Wake Boat Meeting

[XCR-700]

Functional aspects of flat water and wake boarding and wake surfing aside, I do often wonder why the owners of these boats want the concert level sound systems and why they run them when not wake boarding/wake surfing?

I cant see how adding blaring music enhances these activities. Between the sounds of the engine, the water, the wind and if you are trying to communicate with anyone in the boat, adding music seems very odd to me. We would never have wanted that when water skiing. And then why run those outward facing speakers when cursing the lake before or after wake boarding/surfing?

Is part of the fun supposed to be to get others to watch??? I suppose some of these folks want to be performers and that might make some sense out of why do this in coves and with loud music.

When I was younger we were always hoping no one was around to watch fearing a public face plant and potential embarrassment,,, So I am wondering if this is somehow opposite of that, in that the wake boarders/surfers and hoping for an audience and maybe that's part of the desire to do this in an area where people will see you?

Maybe it all just a generational thing and I'm out of touch with what fun today

[Winilyme]

Originally Posted by XCR-700

Functional aspects of flat water and wake boarding and wake surfing aside, I do often wonder why the owners of these boats want the concert level sound systems and why they run them when not wake boarding/wake surfing?

I cant see how adding blaring music enhances these activities. Between the sounds of the engine, the water, the wind and if you are trying to communicate with anyone in the boat, adding music seems very odd to me. We would never have wanted that when water skiing. And then why run those outward facing speakers when cursing the lake before or after wake boarding/surfing?

Is part of the fun supposed to be to get others to watch??? I suppose some of these folks want to be performers and that might make some sense out of why do this in coves and with loud music.

When I was younger we were always hoping no one was around to watch fearing a public face plant and potential embarrassment,,, So I am wondering if this is somehow opposite of that, in that the wake boarders/surfers and hoping for an audience and maybe that's part of the desire to do this in an area where people will see you?

Maybe it all just a generational thing and I'm out of touch with what fun today

Actually, as opposed to seeking attention, maybe it's just that many wakeboarders are in their own little bubble and simply don't care about their impact on others. They are enjoying themselves so nothing else matters. It strikes me that wakeboarding is a sport of extremes. Extreme wakes, extreme music, extreme repetitive circuits. As with many things extreme, the sport oversteps reasonable boundaries and makes people angry. Based on my observations, I think a lot of wakeboarders just don't give a hoot about what others think. And that ignorant behavior, as I pointed out in a prior thread on this topic, is what will lead to more regulations. It'll be a self-inflicted wound to their sport unless their industry gets involved and reigns in some of the extreme behavior.

For starters, tone down the music, keep out of the small coves and maintain your distance from the shoreline.