Greers Ferry Lake, AR (Aug. 1-2, 2009) - Wake it up Greers Ferry Lake! The INT League is coming to town for the 3rd Annual Heber Wake Fest on Greers Ferry Lake, a wakeboard and wake skate event. The Wake Fest will be held at Sandy Beach. This event will be the 5th & 6th stop on the INT 2009 tour.

The INT League offers divisions for wakeboarders and wake skaters from novice all the way up to pro. Each division is based on ability level, providing a non-intimidating environment for participants to compete against competitors of similar ability levels. INT offers divisions for both kids and adults. The competition aims to provide a forum where riders can improve their riding ability level, learn new tricks and meet new friends. Riders will show off their tricks and style for bragging rights and a trophy! Pro and outlaw riders will show off their stuff to win $17,000 in prize money.

INT is using a slightly different format at this event. Amateur riders will be given two passes and the opportunity to post on score on Saturday. The top 3 riders in each division will proceed to a finals round on Sunday to determine who will be crowned the Heber Wake Fest winners.

Pro Participants will have four passes or four falls, whichever comes first, and will be scored on the INT point system. They will have the opportunity to post a score on Saturday and another score on Sunday morning. We will then take the best score of the two days to determine our top 10 finalists. The top 10 will then go on to a finals round on Sunday to see who will be the lucky rider awarded the BIG MONEY!

Competitors can register online at intleague.com/arkansas. Onsite registration and check-in will open at 7:00am Saturday for all Entro and Novice riders and 8:15 for all other divisions. The tournament will commence at 8:00am with the opening ceremonies. The running order will be announced onsite on Saturday morning. Spectators are welcome. Paid camping is available on Greers Ferry Lake. The park will charge a small entrance fee of $10, valid Saturday and Sunday.

This event is sponsored by Arkansas Specialty Orthopedics, Stuckey and Grimes Xteme Marine, Diamond Lakes Watersports, MC Boats, Bennett's Waterski and Wakeboard School, Kawasaki Sports Center, and the Arkansas State Troopers.

Special thanks to the INT League National Sponsors: Nautiques, Moomba, MasterCraft, Tige, Supra, Malibu Boats, HO Sports, Straightline Ropes, Hyperlite, Connelly, CWB Board Co., EZ-Slalom, Indmar, Radar, Ronix, Water Sports Industry Association, PCM, Studio 8 Productions.

The Heber Wake Fest event is the 5th and 6th stop on the INT 2009 tour. Stop 7 will conclude our season at Lake Degray, Arkadelphia, AR on August 22nd. INT will wrap up the day with an awards banquet that evening. Arkansas INT will be hosting INT Eastern/Central Regionals at Burns Park, Little Rock, AR, September 17-20th.

About the INT League
The INT League hosts amateur and pro waterski, wakeboard, kneeboard, and wake skate tournaments nationwide in an effort to grow grassroots watersports. For more information please see the INT website at intleague.com.

"If you can pass, you shouldn't wrap". -Internet

Aside from message board griping, the only actual anti-wrapping material I can recall comes from my early competitive days when you had to write & pre-submit your attack sheet/pass lists to the judges. During that time, wrapped "helicopters" were worth 25 or 50 points less than the handle-pass "helicopter" for the first or second year - then they were equal. Yes I'm old. And yes I checked.

The thing is - wrapped tricks aren't some easy-as-pie, 1st rung on a ladder sort of thing. I think that's one of the biggest problems - the misconception that any trick that has a wrapped variant is flat-out super easy compared to its handle-pass analog and this just isn't the case. Check out some of Danny Harf's recent boosted wrapped toe backside 180's, Aaron Rathy's wake to wake backside 900 or Chris O'Shea's general repertoire of tricks that involved wrapping, which he, like me, was doing even before they came back in style. Chris O'Shea and I have only this in common - he's actually very good at wakeboarding!

I haven't been to a clinic in a while where someone is learning spins (everyone's all about the inverts nowadays) but I don't think people are taught wrapped tricks as if it were the barefoot boom of wakeboarding spins. My box set of Shaun Murray's Detention 2012 does not cover wrapped spins, but does cover wrapped KGB's. So I'd bet that Shaun and others teach passing more often because it is a more useful stepping stone and from a purely technique/utilitarian standpoint, passing carries over to more advanced stuff like mobes. So passing is clearly a technique that you can't live without, while you can be an excellent rider and not know how to wrap, especially in this day & age. Again that alone gives it some kind of quirky appeal to me.

I wonder if wrapped tricks are more common/acceptable for older riders like the editors of The Wakeboard Report, and for folks with a trick-skiing background. Each editor of this site came from a trick-skiing background so there's probably the reason why we have them dialed. One thing I do believe in strongly is the idea of trying to be well-rounded and not just capable of one method of spinning. That said, there are a lot of spins I can only do in one form vs another, which makes little sense to me.

For example:

I can only do switch toeside backside 3's INTO a wrap (which is technically a handlepass trick or if you use your imagination a weird muscle-memory extension of a blindside 180 - you're just starting at a pre-corked position which eases the rotation around).

