How to surf without the ocean, Wakesurfing Instructional.
It's called wakesurfing. "This is my getaway. I feel the most free when I am riding a wave. There is no pull, just the push of the wave. The water splashes up as I slash back and forth into the wave. I have my friends with me and life seems to be pretty perfect. I have things I am stressed about, things I am worried about or things I just do not even know an answer to. One thing I always do though is that I leave it all at home when I hit the water. I go out to clear my mind, cleanse my soul and make memories that I will play in my head for the rest of my life."
^(This is quote from my son, Jay, @jpiper20 in a post here on Steemit)
The basic concept is to load(weight) the back right side ( if you're goofy-right foot forward) or the back left of the boat if you're left foot forward. Do you know which footed you are? Which would be your lead foot if you were running and decided to slide feet first? Which foot would you put forward first to initiate the slide? That's a simple way for non-boarders to determine which footed they are. Skateboarders for example, already know which foot is their front and which they kick with. Don't take for granted that because you're right handed, that you will be right footed! It doesn't work like that. I for example an right handed, but right foot forward. Jay, my son ( @jpiper20 ) is right handed and left foot forward.
Anyway, after figuring out which footed you are, you'll need to load/weight the boat accordingly. By this, I mean put all passengers and weight on the rear of the boat on the desired side. When we don't have many passengers in the boat, we use a 12 volt water pump to fill up an air mattress or Fat Sac( like wakeboarders use) with water and add weight where we need it. You then drive the boat slow about 11-12 miles per hour and a huge swell follows the boat on that side. You have to have a fairly good size boat and outboards would be a little dangerous with the exposed motor propeller, but we have done it! A wakeboard or inboard boat works best. A large fishing boat makes a chest high wave if you have access!
^(Jay wakesurfing when he was small behind an 90 hp outboard!)
^(2004-possibly @jpiper20 first wakesurf session!)
You'll need a short and preferably a big fat knotted rope. A regular ski rope is dangerous because it is so thin. If you get it tangled around your fingers, you can lose them! I cut off my right middle fingertip helping someone learn to wakesurf! True story bro, so be careful and get that fat knotted rope, please.
Put about three knots in the last six feet of a 18-20 foot rope, spaced about two feet apart. This is so you have different hand positions on the rope,so you can you pull yourself forward if need be to find the sweet spot on the wave (wake).
The rider gets in the water with a surfboard and holds onto the rope. With a life jacket on, float on your back with your feet floating heels down on the board in front of you. Keep the rope between your feet.
^( You can even ride your pup)
^(My girl Maggie riding with me)
Position the board sideways and positioned pointing right if you're right footed,left if left-footed, so as you get pulled up, you can turn the board 45 degrees and ride (surf). The driver slowly tightens the rope and then gently takes off. You simply let the boat stand you up on the board, pushing down with your heels until you get your feet flat on the board, then while standing up turn it forward. Immediately begin moving (sliding) your feet to get your weight balanced so you can ride.
Note: your front foot is the gas pedal, your back foot is the brake ( I'll explain this more in a second). Hold onto the rope until you are steady and get your feet positioned.
( ^This is me a about 8 or 9 years back learning to wakesurf behind a wakeboard boat)
After you ride a bit, you'll learn where your feet need to be and can position them before you get up on the board. When you get yourself balanced right, you can feel the wave pushing you and will see slack in the rope. At this point, you're surfing! Simply toss the rope about 10-15 feet to someone on back of the boat.
You then can carve and slash at will, once you get your bearings with surfing. If you feel yourself losing the push of the wave, just lean forward and you will accelerate toward the back of the boat. If you are getting too close to the boat, simply put pressure on your back foot and you will slow down and slide back a little on the wave. Wakesurfing is almost like standing on a balance board.
You have to continuously shift your weight either forward or backward to stay on the wave. The driver maintaining a steady speed is key in your ability to surf as well. Providing that the driver does maintain speed properly, you can even surf as he makes turns in the boat! Your can ride a continuous perfect wave for as long as your legs hold out! Your back leg especially, will get an intense workout.
^(Our crew riding to Jay's very first band's song-I wish I was Surfin )
You are surfing along right behind the boat at this point, not holding on to anything. You're riding the swell behind the boat, surfing! You can talk to people in the boat, hear the radio, hell, I have them hand me a beer occasionally while I surf. You can crank the tunes in the boat and hear it easily as you surf it up.
^(My buddy Stacy behind my boat)
^( Our Steemit sponsored surf session from about 2 months ago)
Careful though, you don't wanna get pitted!
Get Pitted Remix!
Wow, first time I have heard about this. Looks neat and you have an eternal wave...no rocks or dumpers to worry about....pretty neat
Dude Jay was surfing behind an OUTBOARD? Isn't that super dangerous?
Wakesurfing is so cool. I was able to first try it a couple of years ago when I was back in Indiana. It is such a crazy feeling to be keeping up with the boat without holding onto a rope. You guys have a sick boat! I miss my time on the lake. Here in Arizona you have to go so far to get on the water.
Yep, in my stupidity. The wave actually pushes you away from the prop. I don't think you could actually get to the prop from back there if you wanted. Just to be safe, we never did much though...
The time I got to wake surf if I leaned to far forward i would go faster and catch up to the boat and almost hit the nose of the surf board on the little deck thing that you can sit on when putting on a wakeboard and all that. It might have been the way the wave was. I know we had balast tanks / fat sacks filled and I was 215 lb so that might have been part of it. I wouldn't want an outboard motor that close to me! LOL But that wave might have been a lot different. That is crazy you guys were wake surfing in 2004. I hadn't even heard of it until 2012. We were all mainly wake boarding in 2004 and I had a friend who was really good on the knee board.
Yep , I kneeboarded from 1995 until 1998,rode a Skurfer for about a year-single tip wakeboard and got my first Jobe wakeboard in 1999 I think,the first in our area at the time. It was a couple of years before I saw another wakeboarder. I think our Hyperlite Landlock was purchased in 2000 and was one of the first wake surfboards ever sold. When Jay was 5, he's 22 now, the first board he ever rode was my Jobe wakeboard minus the boots,with skateboard grip tape on top. We may have been the first ever wakeskaters,who knows,haha
This is an awesome post! Now, I completely understand why the photo you used in a previous post had no tow-line visible! Is this an actual sport now? It's the first time I've seen anybody do it.
Just made a surfing post and dedicated it to you and Jay and trying to build some momentum around getting water-sports as a tag. :)