How to Get Started on Wakesurfing

No waves? No problem. Create your own waves and have fun with your friends.

This has been wakesurfing’s biggest selling point: you don’t need to seek wavy shores to have this exhilarating experience. What you need is a spot, people to guide you, equipment, and a little crash course that will give you a little introduction to all of them.

Equipment

If you’re considering to start wake surfing as a hobby, you might want to consider the pieces of equipment that you need to secure. Mind you, it’s fun. You also need to prepare yourself to look for the suitable board. You wouldn’t want to waste a dime, do you? So let’s start with the most important component of wakesurfing, the boat.

Boat

Needless to say, you need a boat that will create waves as big as you want them. As you commence your journey into finding the perfect one, you will stumble upon different types of surf boat.

One is the waterboard boat which we believe has been used for wakesurfing during its early years. But because they don’t provide the adequate amount and size of waves fit for wakesurfing, manufacturers started to mend the gap.

Now we have popular brands like Malibu, Centurion, Nautique, and Mastercraft. If you’re going to ask what’s the best model among these brands, you’d be disappointed to know that it there are so many factors to consider.

Each of these boats possesses unique features and capabilities. It ultimately depends on your preferences. What you can do is go out there and see the boats yourself. A little tip though: you’d want to focus on asking about the basics such as how big of a wave it can create, wake transfer duration, ballast fillup, etc.

Board

It goes without saying that you will need the proper gear to make the best out of your wakesurfing experience. So we start with the board.

If you think that all wakesurfing boards are created equal, you can’t be farther than the truth. There are boards made especially for experts who have been doing the sports for quite some time now and there are those that are perfect for newbies. At first glance, you may not be able to notice this but once you get on the board, you’d find that it’s more comfortable to be on the model fit for your learning level.

How to surf

Of course, this guide on how to get started on wakesurfing wouldn’t be complete without a tip or two on how it will be easier for you to get on board (pun intended). And considering that many of the points will be covered by your wakesurfing instructor, let’s just tackle one area in-depth.

Life jacket

It’s relatively safe compared to other watersports but things can still go wrong. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Once you let go of that rope, a lot of things can go south. That’s why having a life jacket on is a must, especially if you’re just practising.

There are a lot of life jackets you’ll find out there and online. So just a few tips. First, don’t settle for anything cheap. Second, examine the life vests for their safety features. And third, test them for comfort. Yes, you wouldn’t really know how it feels until it’s the only thing that’s keeping you afloat. However, feeling how it fits your upper body will give you an overall idea of how it will be by that time.

Foot positioning

You might want to avoid doing what’s illustrated below as this will not give you the maximum control of the board.

Next, you’ll need to keep in mind to move your feet in reaction to the wave and where it is coming from.

As shown above, the wave is coming from one side of the board so you’ll want to make it a habit to move slightly away from it. Gradually crawling your toes will do the trick as opposed to abruptly doing it.

So this is the end of the article. We hope you learned a thing or two about getting started on wakesurfing. Remember to relax and enjoy!