I can only do regular stance hs backside 3's wrapped.

I can only do hs frontside 3's via handlepass.

My toeside 5's are passed too, but my switch-to-front 5's are wrapped (they also happen to be my favorite trick of all, spin or invert).

Ultimately I think wrapping is a lost art that has recently seen some sort of renaissance. Not a lot of people do it, yet most professional wakeboarders and many professional wakeskaters ride with t or v handles on a regular basis. Perhaps it's my age, my aforementioned in background in trick skiing or various other factors, but ultimately this is a really silly debate. For some reason whenever it comes up, I bite. Each time the subject comes up it makes less sense to me, when there's guys like Chris O'Shea and Randy Harris cooling it up like nobody's business. I bet O'Shea can do handlepass 5's, but I prefer his wrapped version of the trick over just about anyone else's 5 - including elusive ones like backside to-blind 5's, o/a, ole' and awkward toeside stuff.

Please join me in crossing your fingers that the recent resurgence of wrapped tricks isn't a fad, but a recognition of the fact that you can hold a grab longer, glide the board out farther behind you, and in many cases are as impressive and fun as their handle-pass counterpart.

As a protest, my new handle will be customized to only have a t-handle and a 2 foot-long extension of line that attaches to my belt loop with a caribiner. That's it.

Please pay FUEL TV's Web site a visit and check out the 2009 Air Nautique Wake Games while you're at it. Remember this is the network that is doing right by your sport. I timed the install of the player you'll need in order to watch this (and everything else you watch on FUEL.TV from now forward). 22 seconds. Soon I was soon hearing the voice of the man who first put me in print when he was the editor of Wakeboarding Magazine - and who has now become the official voice of broadcast wakeboarding - Jeff Barton began speaking and I watched the entire thing start to finish.

Thanks FUEL, for your commitment to the sport.

» 2009 Air Nautique Wake Games]]> tag:www.wakeboardreport.com,2008://1.129 2009-06-18T07:23:19Z 2009-07-09T00:20:19Z

An interesting thing to note is that this entry by far wins the contest for being in draft mode for the longest without being trashed or posted to my entry called The Wakeboard Report's Topics That Never Made It... because I began writing it 2 weeks before my epic journey to Correct Craft headquarters for a series of in-depth interviews and tours, most of which I could not even talk about until now due to informal non-disclosure agreements. That visit was in April. For example, during this visit I saw the FCT-3 on Mr. Bill Yeargin's Super Air Nautique 210 and, accidentally out of the corner of my eye, saw the 216V (I think - it was a funny moment - I was at the test lake with Correct Craft's designers and was told to do them a favor, and look the other way for a moment while a distinctive black boat with the FCT-3 was towed right by me. I remember someone remarking "That was definitely not supposed to be here today". I obeyed and looked the other way but I think I know what I saw). Regardless, after my trip I had to set this post aside and more carefully think out what I need to say. This is going to be a lengthy one - get a soda. This list is in no particular order, except for this one:

The Sport Nautique
From our vantage point, the most versatile and arguably best boat that Correct Craft has ever produced so far, is the Sport Nautique. The Sport Nautique's run (or Crossover 216 as 2009 Correct Craft marketing literature indicates) began in 1989 and has not yet ended. It has seen several design changes (big ones for 1993 and 1997) along the way after Correct Craft first designed it. You need to be happy about the Sport Nautique because it was a common denominator during an era when wakeboarding was progressing at an incredible pace. In some ways it was all we ever needed, and professional wakeboarders can probably do the same run behind a properly weighted 1994 Sport Nautique as they can behind a brand new boat (we, however, probably can't). If a pro rider flew to some remote island for a paid clinic and upon arriving at his or her destination learned that a Sport Nautique was available instead of a beat-to-death outboard, they'd breathe a gigantic sigh of relief (peep this for an exception to the above and general display of professionalism under poor boat-related circumstances). Also, the fact that it exists today tells us a tale about the longevity of the boat. For more information on this boat, please check out our other feature The Ten Thousand Dollar Sport Nautique Has Arrived for more reasons why people should be enthusiastic about that boat.

The Ski Nautique 2001
Originally designed as a tournament 3-event towboat, the 1982-1989 Ski Nautique is a boat with a solid ride, excellent craftsmanship, but has a significant wake at all speeds due to its deep v hull. Other inboards made in that time frame provided a smaller wake, but the tradeoff was a rough ride in chop, and with a few exceptions (American Skier, MasterCraft ProStar) the Ski Nautique was without competition. The Ski Nautique received an important redesign in 1990 - making the boat's wake significantly smaller and thus more appealing to 3-event skiers. It was a phenomenal redesign but with approximately 9000 82-89 Ski Nautique 2001's built, many of them are still on the water repurposed as wakeboard machines. The two 1986 Ski Nautiques in our extended family began their lives as slalom and barefoot machines, but by 1992 they shifted and became dedicated wakeboard platforms with extended pylons, towers and ballast. The boat is extremely versatile, powerful, nimble and well constructed. We sold one of our 2001's to buy a Super Air Nautique and I regret that decision several times a week. I've requested first right of refusal should my buyer decide he doesn't want my old boat anymore. The Ski Nautique 2001 is a classic and is one of the most important boats Correct Craft has ever made.

