Contest in Dallas

There is a Wakesurfing contest August 11th at the Master Craft Private Lake in Fort Worth.

I'm planning on either riding or judging. Should be a good time!

Wakesurf Board Options

There are several companies that make wakesurf boards - specific to wakesurfing.

Yes, a regular ocean surfboard can be used behind a boat (my first few times wakesurfing were on a Rip Curl Ocean Board 6'8". ) but typically ocean boards have more rocker* than is appropriate for the smaller wave behind the boat. Wakesurf specific boards will generally have very little rocker to make them faster and more manueverable on the wake.

The companies that currently I'm aware of are: (as of July 2007)

Area 53
ASC Boards
Calibrated Wakesurfing
Cybershapes
Placebo
Phase 5
Inland Surfer
Shoreline Lakeboards
Shredd Stixx
Stripes
Trick Boardz
Walzer
The Walker Project
Xtreme Board Company (XBC)

There may be a few others out there. If you know of any others, please send my way and I'll list them up here. On many of the forums there are just a few boards that are mentioned. I wanted to try to compile a list of the many options out there. I didn't list up the major wakeboard manufacturers boards -- Hyperlight, CWB, Liquid Force -- but those are additional options. In my opinion, they are for the most part, wakeboard technology transferred to a wakesurf board, so don't have the surfing expertise/experience that makes a good quality board.

* Rocker: the amount of curvature shaped into the bottom of the board. In a general sense, the more rocker a board has, the more it will resemble a spoon. The less rocker, the flatter the bottom of the board will be. (Think of trying to push a large spoon through the water vs. pushing a slalom ski).

What is Wakesurfing?

A hot and growing sport - not to be confused with surfing, or wakeboarding, wakesurfing is riding a surfboard behind a boat, while being propelled by the wake of the boat and nothing else. No rope. The feeling is amazing -- for many it is the closest thing to surfing in the ocean they will ever experience. In many ways wakesurfing is like surfing in the ocean, but on much smaller waves (unless of course you are from FL or the Gulf Coast) Ha ha!

While paddling out into the open ocean and surfing a natural wave is one of the most amazing feelings someone can experience, wakesurfing has many advantages.

1. Surfing is primarily a "solo" sport - selfish in some ways -- you may just go out with one or two friends - but you are not typically too interactive -- you are all concentrating on positioning for the next wave. In some crowded locations it is easy to get separated from your buddies for an hour when you catch a wave and end up a few 100 yards down the shore..
2. Wakesurfing on the other hand, is a very "social" sport -- everyone is together in the boat with the rider just 10-15 ft away -- able to interact with friends in the boat. Those in the boat can laugh, talk, and make fun of the rider - all while enjoying their favorite drink and snacks.
3. No sand EVERYWHERE - need i say more?
4. No dealing with crowds and struggling to find a parking spot.
5. No wax in your chest hair -- most wakesurfers have an EVA foam top for grip.
6. Long rides -- theoretically, in wakesurfing you can ride until the boat runs out of gas -- most of us ride until our legs become tired - 3-4 minute runs are fairly common.

The downsides of wakesurfing include:

1. The cost of the boat -- most wakeboard boats start around $40K and can cost as much as $90K. Plus maintenance, storage, etc.
2. The cost of Gas -- with $3/gallon it is getting more expensive
3. The waves are fairly small compared to the ocean. True surfers would call most wakesuring waves at about knee high or lower. Hawaiians would probably say they are ankle high.
4. It is addicting - and once you are hooked you'll want to buy and try several different boards - the boards run about $400 and up.

Inland Blue July 21, 2007

Some wake surfing pics from last week on Lake Austin -- Wakesurfing the Inland Surfer Blue Lake board. One of my favorites. My wife said I was getting some decent air on the board, but she didn't capture in the pics. :*(

I made this minor adjustment to the seat on our Vride that covers the transmission.
Moved the support brackets closer to the edge of the seat.