Wakeboard: Teapot Guide
Outdoor Activities

Wakeboard: Teapot Guide

What it takes to master a wake-up, how to choose a home spot and avoid typical mistakes of beginners
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What to do when it's not blowing? The sails are hanging, the water is full of flutes, the roar of boats is more annoying than the lawn mowers of the neighbors at 8 am. It's obvious: if you can't get rid of the problem, be it. Because flat water is a wakeboard paradise, for which they are ready to get up at 5 am and roll to the other side of town before work.


What the hell is that, anyway?

Wakeboarders - these are the same guys who do not like the water absolutely everyone. They drive back and forth along the water area on powerful boats, create waves and still suddenly hang far behind the buoys waiting for their boat. Worse them, perhaps, only wakesurfers (because the wave from their boats even more).

Generally, there are two main types of wakeboarders - boat and cable (it's like in a snowboard freeride and park with ski jumps). The latter are rolled behind the winch, wet tricks, waves and noise do not create, no one is disturbed. So today we're only talking about the first.

The history of wakeboarding is obvious: the surfer was first crossed with a skater, and then added to them the general idea of water skiing. It happened, judging by most sources, in the 80's, and at the end of 90's the first official competitions were held.

The idea is simple: the feet are put on a floating board in a hard shoe, as for snowboarding. The board has notches and fins that help to cut in the water, controlling the speed and direction of movement. And also, of course, two edges, front and rear, and the tail/nose (the concept is usually relative, the classic boards - not directed). A stick is taken in hand, a rope attached to the boat, it is a halyard. Further it is clear: the boat at a speed of 28-40 km/h pulls all the above, and the wakeboarder enjoys the process.

Where do you do that?

Not on seas and oceans. Ideal for lakes, wide rivers, bays. It's because chop - small waves - are very kneeling. And at the same time, they interfere with the landing of tricks, tripping and promise other small nasty things. Yeah, it's real to ride them. But you can also hug a hedgehog, the only question is, why?

The role is played by who exactly is pulling. You can ride for a jet ski, but it will always pull you under water. The pleasure here is like watching a Russian comedy. I think there are jokes, but does not let go the feeling that something plunges you to the bottom.

In general, if you once in Turkey, looting warm pink tourists, tried to stand on the board for a scooter, and you did not like it, it's not about the wakeboard. It's about your choice of holiday destination.

Doesn't mean a wake isn't a reason to go warm. Just as there are surf campsites or outing regattas, wake-up camps are organized. And the same Thailand, Vietnam or Portugal. You just spend most of your time on the local lake, not on the waves.

But more often, of course, it happens to ride on home sports - located at a moderate distance from your habitat.

How do you choose a home spot?

There are several parameters, and sometimes one overlaps with the other. And yet.

  1. Purity of water.
  2. We're not even talking about having to stay in the water long enough. The scariest part is that you have to drink that water. It's more at first, then every once in a while. Obviously, there's not much choice in megacities. But you can always find a place where the highway does not pass directly above you, and the water does not float waste from the neighboring zoo and bags of «Pyaterochka».

  3. Traffic
  4. In the most accessible places, traffic is usually like on the roads of India. From jet skis to lost windsurfers or yachts. The result is that the water turns into a well-rolled mincemeat. If you're not very confident on the board, the gurney will turn into a forced bathing procedure; if the waves aren't so terrible anymore, it will turn into a durability test for your knees (spoiler: they're not durable at all).

  5. Sync by honeybunny
  6. You don't have to be an expert on boat models. The indicator is simple: if the price is much lower than the market, it is almost guaranteed to drive you for something that in a past life was an iron. In general, a wakeboard has no strict requirements to the wave created by a boat: someone likes it higher and faster, someone - softer. But the presence of special modifications really plays a role. The main one is a «tower» (a metal arch about 2.5 m high for attaching the halyard), a screw shifted under the bottom and a modified steering system that allows you to return for the fallen wakeboarders on a much smaller radius.