The Super Sport Nautique or Super Air Nautique 210 Classic
In 2006 Correct Craft took what many consider to be one of the best wakeboarding hulls ever made, and set it next to the 80's era Ski Nautique hull. In back, somewhere in their bin full of storied, yet discontinued hulls. Many find that the Super Sport is one of Correct Craft's best built, most forward-thinking and designed boats of all time - and as an owner of the one you see to the right - I agree. But the boat is not without its criticisms, and there were reasons why it was so significantly redesigned. Some report that the wake is too vertical, and that it can feel like hitting a wall instead of a ramp if they are used to "mound" shaped wakes, and there is a 4-6 inch trough immediately outside the wake. The boat was redesigned to address some of these issues and generally freshen up the interior as well. Comparatively, the boat does not need much ballast to provide its best wakeboarding experience, one that has essentially defined the term "world class wake". At about 1500lbs, and at 22-25mph, you find why this boat has been on many wakeboarder's minds and lifts since 1995. The Super Sport based iteration of the 210 was discontinued after 2006, after an amazing run. I don't believe it will ever come back (despite many folks pleading), and its removal from the lineup was a very surprising development, particularly as the boat could not even be ordered as a plain ol' Super Sport in 2007. This shook the resale market for Super Sport based 210's and current owners rejoiced. Buyers and seekers, could only weep. It is a coveted boat indeed.

The SV211
When we first heard that the boat called the 211 was the replacement for the Super Sport, we we're intrigued. When we saw it, we questioned the assertion Correct Craft dealers had made. When we heard it made a fantastic slalom boat as well as a fantastic wake boat, we knew it wasn't the replacement we had in mind. But the 211 is kind of Correct Craft's cash cow and it has serious merits. Strictly in terms of interior design and refinements it does trump the 1995-2006 Super Sport/or 210 Classic. Again while the 211 will likely never be in our garage or slip, it is in a substantial amount of garages and slips and competes with the stern-drive (I/O) market very well. Any boat that Correct Craft builds in such high quantities, we pay attention to, particularly as this one is also positioned to convince families to go for a top quality inboard instead of an I/O. There have been many 211's made and thus a lot available in the used market and the boat makes for a solid choice for so many families. The 211 has staying power and even if we based that only on the pure number of boats built (and we don't...), it has made its mark and is now in my book a heralded Correct Craft classic.

The Ski Nautique 196
This is a wakeboarding site, but we can't help notice that the Ski Nautique remains brilliant, both in terms of branding and performance. The Ski Nautique 196, with its unapologetically closed bow and (now) retro graphics would be in our boathouse if the finances allowed for 2 Correct Crafts. Even as an avid wakeboarder, I still ski and I barefoot. Heck I'd even like to get back into trickskiing (or shortboard as the kids are calling it) to see if I could put down a backroll on one of those things. For 3-event folks, the Ski Nautique has been iterated upon many times and has reached a nearly perfect point. If my Super Air Nautique is a high end SUV on the water, the Ski Nautique 196 is its Porsche. And it is a classic.

And Now Inducting the Super Air Nautique 230 and Crossover Nautique 236.
Answering what the industry was calling for, Correct Craft released to the world a large, versatile boat in 2006, as a 2007 model, dubbed the Correct Craft 236 Crossover, and a year later released a wakeboarding branded version of the same hull - the Super Air Nautique 230. For years I wanted to see them create a boat that cracked the 23ft mark and compete with boats like the X-45 and the Malibu 247. Drawing upon prior articles we've posted that have contained claims that wake boats will never get smaller, the evolved wake boat is not a 19'-21' craft, but rather a 22'-25' one. With rising fuel prices and the financial considerations, there is a sweet spot and it's approximately 23' 1.5" without the platform. For a long time the magic number was 21'. Riders, owners and those that pay for gas, build garages and house these boats seem to have been able to accommodate 23' lake boats into their lives, so that's where we'll be for awhile.

The Super Air Nautique 230 and Crossover Nautique 236 further iterate on an interesting design track that was first started with the introduction of the Super Air Nautique 220 in August of 2005. This trend, particularly the interior layout and general concept has changed a bit in 4 years but the basic ideas are still there. The convertible seating system and some of the mechanical and design considerations are seen in several boats that have been released since the 220, and the 230/236 is among them.

The Super Air Nautique 230 and Crossover Nautique 236 somehow manage to look right with any of the towers that Correct Craft offers, but I prefer the heavy-duty Flight Control Tower which was specifically designed for it. Insofar as the opinion found here can affect a purchase - let me offer some advice. Buy a boat that is as timeless looking as possible. Often graphics packages subvert that option, but in those cases timelessness is only a peel away. The general lines of the 230/236, its conservative yet modern upholstery, interior amenities and helm, propel the 230/236 into the timeless category. With its careful balance of conservative lines, a wide array of options and packages, combined with the fact that the boat is popular and many are being built - the boat will be around for a long time. It is the boat of choice of Correct Craft team riders Danny Harf and Shaun Murray, and I'm sure is one of their most requested boats coming out of their Promotional Team division.

