Wake surfing is a water sport where the surfer follows behind a boat, surfing the boats wake; however, the surfer must stay a safe enough distance to avoid falling and coming in contact with the boat. When you ride close to the boat there is a risk of breathing in carbon monoxide, riding further away from the boat is so you do not breathe carbon monoxide. Normal ocean waves have relatively the same feeling as a wake created by a boat. Wake surfing is commonly recognized to be similar to regular surfing, the only difference is there is a smaller board and you are riding the wake of the boat. Wake surfing is also known to have low impact and rarely any injuries. When you are wake surfing you do not hit the water as hard as other water sports like tubing, kneeboarding or wake boarding. Wake surfers use a board with no bindings for the feet, instead of kneeling or laying down they are standing. There are different wake surfing terms that you will need to know:
There are 2 different ways to ride a board: Regular and goofy. Regular is when you ride your wakeboard on the left side of the boat with your right foot back. Goofy is when you ride your board on the right side of the boat with your left foot back.
There are also 2 sides of the wake board you can ride. Toe side and heel side. Toe side Is when your body is facing the wave. Heel side is when you are riding facing away from the wave.
There are two ways of wake surfing with comfortability. When you are holding onto a rope which is attached to the boat, you are riding lineride style. When you are holding onto the rope that is attached to the boat you are riding freeride style
My cousin is a semi-pro wake surfer and has made a video. Check it out and you will fall in love with wake surfing !
A Wake Surfing Short
Sources: http://www.howtowakesurf.com
