Stuart Reeve posted on July 13, 2010 07:14
I've never skateboarded, surfed, skied or snowboarded, so expecting to jump on a wakeboard and hack it round the course at JB waterski cable park was probably being slightly optimistic, but on arriving at the lake and seeing 7 year old kids literally flying round the course, my optimism seemed well justified.
Having kitted up after the usual CAP faff (you know who you are..!!!!) we watched the safety video on how to master a kneeboard and after a quick practice on the training pontoon, my eyes were still on a few laps on a wakeboard and we strutted down to the main cable.
Now, this all seemed very easy, hold the rope, tuck in and get pulled on to the water staying balanced, EASY....!!!!! Oh no,, it really wasn't that easy as I found having travelled about 10 feet, before wobbling and plunging head first into the lake.
Resurfacing, I was suddenly aware of a nutter on a wakeboard heading fast in my direction and I was amazed how fast I could swim when the possibility of being decapitated was imminent. Unfortunately, the same happened on my next 4 attempts whilst the majority of the group had got the hang of the kneeboard and were contemplating progressing up to the wakeboard.
Following a quick chat with the guy in charge of the releasing the cables, it appeared I wasn't tucking up enough at the start and on my next attempt I followed this greatly received advice and off I charged down the lake to the first corner. On reaching the first corner I pushed down on my right knee and pulled the cable to the left side of my hip and moved to the right hand side of the lake and thought yeah,, got this sussed, at which point the cable went very slack. Oh dear I thought, as I knew exactly what was coming next and sure enough I was launched skywards before letting go of the cable to ensure my shoulders remained in their sockets and landing with an almighty splash, a cartwheel and then a nasal enema full of water...!!!!!
Now unfortunately this happened on many occasions after, but it was great fun nonetheless. Others in the group were racking up the laps as Rob flew round on the kneeboard and Ed, Gary and Jay tried their luck on the skis, monoski and wakeboard. Actually if you do speak with Gary, do make sure that he managed to retrieve both eyeballs from the bottom of the lake, after he was planted face first whilst trying to master the wakeboard, which resulted in all the fellas on the pontoon in unison voicing the word OUCH..!!!!!!!
Darren flew round on the wakeboard, hitting a few cheeky ramps, but also showing how to style high impact landings.. Lockie decided the views from the beach were far more entertaining that the kneeboard and Ben did a superb job on his first attempt.
The day was finished with a quick game on the beach volleyball court and CAP members can be rest assured that our opposing team of under 10's were totally trounced in an outstanding, if not one sided performance.
I totally enjoyed this trip and will probably go again before the end of the summer. If you ever get the chance to go kneeboarding or wakeboarding give it a go, as its a great experience, but just remember to keep the cable tight at all times and thus avoid the resulting wipeout.
On that point, I would have typed this review sooner, but it has taken me a couple of days to actually start moving again, as I've had pains in places I never knew existed.