I don't think the popularity of the Super Air Nautique 230 and Crossover Nautique 236 is simply a fad. I have seen the wake the boat produces. It's no pretender wake boat, requiring 4000lbs of aftermarket ballast & plumbing lunacy to make a rider happy. I'm not saying you won't add ballast beyond its stock offering, but you won't be needing the equivalent weight of another boat to be happy behind it. I've spent a considerable amount of time in and around it, noting the amenities and year-to-year refinements that are made to the modular seating system, storage areas, gelcoat and decal options. We've spent a lot of time thinking about this model since its release, and we're convinced it is the real deal. Despite being in production for only 3 years so far, we're ready to call the Super Air Nautique 230 and Crossover Nautique 236 Correct Craft's next heralded, and coveted, classic boats.

Please stay tuned - looks like we've got an interview with AA in the works concerning his win, the 09 King of Wake season, and updates on his equipment - from boards to boots to boats. Remember how I promised a Podcast series? I meant it. 2 are already complete. We'll go live with 5 and then each of you do your best to get me to the top of iTunes and other Podcast aggregators.

We had our money on a few things regarding this event - some of it panned out, some of it did not. What was I right about, and about what was I wrong... Let's take a look.

1. I predicted an Andrew Adkison top 2 finish. Right!

2. I predicted, and was willing to bet 20 bucks that Aaron Rathy was going to do his best at stealing the show with the first-ever 1080 landed in competition. Wrong.

3. I predicted that the excitement over my invitation to work with Correct Craft event staff at Masters would be short lived, because it was too awesome to not fall through. It did indeed fall through. Right.

Congratulations again Andrew, and Congratulations to Nicola Butler for taking the female title!

PS: This post was authored in its entirety from my PlayStation 3. The Web browser leaves a lot to be desired but it can be done.

In the Junior Wakeboard and Tricks Finals Rounds, Steel Lafferty and Adam Pickos finished strong with first place wins. Steel Lafferty placed first in the Junior Wakeboard Finals with a score of 53.67 and Adam Pickos took first place in the Junior Men's Tricks Finals with a score of 9580.

In other disciplines, Caroline Hensley, Lauren Morgan and Michael Stevenson took leading positions to the finals in their respective divisions. Caroline Hensley finished the Junior Women's Slalom Semi Finals Round with a score of 1@38-off, Lauren Morgan wrapped the Junior Women's Jump Semi Finals with a score of 138 ft and Michael Stevenson concluded the Junior Men’s Jump Semi Finals Round with a score of 164 ft.

An invitation to compete in the Masters is universally considered an acknowledgment of achievement for reaching the pinnacle in a given watersports discipline - only the world's most elite athletes compete at the Masters. This tournament is IWSF/USA Water Ski and WWA sanctioned. The prize purse, trophies, rings and special event awards are the largest in the watersports industry and total nearly $110,000.

Celebrating 84 years of excellence in the marine industry, Correct Craft, Inc. is the producer of the Nautique line of boats. The manufacturer of Nautique is known for delivering superior quality product, cutting-edge technology and exceptional service experiences. To see the complete line of Nautique boats, visit www.nautiques.com

A handful of each boat shown below will be handling the Yeoman's work this weekend.

More Photos:
» 50th Anniversary Masters Edition Super Air Nautique 230
» 50th Anniversary Masters Edition 196

Editor's Note: I was supposed to be at this event. It fell through at the last minute. Reporting on from afar like this just doesn't have the same impact that reporting on it from there, in many cases from the boat would have. Nevertheless I look forward to attending Correct Craft's 51st Masters Tournament from lovely Georgia.

More details and results as they become available. Stay tuned.

ShelterLogic has earned the one blacklist/do not recommend label we have ever applied in nearly 5 years of The Wakeboard Report's existence. We've been featured in such publications as Wakeboarding Magazine, Alliance Wake Magazine, the Orlando Sentinel and several other media outlets, and we've never used our position of modest influence to do anything but make positive or at least constructive remarks about boats, boards, riders, trends and wakeboarding accessories (we reserve the right to not cover certain boat brands and products but this protects us from making negative comments). Our goal is to fit somewhere between a style of "enthusiast press" and "consumer reports". Donning the consumer reports hat, we must again remind you of ShelterLogic's stance on their warranty program and their approach to customer support. As you read this, please also know that if I hear from ShelterLogic, and can get their side to this issue, I am more than willing to post it. I presume you want both sides of the story, and I'd provide it if I could get a word out of ShelterLogic.

