Haven taken out a mass variety of people wakesurfing and foiling, we come across many common fears.
First know your boat terms.
bow (front of boat), stern (back of boat), starboard (right side of boat where the star sits, aka driver) Port (left side of boat)
hull (bottom shell of boat)
– Many have a fear of not being able to get up on their feet on a wake surfer. So many bad experiences with past attempts and fails, often caused by poor boat operation. We are highly experienced and trained to pull people out of the water smoothly and at a speed that is appropriate to their ability and size. The rope is hooked up high so there is less stress on your back and shoulders. The operation speed is 3x slower than watersking and 2x slower than wakebaording. The surface area of the board is 2x more than a wakeboard and 3x more than a waterski. This makes wakesurfing one of the easiest sports to attempt for the first time.
– People may be afraid of a hard crash. Most people know that water becomes hard at high speeds. Well at wakesurf speed of 11mph the water is very soft and falls tend to be slow. Making it a very safe and fun sport to attempt new things and tricks.
– “I don’t want to be cold!” Well, at Surf n’ Foil Tahoe, we specialize in keeping you warm with new wetsuits, to getting you dry and into a nice surf poncho with a heater snorkel inside your shirt pumping hot air. We even keep a few spare jackets on the boat for you.
– Often someone may feel they don’t have the coordination to get to their feet. Can you get out of. a chair and stand on your own two feet? Than we can get you up on a surfboard behind a boat. We use BB Talkin USA communication system so we can give you clear instruction every step of the way. We may have a few tricks up our sleeve.
– Last major fear is just getting out of a nice comfy boat into cold water with a propeller turning under the boat, that seems to be right under the swim step. Well the prop is actually further from the swim step than people think. It is not under the swim step and not even at the back of the Montara Surf Boss 2.O. It is actually a few feet towards the bow from the stern of the hull. And between the prop and swim step is a rudder, which adds another layer of protection. That doesn’t mean this is an area to play around while the boat is in gear. No, we are very strict about operation while the boat is in gear or even on. We follow very strict rules to provide safety for our guest while operating the boat. This includes bracing hand while operating throttle, no swimming around boat while boat is being operated, no leaning over edge of boat, wearing the kill switch lanyard, good communication and visual inspection before operating the boat. All to say we provide a very safe environment to be out of the boat in the water.
Probably the most rewarding part of our job is helping people overcome and conquering fears, and of course stretching out smiles.