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Here's a pretty good article that was making the rounds on the skiing/boarding sites a little while back. There's so much good information in this article that I decided to post it over here as well. Take a look, especially if you're fairly new to boating.
Originally posted by Josh Cantor
Don't Be That Boat!
A Driving Etiquette Eye Opener
By Josh Cantor
It has been about a year since I laid out some guidelines to ensure that you would not be "that guy." You know, the one that no one wants to take riding with him or her. If you don't have any idea what I am referring to, you could be "that guy" and it might be a good idea for you to go back and read over my first article, Don't Be That Guy. I received a lot a feedback about that article and there was chat about how good it was for people to read. Now I feel it is time to take it one step farther.
Our sport is one which is forced to be interactive with other sports like fishing, rowing, etc. This interaction can be good because other people are exposed to how much fun wakeboarding is, but it can also be negative when people do not represent our sport in the correct manner. In my first article, Don't Be That Guy, the focus was on the individual and, no matter how big of a kook you were, you only affected yourself. In this article, I will show how the actions of a few can affect the entire wakeboard community.
I will start with some common sense stuff that needs to be common sense for everyone. First off, have RESPECT. I don't just mean between wakeboarders. This means with the local law whether it is the lifeguard, police, or rangers. Obey the rules that are set for whatever water on which you are riding. This means no double ups in the five mile an hour area, along with many other seemingly meaningless infractions. Why? You may be asking. You never know when you are going to need "the man" on your team. Also, there is no need to be giving lip to any of these authority figures. Wakeboarders are already given the stereotype of being a bunch of punks and this is something that everyone can help to change. As more and more people fight for the use of water, the more important it has become for the wakeboard community to have allies instead of enemies.
I have been to a few city meetings where they were deciding what they were going to do over the use of different water areas. I've found that having the support of the lifeguard has been huge in ensuring that the water area I use is not taken by jet skiers, rowers, or even worse the Audubon Society (that is the bird lovers). This differs from area to area, but I know in Southern California good water that we can ride on is very hard to find and the last thing we need is for areas that we already are using to be taken away. People are trying to limit our use of the water. There are half a dozen different groups that would love to see my riding area turned into their area.
Second, and probably the hardest for most of us, is respect for the waterskiers. Let us be honest, without waterskiing, there would be no wakeboarding. Waterskiers and wakeboarders have always regarded each other as the cousin they don't like. This is similar to the relationship between snow skiers and snowboarders or surfers and boogie boarders. Again, there is no need for this tension to be there. Next time you are out on the lake and you are getting a glare from another boat, give them a smile and a wave. Take the first step to breaking down the wall. Let's face it, we are all only a knee surgery or two away from going back to our roots and busting out the water ski! You may be reading this saying this will not be you, but trust me. After a year of painful rehab and not being able to do anything, waterskiing starts looking a little more appealing. Again, why make an enemy that we have to fight against for water time when we could be making allies to ensure that we are able to both keep using the water.
I have seen that waterskiers are starting to pick up some of our attitudes in their sport. They are starting to relax a little more. This is shown in the format of some of their grassroots tournaments. We may not be that keen on waterskiing right now, but they are working at changing their sport as well. I know it is not as fun as wakeboarding, but it sure beats sitting on the shore.
So some of the basics are out of the way, what now? How about driving? There is nothing more aggravating than someone who can't drive their $50,000+ boat. It is comical sometimes to watch people try and put their boats on their trailer. You spend all that money on a boat you should at least learn how to put it on the trailer. This can be accomplished by practice or just by having someone who has some experience show you. If you do have someone show you, pay attention as well. It may be embarrassing to have to suck it up and admit to a friend that you can't put your boat on the trailer, but nowhere near as embarrassing as showing everyone on the launch ramp that first weekend of the summer that you can't drive your own boat.
How about driving a rider? This is something that has been corrected in many instances by speed control systems. In my opinion, these are one of the best features added to boats in the last few years. However, you would be amazed at how people can still mess this up. Here are a few quick tips:
Stay at a steady speed. Don't juice a rider in his or her approach to the wake.
Just like they say in driving school, "Be a defensive driver." Try to stay far away from everyone. You'll get better water and it is a lot safer. The lake can be a very scary thing on the summer weekends. You have a lot of people out driving their boats for the first time in a year. Assume they don't see you or your rider, because they probably don't. We could go into a whole article on boater safety but I will leave that to another time.
Finally, the part that I need to spend the least amount of time talking about is having fun. The number one reason our sport has grown at the shocking speed it has is because wakeboarders know how to have a good time. Stay safe and respectful, but at the same time you need to always be having fun. This is already rubbing off on the skiing industry. The more we go out there and have a blast on the water, the more people will be attracted to our sport. It's not hard to get new people hooked on wakeboarding. I have seen it more than a few times where people will go out and ride for a day and have an awesome time and when I see them a month later they are telling me about the new wakeboard they bought or even the new boat they just picked up. So continue to help grow our sport by having fun.
For those of you that are finishing this article and are saying to yourself, "There is nothing here that I don't already know," then keep doing what you are doing. Hopefully everyone is saying that, but we all know that this is not the case because we all know someone that could use to read this. Maybe this will help keep our sport growing in the right direction. Continue having fun, while being respectful and safe out on the lake. 'Till next time. "Don't be that Boat!"
A Driving Etiquette Eye Opener
By Josh Cantor
It has been about a year since I laid out some guidelines to ensure that you would not be "that guy." You know, the one that no one wants to take riding with him or her. If you don't have any idea what I am referring to, you could be "that guy" and it might be a good idea for you to go back and read over my first article, Don't Be That Guy. I received a lot a feedback about that article and there was chat about how good it was for people to read. Now I feel it is time to take it one step farther.