After over a year of attempting to meet ShelterLogic in the middle on this matter, they have chosen to stick to a path of silence and avoidance and our only recourse is to tell you about it. $600 is hard to part with, particularly when you see your investment essentially pretzeled after the season's first stiff wind. The original title for this entry was Our Open Letter to ShelterLogic LLC, Out of Watertown, CT, and we truly believed it to be exactly that. What they have done in return is ignore our phone calls, ignore our email, and ignore our warranty claim. They happily took our $600USD for a canopy that was destroyed 32 days after I paid cash for the item. After supplying the President of ShelterLogic with photos and an offer to bring the carcass of the canopy and $300 to them (thus meeting them half way and providing them with all the necessary materials they might want in order to recycle/repurpose the materials) the answer was a curt "In regard to this issue, I consider it closed since last October when we discussed it" from Mr. James Raymond, ShelterLogic's President.

Shelterlogic is sticking with their strategic 100% avoidance of us and refusal to warranty the item.

The original post was as follows:

One of the reasons the site has been slow on the content side is that I started a fantastic new job that has kept me extremely busy, both during the time in which stories roll in, and after hours as well. As I find my footing, the stories will come back in full force, and we'll be back up on our normal schedule. We have some pretty exciting news in the works. Unfortunately, we need to get this item off our back, so we can return to our normal schedule of fun articles.

On with the letter.

Dear ShelterLogic LLC,

We purchased a very expensive canopy/rounded garage directly from your company, ShelterLogic, LLC, out of Watertown, CT in June and immediately began writing a detailed article about it. The article is not only quite detailed and positive, but it is now complete. We decided it is so thorough, that in addition to posting it here on The Wakeboard Report, we would submit it to Wakeboarding Magazine for consideration in an upcoming issue. I have been published in Wakeboarding Magazine before - and had been in talks with Matt Hickman to write a series of consumer advocacy articles. Let's come back to that in a moment.

My round garage was erected in little over 6 hours and was rock solid until portions of the lower base of the structure gave way and the structure collapsed on one side, bending many of the large diameter tubes. As the structure collapsed, the fabric punctured through the tower on my Super Air Nautique but by some miracle no metal made contact with the boat. The gel coat and the aluminum fascia on the boat remained unscathed. We got lucky on that - otherwise this would be an insurance claim. However our $600 canopy, which was assembled by no less than 3 college educated people and appropriately secured to the ground, stood in place for just over 30 days. 30 days. Your warranty goes a bit beyond this time period if I am not mistaken.

So, we contacted you, ShelterLogic, explained the problem and wrote a letter explaining what had happened expecting you to honor your warranty. It seemed a pretty open/shut case to us. When we call and are put on hold, we listen to the tagline and official messaging about your products (800.932.9344). "...That's why we like to think our products are standing between the weather and your world. ". Hmmm... We informed you that we had drafted a glowing review of the product which was to be posted here on The Wakeboard Report, and at several other outlets - among them the submission to Wakeboarding Magazine. Not as a threat - not as ransom, but as a good reason to honor your warranty. I didn't ask for a discount on this product, I walked in, paid, and was poised to give you some fantastic FREE advertising and Google search hits.

Things were looking good at first. We spoke to a nice lady named Candice, sent the required documents to go along with our claim, along with our letter. Maybe that's where things went wrong. You, ShelterLogic went dark - and soon I found out that rather than call me to negotiate a buyback of the materials (some of which clearly could be reused), you called Wakeboarding Magazine. And Wakeboarding Magazine with a new editor (Congratulations again, Kevin) had no knowledge of any work I had done with the magazine in the admittedly somewhat distant past, or was in the process of negotiating/angling for either. Three days later I received a rather curt, but very final sounding email from ShelterLogic's President, Mr. James Raymond. In it, he canceled/voided and basically said "No" to my warranty claim. I am not a lawyer - but is that even possible?

This action put me in a bad light with Wakeboarding Magazine, which I have since remedied. But ShelterLogic, before taking any further actions I would like to offer you an opportunity to make this right. I offered to round up everything I had, rent a Uhaul trailer and lug the remains of my $600 garage to your door. I have received no reply on this. I've sent mail to you explaining the situation with Wakeboarding Magazine and again, have received no reply. As I stated in those email messages I am at this point even willing to meet you halfway on this financially.

I want to work with you on this. As I said in my previous mail I see this ultimately benefiting both parties. Please consider these issues carefully - we do want to work this out with you.

Thank you - you know how to reach me,
Erik Jernberg
Editor - The Wakeboard Report

So. What has happened? Quick hit style here.

1. 1080's are still going down quite a bit. While I'm loathe to say that they're not newsworthy events, I'm actually more astounded at the fact that so many different athletes are putting down 1080's than the fact that they keep happening by Rusty and Danny. And as a sidenote - the talk of Danny's 1260 being the only one for awhile (some cite the 1999-2008 gap between Parks' 10 and Danny's - and that's utter garbage). Have you seen Aaron Rathy's 10's? That guy could stick a 12 tomorrow and I would certainly post about it, but not hold my hands in my head in amazement like I did when I saw Danny's 1080 footage from 2006. In other words I'd be impressed but not falling out of my chair and into a fetal position claiming that wakeboarding progression needs nothing further from any athlete ever again.

