Would you wakeboard with alligators?

[Instability]

I live in Florida and the closest lake to wakeboard in is like 45mins away and my dad wont take the boat there so we have to ride in the river where its really really choppy always. Our other option is to ride in one of the canals, where its pretty glassy but there are alligators in that water...
Its a hard decision to make to have either ridiculous chop or possibly be eaten by an alligator..
What would you guys do?

[BrianABE]

I can tell you I wouldn't be riding with the gators if that help!

[GnarShredd]

Instability, Where in florida to you ride? I spent most of my time in high-school riding in a river alongside gators but I'm not sure of your situation. What do you mean by 'canal'? how big?, are there a lot of boats running through it?

[Instability]

GnarShredd, I live in Stuart, its like 30-45mins away from west palm. And its like a canal that runs thru behind some houses and stuff, weve gone on boat ride there before and it connects to some locks and comes out into the intercoastal...
Theres a moderate amount of boats that go thru there and its wide enough for 2 boats to pass each other safely and theres mangroves and stuff on one side and houses on the other.

[Red57Bird]

Unfortunately, just about any body of water in Florida will have alligators. Some have more gators than others, but they are everywhere. I lived in Orlando and we had several neighborhood ponds. All of them had alligators in them.

I'd be a little concerned in the canals because they are usually narrow and is the preferred place for them to hang out. Large lakes give you an opportunity to move away from the shore, which is where most of the gators will hang out. The chances of an attack are relatively small - they are more afraid of you than you are of them.

[riverfreak]

We board/ski/swim where we have seen gators, and 99.9% of these gators are more afraid of you....however there is alway the risk of the 1 who will swim up to a skier - mostly curiousity - About 3 years ago our game wardens had to kill one particular gator -

the gator was swimming up to boats and skiers - some idiot had been feeding it and it became friendly -

I'm more afraid of cottonmouths than gators - snakes - yikes

[pet575]

F that. I ain't ridin' with no stinkin' alligators in the water.

[GnarShredd]

Instability, Yeah, depending on the canals, it might be a little sketchy. They really don't bother you but like riverfreak said, sometimes people are dumb and feed them and stuff.

Also, pay attention to their mating seasons for your area (I think it's coming up if not already?) because they can get aggressive.

For the most part though, I've never worried about them, they usually stick to doing their own thing and are more afraid of you/the boat than you are of them. I'd worry more about wakeboarding in a narrow canal with other boats on the water.

[Instability]

Alright cool, ill try it out.
If i get eaten, at least i died doing what i love

[chaserboarder]

Think of it this way man...... How many wakeboarders have you heard of that have been attacked by an alligator... and how many wakeboard in a given season in florida that should put your mind at ease.. hell your prob most likely to die from a VERY VERY nasty fall..

HAHAHHAHA you know mary your most likely to die on the way to the airport. You know in a crash or getting trapped under one of those gas trucks thats the worst! AHHAHA

[rappleby99]

I hear you, we have the same problem, although we have crocs and caymans, but for me it's the same... big lizzards with big mouth and lots of teeth.

Anyway, I have not heard on an attack (and we will know is it happens). The word is that they have enough food... they are afraid of boats and people....

I just try not to get close to the shore and try to pick up the fallen rider ASAP..... do a few passes with boat before the first rider begins.... and just pray not to fall near a female with babies.

[sirPARTYman]

Fuk you dudes are CRAY ZEEE!! Dang all i got 2 worry about are eels

[slidin_out]

gators are in the river we ride in MS, never bothers us, ride through at night with a spotlight and they are abundant, during the day you hardly see one in the main part of the river and when you do it's only for a second and they are gone, i wouldn't worry about them too much

[Wakeboarder3780]

Whenever I see gators on wakeboarding videos it scares the hell out me and I'm glad I live in WI and only have to deal with cold water and a shortened season. I personally would never do a sport where I'm not the top of the food chain in the water.

A) I love life
B) I love boarding a ton. And the longer I love the more boarding I get to do.

Of course I'm sure if you grew up in FL you're just used to it. Us northerners are like WTF RUN!!!!

[LakeIolaLuke]

I don't think a wakeboarder or waterskier has ever been attacked by an alligator. The closest thing i can think of was a friends dad who actually hit one on a slalom ski and broke his ankle, but the gator swam off and didn't bother him after that. If you have a boat in the water, that gator is more scared of you than you are of it.

[DRAGON88]

[sYsTeM87]

stuff, and I thought worrying about snapping turtles was bad. No way in HELL could you get me anywhere near a gator. I really don't care how "scared" they are of me, gtfo! lol.

[buckthis]

instability, i was down there over christmas, after not riding for 3 months, i really didn't care if there were alligators, i really like the flat water, and had a great time. although i didn't see any alligaters, you know they are there(over 1,000,000 in fl, many in the canals) Out of sight, Out of mind.

[Craig-R]

i would ride for sure. i've ridden in a swamp with tons of alligators, i've seen them swim across the water when we drive by... they're scared of us and it's definitely worth the risk for calm water... you only live once

[ridininmd]

We ride with gators all the time, it's not a big deal.

[Instability]

Cool, you guys deff convinced me. Would be sick to like ollie one or something haha

[LakeIolaLuke]

you're more than likely not even going to get that chance

[Instability]

LakeIolaLuke, yea i kno but would be cool

[Partyb]

There are gators in every fresh water lake and pond in FL. If guys didn't ride with gators the sport of wakeboarding would be in very poor shape indeed as EVERY pro has rode in a body of water that contains gators. There is not one documented case of an alligator attacking a wakeboarder or skiier as far as I know. Sharks, lightning, and falling coconuts are all far far more dangerous in FL. You should all stop playing golf also, b/c I know of many cases where golfers have been killed by lightning.

Also, I think I know the exact waterway you are talking about original poster, I have boarded in there many times, and locals have been riding there forever.

[captainbrad1]

I ride in Black Creek (jax, fl) all the time and there is a substantial Alligator population but the word "canal" conjures up images of a slimy gator infested pit in my mind. I would probably still charge it though.

[Medina]

I would ride with them, but definetly dont want to fall in the water with them

[HHI Dave]

I don't really worry about the gators around here as much as I worry about these guys.



Then again, I've got literally hundreds of hours in the water and no bite marks...yet.