Our sport is one which is forced to be interactive with other sports like fishing, rowing, etc. This interaction can be good because other people are exposed to how much fun wakeboarding is, but it can also be negative when people do not represent our sport in the correct manner. In my first article, Don't Be That Guy, the focus was on the individual and, no matter how big of a kook you were, you only affected yourself. In this article, I will show how the actions of a few can affect the entire wakeboard community.
I will start with some common sense stuff that needs to be common sense for everyone. First off, have RESPECT. I don't just mean between wakeboarders. This means with the local law whether it is the lifeguard, police, or rangers. Obey the rules that are set for whatever water on which you are riding. This means no double ups in the five mile an hour area, along with many other seemingly meaningless infractions. Why? You may be asking. You never know when you are going to need "the man" on your team. Also, there is no need to be giving lip to any of these authority figures. Wakeboarders are already given the stereotype of being a bunch of punks and this is something that everyone can help to change. As more and more people fight for the use of water, the more important it has become for the wakeboard community to have allies instead of enemies.
I have been to a few city meetings where they were deciding what they were going to do over the use of different water areas. I've found that having the support of the lifeguard has been huge in ensuring that the water area I use is not taken by jet skiers, rowers, or even worse the Audubon Society (that is the bird lovers). This differs from area to area, but I know in Southern California good water that we can ride on is very hard to find and the last thing we need is for areas that we already are using to be taken away. People are trying to limit our use of the water. There are half a dozen different groups that would love to see my riding area turned into their area.
Second, and probably the hardest for most of us, is respect for the waterskiers. Let us be honest, without waterskiing, there would be no wakeboarding. Waterskiers and wakeboarders have always regarded each other as the cousin they don't like. This is similar to the relationship between snow skiers and snowboarders or surfers and boogie boarders. Again, there is no need for this tension to be there. Next time you are out on the lake and you are getting a glare from another boat, give them a smile and a wave. Take the first step to breaking down the wall. Let's face it, we are all only a knee surgery or two away from going back to our roots and busting out the water ski! You may be reading this saying this will not be you, but trust me. After a year of painful rehab and not being able to do anything, waterskiing starts looking a little more appealing. Again, why make an enemy that we have to fight against for water time when we could be making allies to ensure that we are able to both keep using the water.
I have seen that waterskiers are starting to pick up some of our attitudes in their sport. They are starting to relax a little more. This is shown in the format of some of their grassroots tournaments. We may not be that keen on waterskiing right now, but they are working at changing their sport as well. I know it is not as fun as wakeboarding, but it sure beats sitting on the shore.
So some of the basics are out of the way, what now? How about driving? There is nothing more aggravating than someone who can't drive their $50,000+ boat. It is comical sometimes to watch people try and put their boats on their trailer. You spend all that money on a boat you should at least learn how to put it on the trailer. This can be accomplished by practice or just by having someone who has some experience show you. If you do have someone show you, pay attention as well. It may be embarrassing to have to suck it up and admit to a friend that you can't put your boat on the trailer, but nowhere near as embarrassing as showing everyone on the launch ramp that first weekend of the summer that you can't drive your own boat.
How about driving a rider? This is something that has been corrected in many instances by speed control systems. In my opinion, these are one of the best features added to boats in the last few years. However, you would be amazed at how people can still mess this up. Here are a few quick tips:
Stay at a steady speed. Don't juice a rider in his or her approach to the wake.
- Go straight. Pick a spot on the horizon and drive to it. This will ensure a consistent wake for the rider. Don't make a long continuous arc that will result in a wake that is big on one side and small on the other.
When you circle around a fallen rider, SLOW DOWN. Don't go making the power turns like you see in the James Bond movies. You send rollers across the whole lake when you make the fast turn around. Instead, bring the boat to a stop, then make a slow turn and return to your rider.
Once the handle has reached the rider, throw the boat into reverse just a little. This will keep from ripping the rider's arms out of their sockets as the rope passes them at 10 MPH. This will also reduce the chance of injury from wrapping the rope around an arm, leg, neck or other body part.
Finally, pay attention. This is simply common sense, but is still good to remind you.
Just like they say in driving school, "Be a defensive driver." Try to stay far away from everyone. You'll get better water and it is a lot safer. The lake can be a very scary thing on the summer weekends. You have a lot of people out driving their boats for the first time in a year. Assume they don't see you or your rider, because they probably don't. We could go into a whole article on boater safety but I will leave that to another time.
Finally, the part that I need to spend the least amount of time talking about is having fun. The number one reason our sport has grown at the shocking speed it has is because wakeboarders know how to have a good time. Stay safe and respectful, but at the same time you need to always be having fun. This is already rubbing off on the skiing industry. The more we go out there and have a blast on the water, the more people will be attracted to our sport. It's not hard to get new people hooked on wakeboarding. I have seen it more than a few times where people will go out and ride for a day and have an awesome time and when I see them a month later they are telling me about the new wakeboard they bought or even the new boat they just picked up. So continue to help grow our sport by having fun.
For those of you that are finishing this article and are saying to yourself, "There is nothing here that I don't already know," then keep doing what you are doing. Hopefully everyone is saying that, but we all know that this is not the case because we all know someone that could use to read this. Maybe this will help keep our sport growing in the right direction. Continue having fun, while being respectful and safe out on the lake. 'Till next time. "Don't be that Boat!"
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