2. While we're on the subject of Aaron Rathy, while trying to shed talk of overconfidence/cockiness, is just slaying the wakeboarding scene. I saw a clip recently where he sticks an obscenely clean 1080 and starts his 50 Cent inspired stare down at the camera at about the 990 mark. And you know what? if I were that good I wouldn't put that sort of thing past me. I remember being that young - and I had that phase. Except my Fiddy-Cent stares came after a killer wrapped wake-to-wake 3 and not one of the most elusive tricks in our sport. And I wasn't staring at a HD camera lens, I was staring at a bass fisherman who probably couldn't have given a shit.

3. The Red Bull Wake Lab event seemed to be a phenomenal success - both in terms of pushing the boundaries of our sport and giving it excellent exposure. Exposure in Orlando where arguably is needs it the least - but I digress. The setup looked like something out of a videogame.

4. Boat Show attendance was low this year, boat show boat purchases were down year over year and dealers, by some anecdotal accounts, are sitting on unsettlingly large amounts of 2008 stock. I'm kind of getting sick of hearing that X dealership in X county in X state is sitting on X number of leftover 2008 X-Stars. I know a good way to move these boats - sell them for what they are really worth.

5. Parks Bonifay is having a documentary made about him and it sounds like it is coming together quite well, meanwhile Collin Harrington's "Box of Fun" video really seems like it is going to deliver.

6. The internet's Kevin Fleischmann remains the biggest tool bag that our community has to offer. I don't call people out but really you can't find a guy who's more likely to collect a heap of garbage and dog poo, set it on your internet porch, light it on fire, and run away like a misdirected tween. My wishes for him: diapers, and a conscience. Over the years this infant has asked me for logos and other assets, advice - which I've happily given him. At one point I even gave him admin privileges on The2001.com - but this is a guy that will take an olive branch, snap it while you watch and then try to smoke it. Forget trust - go with run when it comes to this man-baby.

7. Epic released an industry-breakthrough Hybrid revision of its 23ft wake boat. Who knows where this technology will take us, but I like that it is being investigated. My guess is that other companies will follow suit.

8. MasterCraft has released a 30ft model, called the MasterCraft 300. While we're tipped our hats at the MasterCraft CSX line of boats, the 300 confuses me entirely.

9. Much to my surprise, the Correct Craft 226 was not discontinued due to product cannibalism from the Crossover 216v and Super Air Nautique 220, and looks to be a pretty impressive offering.

10. N3 Boatworks made an all black or "murdered out" Super Air Nautique for promotional purposes for a boat show and the Internet's head exploded. It's one of the most incredible examples of custom work since the Byerly Icon Edition.

More soon. Big feature coming, but I want to get a few quick-hits out to you immediately. Thanks for passing by.

Is anybody still reading ?
Do you still care?
Will you still value my opinions despite the fact that the site was down for a bit?

And will Correct Craft still consider giving me a boat for promotional purposes? I am still anxiously awaiting the day when my white/blue/white Super Air Nautique 230 Team Edition arrives with a bow on it and The Wakeboard Report logo stitched into the rear hatch. If that happens you can bet that the site will never see so much as an hour of down time.

Jokes (well, sort of jokes - I still want that boat) aside, I welcome you to the "off life support" version of The Wakeboard Report. We weren't on life support for lack of content - plenty of stories are queued up. We were on technical life support because our relationship with an excellent Web hosting provider ended, and we had to move servers. Moving the blogging platform on which The Wakeboard Report is built is no small matter, and we were reduced at one point to a gigantic text file and a measly Google cache. But we rise.

I won't let it happen again.

Love,
Erik

PS. The2001.com is also back up and running.

Test

Cliff notes:

- Guy switches boat brands, lands deal on a boat he didn't think he could afford

- Forum troll slams original brand, congratulates guy for switching

- Forum troll does what trolls do - trolls more. Trolling succeeds.

- Thread becomes pigpile of anger toward idiot troll, powered by idiot troll, being solid at his 'trade'.

- Slammed brand (by troll) sees executive come to the thread to offer idiot troll candy or a trip to the factory

- Idiot troll says no and gets blasted by most of the community

- And it just keeps going

Sometimes this kind of thing just can't be made up!

Enjoy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Original Post:

F5 (refresh) keys are getting a workout this week as word got out that Correct Craft's 2009 Web site will soon be released. Starting around 2004 I've seen some manufacturers choose to fully refresh their Web sites as much as half a year prior to the actual calendar rollover so there is some precedence here and some reason to check back frequently. But to me, anything inside of the November 1 - December 31 timeframe is entirely acceptable and I've been watching wake boat manufacturers' Web sites since 1999 - a time when Master Craft didn't even own mastercraft.com yet. I've seen new model year Web sites go up anywhere from 6 months before the calendar rollover to 8 months past it (you know who you are) and this means that we're still well within the acceptable range to see the new CorrectCraft.com anytime between now and more than a month from today.

