Towed sports

Towed buoy, Wakeboard, water ski, Wakesurf, Kneeboard, Wakeskate : Towed sports in vogue

Do you love towed sports? But do you know everything about the sports you like so much? We suggest you to follow us to the discovery (for some, you never know :-) ) or the rediscovery of these different water sports very popular for a few years now that everyone is looking for for professional needs or simply to have fun on the beach during the vacations.

Wakeboard

• Origin

In 1980, was born the wakeboardinga sport inspired by water skiing, surfing and snowboarding. This sport is practiced with a board that is significantly different from surfing or skateboarding and it is necessary to be connected to a motor boat that pulls the one on the board.

Wakeboarding has its origins in skurfing, a sport that was created in New Zealand by a surfboard designer Allan Byrne to practice different popular sports at that time such as surfing and skateboarding) without the weather. It was in the 83's that Howard Jacobs made the first boards by having the idea to mount windsurfing foot straps on a surfboard and it was in 84 that the "tricks" (technical gestures) were added by Allan which allowed the popularization of this sport on all different water bodies.

• Equipment

To do this sport, you need boards, shoes, a boat adapted and a rudder.

• The tractors of this activity

A motor boat can be added during the exercise. However, there are special ones used called Wakeboard boat. They are systematically equipped with a tower (in order to be able to fix a traction rope at 2 meters high in relation to the water), ballasts which weigh them down, a special hull and a rear engine (V-drive) which differentiates them from the ski ones which have rather a central engine.

• Rudder bar

This is the rope that is used by the individual on the board to be pulled. It consists of a rubber triangle that allows the practitioner to hold it well and its size varies between 16 m and 24 m and also depends on the way the tractor moves.

• Shoes

Shoes are an essential part of the board. At the beginning of the creation of the sport in 1980, they were made with windsurfing footbeds. However, these first shoes had defects in terms of solidity, comfort and did not really allow to handle the board well.

In 1990, wakeboarding evolved and so did the boots, which became more efficient by being inspired by water skiing thanks to materials such as neoprene and rubber. They are now more reliable thanks to inserts with a wider, more open and wider shape.

Towed buoy

This is a very popular activity among young people in summer. It can be done alone or with several people, as there are buoys for several people as well as individual ones.

As indicated by the name, these buoys are towed by a motorboat and during this time the individual on the board can take the position he wants, even sitting down. However, there are some collective ones that force the users to adopt the lying position, these are the round buoys called "Donuts" that allow you to sit. The banana-shaped buoy also allows you to be seated and to have the impression of being on a horse.

This activity requires equipment like the buoy: a quick release system and a two-meter orange fluorescent flame for visibility. Individuals on the buoy must wear a life jacket.

Although it is a vacation activity, it is regulated:

• The driver must have a motor boat license

• The driver must have a motorboat license and must practice this activity at more than 300 meters from the sea.

• A second person in addition to the driver to keep an eye on the buoy

• Take into account the weather conditions

• Speed limited to 30 Km/h for adults and 20 Km/h for children

Water skiing

Invented in 1922 in the United States, it is a sport that consists of moving on water while being towed and equipped with skis. This sport is practiced on beaches in summer but it can also be taken as a competitive sport. In competitive sport, it consists of 3 events: jumping, slalom and figures.

This activity requires good physical condition, good coordination and concentration. Generally the duration of this activity is 15 minutes.

• How to practice this discipline?

First of all you can choose how you want to start, either directly in the water with your knees bent over your chest and your chest straight or from a landing stage.

Once you are on the water and being towed, here are some helpful tips:

1. Keep your arms as limber as you can

2. Do not pull on the handle

3. Keep your knees bent

4. Keep your chest upright

5. Maintain all of these conditions for the full 15 minutes

6. Keep yourself as flexible as possible to catch the waves

• Equipment

To practice this sport or activity, you need to have as equipment :

• A rope with a handle, most often in a triangle, for a better grip for the practitioner

• A pair of skis adapted for this discipline

• A 40 horsepower boat

Wakesurf

We designate by wakesurfing the sport that consists in surfing the waves caused by a motorboat without being attached to it. It is necessary to know that this discipline existed a long time ago and consisted more in sliding the waves caused by the big boats.

• Equipment

For this activity, there are different types of boards 2 more precisely: the boards qualified of Skim and the boards qualified of surfing: the difference between these 2 types of boards is that :

• the skim offers an easier handling to the practitioner he can make figures very easily

• The surf board is a little less easy to handle because of its volume, the only point it has in addition to the first type higher, is that with this board, you can have more speed easily.

Kneeboard

It's a sport that consists in being pulled by a boat while performing sliding tricks. You can do more tricks easily than other sports because you are fixed to the board while kneeling.

This sport can be practiced in several ways: You can choose to adopt the surfing style or the water skiing style

For the kneeboardThe boards are wider with a rubber surface, which allows for the practice of this activity in a kneeling position, but also in plastic. The kiteboarder is equipped with a leash (small rope that connects the kiteboarder to his board) and fins.

Since this sport has been translated into a water ski version, it attracts more and more people, especially because of the fact that it is practiced on the knees, which facilitates the figures and produces more sensations at high speed. It is also an alternative for those who would like to surf but can't or for those who can't stand on a board for long.

This version of the Kneeboard offers slightly smaller boards measuring between 90 and 150 cm. This reduces their buoyancy.

• Material

• Boards

• 15 to 25 meters of rope

• Boat

• A life jacket

Wakeskate

Wakeskating is a sport that has its roots in wakeboarding and skateboarding, and was invented by Alexander Barnoin, but it was Ben Horan who made it famous.

The boards are between 98 and 101 cm long and are smaller than skateboard boards. For this activity, the boards are made of plywood and although inspired by wakeboarding, the skater is not on his knees, so he is not attached to the board. They also have a plastic foam like on skateboards. The protective soles of the Wakeskate are however identical to the Wakeboard.

In conclusion, all these water sports offer the possibility to be practiced according to your desires: in competition as well as in leisure on the beaches in summer. All you have to do is choose the right water ski, Wakesurf, Wakeboard, Wakeskate or the right buoy.