How to Do a Deepwater Wakeboarding Start

You should begin your wakeboarding experience away from the coast to avoid dragging your board in shallow waters. The deepwater wakeboarding start is a fundamental skill for any boarder to learn.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Wakeboard
• Floating vest

1. Relax your body and float on your back before you initiate a deepwater start. Float in your vest without controlling your movement to stay loose as the boat begins to move.
2. Align your wakeboard perpendicular to the boat to get in the right position. Novice wakeboarders often align their boards with the boat, which diminishes their stability as the speed increases in choppy waters.
3. Keep your legs staggered, with your dominant leg forward, to control the front of your board. You should line up both of your arms outside of your lead leg to maintain a good grip on the rope.
4. Allow the natural tension created by the boat pulling on your rope to keep your body crouched. Start with your board underwater and your knees will begin to press toward your chest as you initiate your deepwater start.
5. Press your lead leg down on the front of your wakeboard as the boat achieves full speed. You should apply enough pressure to keep the tip of your board just above the waterline to avoid falling off your board.
6. Stand slowly on your wakeboard as you prepare to perform tricks. You should allow the boat to reach its top speed before you extend your legs and straighten your back into a normal stance.
7. Practice your deepwater wakeboarding start on land before you do any tricks in the water. You can utilize a shallow pool and your wakeboard to practice relaxing your body and maintaining control over your rope.

Tips & Warnings

• Pull your arms close to your body as you do a deepwater wakeboarding start. Keep your elbows bent at your sides until you achieve full extension to maintain control over the rope pulling you behind the boat. Your arms will naturally extend outward as you gain speed.
• Create a series of hand signals with the boat driver before performing a deepwater start. You can use finger motions upward and downward to indicate speed, and a flat palm as a stop sign.