February 07, 2008

A Few Thoughts on Wakesurfing, Before We're All Called to the Principal's Office

Despite being a few years old now, one article that I do hope a few of you have a chance to read is the one we published, titled Lake Associations and Us.

One item is not covered in that article, and is an important one now is wakesurfing. There are a lot of well-informed people reading this other sites and message boards, where there are people who serve the wakeboarding community as thought leaders and set a good example with regard to this sport. There are also others that seek information and learn and are better for it, as well as safer and not out making a bad name for the sport. Then there are the people without common sense but with big nice boats listing heavily to one side, running paths far too close to the shore This, and tower speakers, currently serve as our wake sports' most serious upcoming PR issues.

Unfortunately for wakesurfers, this sort of thing is an issue as much as it is for wakeboarders, and maybe one to grow quickly out of proportion if not watched carefully. If wakesurfing continues to grow at its' current rate, we could have widespread issues like this, if we don't already. On my little lake, when we wakesurf we do so in the middle of the lake, on days where it is too rough to wakeboard or skate. I don't think anyone besides my 5-10 person riding crew has any idea what they're seeing when we wakesurf - they may perceive it as some sort of bizarre shortline wakeboarding.

There is potential for wakesurfing to add fuel to the fire that exists from wakeboarding detractors. Maybe some of it is even a bit damning, and to be perfectly honest; relevant. Seeing photos from extreme angles that make a wakesurf wake appear to be 5 feet high is neat, and impressive in its own right. But it should be noted that this sort of thing if not handled properly could show up on a slide show at your local lake association meeting. As evidence. A type of evidence that does not benefit wake sports as a whole.

So as I am not a wakesurfing expert, I do have some thoughts. Wakesurfing in the middle of the lake is probably a good idea rather than running 200ft from shore. A minor population of people are in fact running parallel to a shore, and are too close, with the wakesurf side abreast to the shore. Let's just say mistakes will be made, and we'll all end up paying for it. Wakesurfers, wakeboarders, and wakeskaters - which means all of us. Please use caution and consideration while wakesurfing. It is a really cool offshoot of wakeboarding and I would like to see it grow in a healthy, non-litigated and non-regulated way.

Stay safe and stay fun out there.

Posted by erik