First timer: I got up!

wanderer · Newbie Joined: 22 Jun 2005 Posts: 8

Had been reading this forum for a while before I took my first wakeboarding lesson this morning. My instructor, Mark, just took 2 or 3 minutes briefly told me how to keep my position while in the water. (I was expecting a at least 10 minutes on-shore lesson) But I kept memorizing the tips i read here: Bent your knees and keep it close to your chest, arm straight, keep the board tilting forward, don't lean forward or backward, let the boat pull you...

Out on the water, Mark helped me got into the bindings and I slowly slided into the water. His boat has a swiming platform which is really nice. The water was actually quite warm considering it's 9am with overcast and scattered shower on Lake Washington in Seattle(yeah wait until you got out of water!). Mark started pulling me while giving out instructions: "Arm straight, sit up, you should be able to see me". Boat is accelerating... Zoom - I was yanked forward over my board and I found I'm swiming in dog crawl style, not able to turn the board over. Mark told me the problem was i tried to stand up too early while board is still in the water.

Ok, 2nd try. This time I learned lesson, do not try to stand up too early! Quickly I realized that i was spending tremendous effort to fighting with the boat! Finally I had to let the hanle go because it's too heavy. The problem was that I forgot to tilt the board enough to maintain the angle so basically i'm fighting with the water resistance.

3rd time is a almost a replay of 1st try, I got puller over as soon as the boat accelerated.

The 4th attemp is much better. At this point I started getting a little hang of it. It's very important to keep pressing your toes so the board is always tilting. And remember don't stand up too early! I got into position, with toes pressing against board, arm straight, knees bent and close to my chest. Boat's speeding up... Keep your stance... There you go! The board is out of water now and, without even think about it, I was already standing tall. Unfortunately it didn't last long, probably only one or two seconds I lost control and fell. Mark pointed out that I didn't keep my arm straight after I stood up. Instead I pulled in the rope and that might cause me to lose the momentum. But at least I'm up on the water.

The 5th time, or last time, was a big win! Encouraged by the last success, I was quite confident and it only took me 2 seconds to get up. This time I held on to it! And surprisingly, I found it's quite stable to quite easy to control when you're riding! The water was a little choppy (Wind speed was 15 mph+ although we were near shore so wasn't too bad) but still I consider it was smooth ride. After a minute or two going straight with good control, I tried to make a little turns(I'm sure that wasn't Mark's plan for today). It was amazingly easy! Exactly like snowboarding! (I had skiied a few years but only tried snowboard last season. ) Pressure on toe and you're turning right(BTW i'm regular footed, or say, left foot forward), pressure on heel and you're turning left! Then I remembered I read a post that if you lean back a little, you can increase the speed. I gave it a try. Hey it worked right away! Except it started going too far to the side of the boat for which I was getting a little nervous. I then quickly released tention and turned back to stay behind the boat. Now, i think it's been 4 or 5 minutes. Wanted a little more challenge, I rode towards a relatively high wake - that was a mistake - I lost control as soon as the board hit the wake.

My arm was pretty tired though the major concern was it's getting too chili. Marked called me up and we headed back.

Now I know I'm hooked!

Side note: I couldn't afford to get a boat that is more than 10000 because I also need to get a SUV first. Is it possible to find one below 10K? I don't think it's possible for a specialized wakeboard boat. I suppose it doesn't have to be a wakeboard boat, does it? I'm beginner anyway. It's going to be a while I would demand a top rank wakeboard boat. A friend of mine tried to sell his 19' Bayliner Cuddy, would you even consider it? (Though the price is quite tempting)

Exclamation

bhamglassman · Soul Rider Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 338 City: Bellingham

didnt read it all b/c that is one monsterous post but grats on getting up. i dont know a lot about budget wakeboard boats but i know a guy that bought some '86 toyota boat, worked on the engine, threw in some fat sacs, and ended up with a damn nice wake that doesnt hold you back (its invert-sufficient, heh) for around 10k. look around and read up and im sure you can do well with those funds.

Vampyre · Addict Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 622 City: Ooltewah, TN

Congrats!!! I know what a good feeling that is. I am 6'4" 240 lbs, and 33 years old. While getting up may be easy for some 16 year old lightweight... it certainly can be a challenge for those bigger. I also had no instruction, and it took me probably a good 10 times.
Congrats! and enjoy the high.. I am sure you are feeling like you want to go out every day now!

vette74 · Posted: Jun 24, 2005 10:11 am Post subject:

Congrads! For boats your probably want to look at older inboards such as 80's to early 90's supras and 2001 (hull model not the year) nautiques make between 83 & 89? good luck and have fun.

kdawg · Outlaw Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 130 City: knoxville

your world will never be the same

re re · Addict Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 723

Vampyre, It's all about the technique. I'll stick myself in that "bigger" category, and I got up on my second try. Weight and size are virtually irrelevant. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Just get your body and board in the right position and be patient while the boat pulls you up. Keep your back strong, arms straight, knees loose, let your butt slide to your heels (or vice versa), and just chill until the boat gets going fast enough for you to ride on top of the water. Stand up, and you're there. Big, little, strong, weak. Doesn't matter.

WyLd_ChiLd · Outlaw Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Posts: 223 City: Toronto

Thats awsome man, Isn't it funny that when someone who gets up for their first time gets more cheers in the boat then any other thing Razz

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Vampyre · Addict Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 622 City: Ooltewah, TN

Yes, Wyld. the cheers were great! And re re... unfortunately, I had no coach, and did not even know this site existed.. I had not done any reading about it at the time. So yes, it is all technique, because now, it is second nature.