We know the site is close to being released and that it is complete and now in QA. What we all need to do now is calm down a little bit, and ready ourselves for the forthcoming press release announcing that the site has gone live. Heck - we may even get the site a day before the press release even hits the wire. We'll make the announcement here when the site goes live and already look forward to configuring several of our most coveted boats - the Super Air Nautique 230 with a Flight Control Tower, the Super Air Nautique 210 with the new Roswell tower option, and the 216v, again with the Roswell tower option.

Editor's Note:
Apple users, pressing command + R, apple + R or 'cloverleaf' + R in combination will get you the same result that us Windows folks get by slamming F5 every 40 seconds or so, but it might just lead to carpel tunnel syndrome faster for you. So add this to the list of reasons that we feel you shouldn't be doing this and should simply hang tight. The wait shouldn't be too much longer.

Editorial note: Wow. A huge Congratulations goes out to Danny Harf from all of us at The Wakeboard Report.

Please enjoy the video below.

Greg Nelson will be focusing on brand awareness through the creation and maintenance of marketing programs, team management and (we presume) product development.

Don't know who Greg Nelson is? Oh, well that's unfortunate but let me tell you a little bit about what I know about Greg Nelson, you young'n. He's one of the originators of the sport as we know it today. He almost singlehandedly started the rail/jib trend. He legitimized wakeboarding by showing the crossover potential with snowboarding, since he is an avid snowboarder almost as much as a wake enthusiast. He was the first person to connect form with content on the water, resulting in style. Greg Nelson was also the first (correct me if I'm wrong, other historians) to create a rider-owned board company Double Up, which has been enormously successful. At times he has maintained a lower profile than other Godfathers of the sport such as Scott Byerly, but he's remained in the industry for a long time and putting his name next to people like Scott Byerly, Erich Schmaltz, Bill MCaffray, Erik (Gator) Lutgert and others is very appropriate. His knowledge of the inner workings of a wakeboarding, both from a company standpoint and from that of a professional rider, is vast and should be of enormous value to Hyperlite.

This ends class for today. Congratulations to both Hyperlite and Greg Nelson for this seemingly good fit.

Canada was.

Running up to that last tour stop in Connecticut, I saved around $500 for exclusive splurge purposes, knowing I would not have many chances like this to get wakeboarding and boating items that aren't normally carried in catalogs. I wanted items that were sold exclusively at events like Surf Expo and Pro Tour stops. That weekend I purchased a 500lb ballast bag, a zero-stretch line, and an original Liquid Force Squirt from Tony Finn Himself. He literally handed it to me. OH YEAH IT'S NAME CHECK TIME! I met, as mentioned, Tony Finn, Tara Hamilton, Thomas Horell, Darin Shapiro, and Gregg Necrason that weekend. I also saw a super young Shane Bonifay raising hell with a squirtgun. Last, I met Chris Bischoff and he asked us if we were competing - and we were. I think that made him think we we're cool. Fooled you Chris!

For the better part of the first morning of the event, I walked around with that red, original press Squirt all sorts of proud of myself. A young, very punky Scott Jobe made a wise crack about the board as we walked by a booth he was staffing. I think it was Scott Jobe anyway. But enough about that.

After the event, and witnessing a level of wakeboarding that we'd never seen before, we were severely excited. We got home, filled the ballast, linked up the new zero stretch rope and headed out on my old Ski Nautique 2001. I instantly felt at home on the Squirt - almost bizzarely so. That week I got half cab rolls down solid. And in the next 2 years, I learned every single invert I've ever managed to ride away from on that board, except for backside backrolls which I landed first on an original run Hyperlite Pro, the very day my high wrap bindings arrived via FedEx. The original Squirt is also the platform on which I learned various spins including wrapped and handle pass 540's (I prefer wrapped thank you very much).

I later replaced the Squirt with a Super Squirt - Gregg Necrason pro model and swiftly snapped my tibia and fibula on a roll to revert gone horribly wrong behind a horribly weighted "Wakeboard Edition" Tige with "Taps" set to "Wakeboard" .

Now, in anticipation of my 2008 Liquid Force Watson limited setup from Liquid Force and Boardstop, I gave my 2007 setup to a good friend who upon taking his first set on it, immediately reported that he'd be unwilling to part with it. In short - he loves it (a 138 Substance).

Now essentially boardless, I checked the rack of blank decks from years past. 1992 Hyperlite Pro? No. Skurfer Rage? No. Skurfer Blast. No again. What about that Super Squirt on which I shattered my leg? No thanks. But the red, lonely, unused original Squirt was sitting there and I decided to set it up, and give it a whirl. I would have taken out the 138 Liquid Force Helix on which I did my rehab riding, but it is wall mounted and signed and thus too sentimental to take out just yet.