  7. The level of pathos
  8. If you're going for a good ride and not to lose an extra pack of money, it's worth noting that even in Moscow, the rental price for most spots already includes rental equipment and instructor hints. Anyway, when you just need to put it on the board rather than teach it to jump crazy tricks. So if everything is paid separately and by the minute, you should walk along the beach - there are probably more adequate spots nearby.

What do you want me to wear?

At first it's better to ride on rental equipment. It will allow to be defined with your style, desires and to understand, what in general differ different boards from each other.

But a wetsuit and vest would be nice to have your own. At least, because strangers are always wet, cold and trying to strangle you or squeeze you where it is not worth it. Well, it's also more hygienic.


And the main detail: the surf shorts. Gives you +100 to the style and level of skiing. And in general, the first rule of the wakeboarder says: get up on the board - correct the shorts. But that's unless you're a girl in a bikini, of course. If you're still a girl, we can't help but warn you: a good fall masterfully removes any swimsuit. We don't mind at all, just keep in mind.

Well, what's so hard about it?

Nothing, it's just that I buckled up on the board and went to wet the tricks. The important thing, as you know, is not to be afraid. But seriously, beginners have a fairly standard set of errors.

  1. Who's stronger...
  2. Oddly enough, wakeboarding is one of the rare sports where it is harder for men than women to enter. Because they're tritely stronger. And 80% of the budding tough guys are trying to pull a boat. But seriously: a normal boat, which rides the boarders, carries a minimum of 300 hp. That's a lot. Pulling it is useless, although with enough diligence it replaces the full training in the hall (and the next day you wake up without them and feel like Winnie the Pooh from the Soviet cartoon, which could not lower his legs). It is easier for girls: there is no strength for heroism anyway, so you can safely obey, wait for the normal pull from the boat and stand on the board.

    Treat with what? To admit that the boat is stronger, to sit in the water, as the instructor shows, to forget how much pressure from the chest and straighten the elbows. In hopeless cases of very strong men is saved by a winch: the principle of getting up there is the same, but the thrust is directed strictly upwards and it is easier to understand the principle.

  3. Superman throw.
  4. Everybody does it, but thanks to the intensity of their impressions, they are usually quickly weaned. The principle is as follows: straighten your knees before the board turns in the direction of traction, and the upper part of your body completely gives way to the flail. That is, we take the shoulders forward of the board. And that's it, accept congratulations: control over you and the board is transferred to the boat, you stumble with the board against the water and fly along a beautiful arc forward.

    Treat with what? Feelings are memorable, so he treats himself on an intuitive level. The main thing is to throw the halyard right away. The boat will come back for you, you probably have not paid yet. And the next time you start, don't give up the boat so uncontrollably. The stand should be such that when the halyard magically disappears from your hands, you're left standing on the board.

  5. Sync and corrections by honeybunny
  6. It just seems like turning around in the water is easy. In fact, every first newcomer on whom the board was put and who was given the halyard, feels like a seal in an ice-hole. Because you have to turn around for the start. And for that, it's a good idea to have a fulcrum. Or at least some loose limbs.

    Treat with what? Lifehak is very simple and will come in handy with all water sports (and also in very puffy snow). You unwrap your shoulders, your whole body unfolds. If you need to strengthen the effect, bend the knee «of the inner» leg and bend the «outer»leg. And breathe, breathe, relaxed face, we like everything!

  7. The position of the seagulls
  8. Favorite position of a man who, of course, went, but he's restless. His knees are bent, his chest forward, his goose back, closer to the ground. The problem is not only that it doesn't look cool, but the instructor is likely to be offended by nicknames. It's just that in this position you have no control again, and at the slightest opportunity you will proudly dive back into the water.

    Treat with what? Listening to what the instructor on the boat is screaming. Probably about pushing the pelvis forward and putting it back in position above the board.

But in general, the level of difficulty of learning the basics of wakeboarding pulls a maximum of two plus.

With a second or third attempt, everyone goes.

