Elegant Muskoka Cottage
on Lake Muskoka

Every summer we go wakeboarding on Lake Muskoka. With a few extra friends in the boat for ballast, we head out and make a big wave, and surf on top of the rolling water.  We crank up the music and make a real spectacle of ourselves…

Wakeboarding is best on really hot days and its perfect on Lake Muskoka. This is a surface water sport that was developed from a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing. The exact place of origin is disputed.

I read in the magazines that “Skurfing” was created in New Zealand in the mid 1980s by surfers, and one custom board maker named Allan Byrne lent a ‘Skurf board’ to Jeff Darby and friends in Queensland Australia who started a business to make their own, and who later came in contact with Tony Finn who helped produce their brand ‘Skurfer’.

On the east coast of the USA in 1983, a sports equipment designer named Howard Jacobs created several wakeboards by mounting windsurfing foot straps and pads on some small surfboards, some of which he’d shaped and made himself. It was on these trick boards that he would perform backflips for admiring crowds on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. Backflips are not something we do – our crew has both short boards and long boards and we’re always messing around trying to do tricks. The principle feat is to do a 360 degree mid air spin and land facing the boat again. That’s difficult enough.

Driving the wakeboat is art form, and shifting friends from one side of the boat to the other for a bigger wake is the First Mate’s job.

The most common difference between a regular motorboat and a wakeboarding boat, or ‘wakeboat’ is the variable ballast system of water pumps and tanks and the addition of the wakeboard tower. This big center mount is normally constructed of heavy steel tubing. It’s important because it places the “pull point” about 2 metres or 7 feet off the water’s surface. Raising the tow point gives the rider more control and makes it easier to jump up onto the board. Most boats also have a variable ballast system, which allows for water to be pumped into and out of ballast bags from the surrounding water. Adding ballast increases displacement, and consequently enlarges the wake produced.

The rider is usually towed behind a ‘wake boat’ at about 17-24 miles per hour, depending on the water conditions, board size, rider’s weight, and rider’s comfort speed. This speed can also depend on the age, size or model of the boat. The style and grace of the movement is totally dependent on the skill of the wakeboarder.

The best boarders make everyone wonder just how they did what they did… They make you want to see them do the tricks again, and again Its nice to watch a wakeboarder slightly cut the edges by shifting his position on the board. He can move inside or outside by touching the surface of the water. He can move suddenly inside to take a turn or cut.

There’s a different language for wakeboarding as compared to surfing or snowboarding. This Xtreme sport has its own descriptive words like ‘off axis’ and different names for moves. Like you’re doing an Elephant, Tantrum, or a Whirlybird. Wakeboarding is getting more popular because it’s fun and really simple to learn and yet presents great chances for originality and eloquence-on-water.

The price of a proper wakeboat is usually a big problem for new riders. The cost is approx. 60,000 dollars in the Canadian market, and that’s because of the extra powerful engine, the specially designed hull and the expensive upgrade of a variable ballast system which is necessary to make a decent wake behind the boat.

Another emerging Lake Muskoka water sport is wake skating, which is perhaps more similar to skateboarding than surfing.

Wake skating has been significantly influenced by skateboarding. The rider’s feet are not attached to the board, which is typically shorter than a conventional wakeboard. The surface of the wake skating board is coated with a gripping material, and the rider seeks to operate the board using similar techniques to those employed by skateboarders on the ground.

In wake surfing and wake skating there’s no tow rope. You must ride the forward momentum of falling water.

The rider seeks to maintain a low body position over the board, to permit both greater stability and to facilitate quick weight shifts to change the direction of the board under his feet. The wakeboard has sharp edges along its entire perimeter, permitting the rider to carve turns in the manner of a slalom skier on snow.

Wakeboarder however have a tow rope, so they can travel at much faster speeds. This allows flights and aerial tricks. Once airborne, the boarder is attached to both the wake-board and the two rope, the rider can execute any number of aerial tricks, including flips, rolls, and other sequential moves.

Its a – better wake boarder when I started leading with my right foot. Its important to determine early on which of your feet is the “prominent foot”—this is the foot that you want on the front of the wakeboard. To figure out which of your feet you prefer or lead with, think about which foot you put first into a pair of pants when getting dressed. This is your prominent foot.

Another helpful tip is to use a 35 ft rope at first.  This will make it easier on you getting in and out of the water. The ideal length for a beginner’s rope is between 30 and 40 feet. Try to hold the rope low and parallel to the water. Also, instruct the boat driver to cruise at around 15 miles per hour. Distribute your weight to the front of the board.

Be patient with yourself. It takes time to learn grace in this water sport.

There’s a community of water sports enthusiasts all over the Muskoka Lakes.  The most prominent schools and training camps and event sponsors can be found in the following locations

Bush’s Sports Center located 2kms north of Bala

These guys advertise as Muskoka’s Premier Waterski and Wakeboard Facility. They have professional trainers that can coach every level and age category. Their facilities, a private lake, is located 2 km north of Bala, Muskoka, Ontario. They have a slalom course, jump and the place is getting a good reputation for its calm warm water.
Pride Marine Group also offers wakeboarding lessons

The Pride Marine Group is proud to offer wakeboard lessons through Muskoka Custom Clinics at all five of our on the water locations. We offer hourly, half day or full day clinics as well as kids day camps at all locations, and full week long camps at through Base Camp and our Pride of Rosseau location.
A great tour for all level of wakeboarders from begineer to outlaw.

Another water ski and now wakeboarding school can be found in Huntsville. The Placid Water Ski School (705) 789-8493 Box 1500 Huntsville, ON P0A 1K0 has a great reputation but no website that I can find anywhere

Wakeboarding Events on Lake Muskoka

Wakeboarding has been a featured sport throughout the history of the X Games, the annual extreme sports festival. The World Wakeboard Association is the international body that sponsors competitions, where the athletes are subjectively judges on the quality and creativity of the tricks performed.

The World Wakeboard Association is the international body that sponsors competitions, where the athletes are judged on the quality and creativity of the tricks performed. Wakeboarding has been a featured sport in the X Games annual extreme sports festival since they began in the 1990s.

One must see wakeboard series is The Malibu Just Ride Series, sponsored by the Sun and Ski in Bala, is generally well attended. tel 705-762-2287. They also offer a full Wakeboard and Water Ski School just outside of Bala.