As I've said on here before, I worked as the Pro Shop manager at a waterski/wakeboard shop during summers through college and had a chance to demo - and pro-form everything that most of the top manufacturers have to offer. Despite that, I am a Liquid Force guy - 10 years strong, and we did not carry Liquid Force. It is amazing to me that a board nearly as old as the company itself was still up to snuff when it came to mildly difficult tricks and a compliment that I could not extend to other manufacturers' offerings from 1997. A lot of people will drag their old boards out for funzies, but in this case I really had nothing else to ride, and I am not complaining. What Jimmy Redmond designed in 1996 or so, remains a board that I can take out and quite literally use as a dependable backup until my new equipment arrives.

Bottom line - the board is still phenomenal. I can do all of my difficult (for me at least) stuff on it without any issue. It has a pretty unforgiving rail and rides a bit squirrely, but I can throw that thing around like it's literally nothing. There's no question that it is one of the of the best wakeboard shapes ever made. Not unlike what I said about the Correct Craft Sport Nautique - maybe it was all we ever needed, not to say that very important improvements haven't been made. We of course like our new boards and fancy boats as much as the next guy. I've toyed with the idea that perhaps I am perpetually caught in a wakeboarding time-warp that makes me assert that board and boat design started getting it just right in the late 90's and thus keeps me happy because that means a lower point of entry for new people entering the sport. I'd love to ride my Squirt behind a brand-new Super Air Nautique 230. Would the advanced, new age design of the 230 and the old-school vibe of the Squirt collide like matter and antimatter in a breif flash of light leaving me with nothing but my Boston Whaler and a pair of burnt boardshorts? I won't know until 2010 when I take delivery of my 230.

In the end I kept my bindings, but handed over my 2007 board. I am very much ready for my 2008 Watson Limited Setup, but before it arrives, I have to say that I am quite pleased with the Squirt after all these years. It is a board I can say with 100% honesty, is still relevant today, 11 years after it was designed. You can't say that about many wakeboards. Hell - you can't say that about some boats! Once again, thanks to Jimmy Redmond and Liquid Force for shaping and building boards that clearly stand the test of time.

Welcome to the era of the $10,000 used Sport Nautique.
I am sure that has already happened here and there but I am now officially claiming it as here. And with that there is no better budget option, specifically for wakeboarding. It is an option that balances paying good money for a good boat.........but not too much. $10,000 is a perfect sweet spot. I am really happy for people entering the market with this sort of option. It is going to be rare for now, but not long-term. Year by year there will be more $10,000 Sport Nautiques entering the for sale market, and that is fantastic.

What's so special about the Sport Nautique?
I'm glad you asked. If you look down the corridors of wakeboarding history, you'll see a common legendary player in many legendary films, photos and riders' back yards. The Sport Nautique was the boat of choice for early trend setters like Greg Nelson, Dean Lavelle, Scott Byerly and Gregg Necrason, and received plenty of exposure this way alone. The length, beam, open bow, and general design heritage led riders to choose the Sport Nautique because it was the highest quality (almost singularly so) large inboard on the market. It was also more accommodating to not only large groups of people, but to ballast weight in the form of water bags, lead and concrete ballast (ah we were so crude back then). Add a tower to the Sport Nautique and you have your coveted Air Nautique. See where I'm going with this?

The Sport Nautique's run (or Crossover 216 as 2008 Correct Craft marketing literature indicates) began in 1989 and has not yet ended. It has seen several design changes (big ones for 1993 and 1997), mostly to the interior, but some hull changes were made along the way after Bill Snook first designed it. You need to be happy about the $10,000 Sport Nautique because it was a common denominator during an era when wakeboarding was progressing at an incredible pace. In some ways it was all we ever needed, and professional wakeboarders can undoubtedly do the same run behind a properly weighted Sport Nautique as they could behind a brand new, $70,000 wakeboarding-branded boat. If a pro rider flew to some remote island for a paid clinic and upon arriving at his or her destination learned that a Sport Nautique was available instead of a beat-to-death outboard, they'd breathe a gigantic sigh of relief (click here for an exception to the above and general display of professionalism under poor boat-related circumstances ). Also, the fact that it exists today tells us a tale about the longevity of the boat.

The $10,000 Sport Nautique should be of particular interest to my good friends in the wakeboarding community who seriously consider spending $10,000 on 82-89 Ski Nautique 2001's. Some of you know I run The2001.com and have a deep-seated love for the 80's era Ski Nautique and many other Correct Craft models. But I cringe at folks asking $11,000 - 13,000 and more for 2001's and cringe even more melodramatically when people actually pay it. I've learned to avoid the classifieds sections on some of my favorite Web sites.

We'll edit this once the auction is over but presuming this boat, like most New England boats, is a low-hour well-kept example. This one is from Connecticut and the total hours are not listed in the auction where they should be but a photo shows 157 hours on the tachometer. Why so low? Original engine? I don't know. With a few questions like this answered I'd almost buy it sight unseen if I was a buyer (and that's sort of how eBay works anyway)

Happy Bidding!

** Update **

• It is the original engine.


• It has a single axle trailer.


• I bid.


• I was outbid.


• I lost.


• The $10,000 Sport Nautique sold for, yes, $10,000.