Difficulties and traumas begin later when speed and jumps want more and more.


What's dangerous about?

About money.

First, a sharp drop in the balance on your cards. This season an hour of boat riding will cost you from six thousand rubles and more depending on your location. Schedules, not clocks, are often counted. On average one set is 15 minutes, and it costs about 2000. Taking into account the change of clothes comes out about the same as renting an hour at once, if you have a company for this purpose. We warn you right away that it is almost impossible to roll an hour non-stop in one person. Or it will be a survival wake-up call.

Rental equipment will also very soon no longer satisfy you. You'll want, for example, your own board. Here the price ceiling is limited only by your moral or credit limit: from 15 thousand rubles for the simplest model and up to six-figure sums for custom boards (ie, exclusive models created by some pro from the pen phoenix and pollen unicorn).

About the integrity of the bones.

If we talk about injuries, much depends on your skills and fearlessness, but it is objectively risky. At even 28 km/h, the minimum speed for a wak, the water is not soft at all. And the amplitude of good jumps reaches both two and three meters.

There are precedents of the eardrum torn from a water hammer, and spinal injuries - and we are not talking about professional sport now. But the adrenaline race usually conquers fear, so it's better to have protection. And not in perspective, but on your own.

Girls, by the way, should seriously think about the helmet too, even if they're sure they won't be jumping backsides today. And - no, it's not sexism: just flexible and long-legged girls often get their own board to their own skullcaps even in the simplest rayle jumping. And in a fall, naturally.


When do I start?

If we're talking about age, they start to put it on the board at five. And these guys are gonna show us all, no doubt about it.

If it's about the season, any time there's no ice on the water. Because wakeboarding is an addiction, and in six months without it you do not care about the temperature of the water and the thickness of the necessary for survival of a wetsuit. In addition, those who understand wakeboarding stations put on the spots of the baths to heat frozen on the water border.

Cross boards

Owning other wake-up boards is not necessary, contrary to all excuses of beginner fighters. Yes, if you're skateboarding, you have a better sense of balance (and general fearlessness), if snowboarding - understanding how to get slaughtered, and after kitesurf the most valuable thing is the ability to quickly turn in the water or look for доску\фал in the waves.

But each of these boards has learned patterns of rack and control that turn into errors at the muscle memory level. So you can only beat them out by force.

For example, kiters are always visible by hanging back and standing on strongly bent legs, especially the back. Skeiters on the other hand can pinch the front leg. Snowboarders have problems with the position of the body in general, because everyone skates in their own style, certainly wrong (according to the instructors): who is in the stand of a slouching bear, who is in the endless wiggle of the tail board.

So the excuse does not work: from a clean sheet to learn as difficult as from written by someone else.

Options on the subject

We already talked about wakeboarding being cable and boat. But there are different ways to get behind a boat.

There is, for example, a wakescate - a small board without mounts that allows you to wet the full range of the weirdest tricks.

Hydrofoil is a completely cosmic board with a hydrofoil. It looks scary and, in fact, floats above water on a hovercraft. Forgives chop, but gives an even more unforgettable experience of falling.

And, of course, wakesurf. A board without mounts, very similar to a normal surfboard. Requires a big wave boat and gives all the pleasures of surfing, only with the smell of kerosene, not the ocean breeze.

Side effects

If there are still doubts, here is a set of unobvious «pros» and «cons of a» good gurney.

The pros:

  • Hanging out. Flowing from one spot to another, completely detached from everyday realities and ready to skate at five in the morning, and at +12°C.
  • Physical activity in all muscle groups. Even the ones you didn't want to know about.
  • Looks cool.
  • Gives you plans for all the warm summer days.
  • Dawns and sunsets on the water. It's beautiful.

It's the minuses:

  • It eats your money. But you'd still spend it.
  • It's not safe for your health. But life is an extreme thing.
  • It's very addictive. But it's not illegal yet, why not!

See you on the water!

Thank you for your photos of the Secretspotrussia project.

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