attached to a snowboard. Also, he or she is pulled by a boat for the duration of the ride. This helps create a constant speed and a constant wake. It is akin to snowboarding on the water. Surfing the wake, on the other hand, is more like surfing that takes place in the ocean.
The rider is not attached to the surfboard. Instead, the rider will get up to speed by holding onto a tow rope, but will then let go to ride the wake unaided.
The Basics
Wake surfing has something of a high learning curve, but if you enjoy surfing or wakeboarding, you can probably pick up on it fairly quickly. Typically, you will sit in the water with your feet on the board. The boat driver will take the slack out of the rope. When you signal, he or she will begin to accelerate the boat. You will turn the board to face the boat and dip it against the water so that the resistance of the water can propel you into a standing position. Typically, the boat will accelerate to about 10 mph. Then you will throw the rope back into the boat or to the side of the boat to be retrieved by those in the boat.
It’s an incredibly fun activity that can provide hours of enjoyment.
