How does a landlocked surf junky fifteen hundred miles from the nearest ocean get his fix? Used to be the only solution was to hop a plane bound for southern California, fight through some pretty gnarly traffic, and pray the swell was up. Now things are a bit easier with the latest revolution in board sports, wake surfing.
Just like it sounds wake surfing is riding the wake of a boat. Its closest cousin is wakeboarding but wake surfers ride at much is slower speeds without bindings and no rope. With the right combination of equipment, you can be surfing the nearest swimming hole in no time.

3 B’s of Wake surfing: Board, Boat, Ballast

When choosing a board, there are a variety of options on the market but they fall into two main categories, directional and twin tip. Directional or surf style boards are shaped like a surfboard but a bit smaller scale. These work great for cruising and carving up and down the wake. Directional boards tend to be more forgiving and are a great option for beginners. Twin tip boards look like wakeboards or wake skates. These boards and are ideal for more advanced riders looking to do spin tricks like shove-its and 360’s. Either type of board will perform great depending on the style of the rider.

For proper wake surfing a true inboard is required because the propeller is completely under the hull of the boat. This is a great feature especially if you don’t enjoy getting munched while surfing. Inboards are also larger and heavier than your typical runabout or aluminum fishing boat, which will help to create a larger wake.
Ballast is the weight system that will be used for creating the wave. Most inboards will have internal ballast that will draw water into the hull of the boat. As the boat is weighted down it will sit deeper and cut through the water to kick up a monster wave. Depending on the boat, internal tanks may be all that is needed.

With or without internal ballast, fat sacks are a great addition to really get the wake firing. These are plastic bladders that can be filled with water using a pump system. Sacks come in several different sizes and can add hundreds of pounds of weight. If you don’t have any fat sacks or internal tanks feel free to substitute babes for ballast. A crew of beautiful boaters will do the trick just as easily â€" just don’t let them know you need them for extra weight.

The positioning of the ballast can have a dramatic effect on the wave. More weight in the back will generate a large wave that will break sharply while more weight in the front will make for a longer ride, but with less height. Both are fun and allow for different types of maneuvers. Also, determine if the rider is regular or goofy foot. Regular riders are left foot forward and goofy footers ride right foot forward. Position the ballast on the left side of the boat for regular footers and on the opposite for goofies.

Now that equipment is covered, surf’s up. To begin make sure the rope is about ten to fifteen feet long depending on wave size. The rope should be long enough to reach the part of the wake where it curls. This area is called the pocket and will soon become your new best friend!

When starting, begin with the rope and position yourself similar to getting up on a wakeboard. The tricky part is getting the board out of the water without bindings. Be sure the boat is idling forward to create a bit of water pressure gluing the board to the rider’s feet. Bring the boat up to a speed of eight to fourteen miles and hour. Speed will be determined by the wake, which should look smooth curling.

Once up use the rope to pull into the pocket. Here the wave will have enough energy to carry the surfer without the rope. Focus on using the toe side edge to dig into the face of the wave. Weight the front foot to give the board “gas� and slide forward on the wave. Weighting he back foot will stall the board to drift away from the boat. At this point there is no magic trick, it just takes a bit of time and practice. Soon you’ll be tossing the rope into the boat just like taking the training wheels off back in the day, grinning from ear to ear.

Note: Exhaust kills! Beware of fumes. If you begin to feel nauseous, get out of the water.

Links: Great info, images, and vids on these first two sites
Indlandsurfer.com
www.wakesurf.news

www.boardstock.com - if you feel like testing your skills against some other riders check out this comp.

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