You can add wake surfing to list of sports you can do in the water behind a power boat. And instructors say the sport is catching on.
It’s like wakeboarding, and you're no more than a few feet behind a boat, but you aren’t attached by a rope.
“You are not relying on the boat to pull you, you’re allowing the waves to push you,” says wake surfer and coach Robbie McMillian.
You need a boat that’s designed for skiing or boarding, so the motor's propeller is under the water and away from the back of the boat.
“It allows the person being towed to have no fear or impact with the propeller and it creates a wave that is much bigger that your traditional boat,” says Andy Milovanovic. “Typically with wake surfing what you are trying to do is create a big wake on one side and to do that you want to actually have the boat plowing through the water so we go about 10-to-11 miles per hour.”
The boards are also different.
“It’s a directional board so you can only go one way on it and obviously your feet are not attached,” says McMillian.
You can get a wake surf board starting at about $300. If you don’t have a boat or want some instruction, you can sign up at Muskoka Wake.
