Wakeboarding: Facing Fear

I'm not afraid of wakeboarding. What I'm afraid of is I don't know how to swim. Every time I have to go to the beach or we have a summer outing this is the problem I face. Sometimes it hinders me to fully enjoy my vacation. 

Water Activity for Kids

It was mixed emotions when me and my friends decided to try wakeboarding at Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC). It was our last stop before going back to Manila on our trip to Caramoan. There was a long line and we are the 30th on the waiting list. Good thing I have a friend who is very persistent and swear that we will never leave CWC until we tried wakeboarding.

Wakeboarding is a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing. The rider is towed by a motor boat or a closed-course cable system. The most popular place for wakeboarding in our country is at CWC. The cost of wakeboarding at CWC ranges from P200 - P750 which includes the rental of the vest and helmet. Aside from wakeborading, CWC has other water activity that kids can enjoy. They have game room where you can play billiards and foosball, a skate park which is free to the public and they also offer massage.

We were very amazed on how some riders do different maneuvers and tricks on the lake. We were supposed to do wakeboarding in the large lake but one of my friend said that we should first have the beginner lesson which is done in a smaller lake. In the beginner lesson we were taught about the correct posture and stance in riding the wakeboard. They also taught us the common mistake in wakeboarding and the things that we should not do to avoid accidents.

All Geared Up

Wakeboarding sounds very easy when you watch it and after the beginner lesson however it was not that easy to do. I was the third person in our group to do it and as you can guess I have not yet reached 10ft away when I went down the water. Since I do not know how to swim I suddenly panicked and the lifeguard has to pull me out of the water. My second try was even worst. We are all getting frustrated because none of us was even able to reach the middle of the lake. I was also about to give up because aside from I cannot make a successful stance on the wakeboard I cannot swim. My friend has to always pull me with her wakeboard just to get out of the water. 

We were on our last turn to wakeboard and my two friend has the same result as before. The lifeguard suggested that I try lying on the water when pulling me up rather than sitting  on the dock area. I did what he said and when the cable pull me up I felt that I my arched body was under the water and I cannot see anything but splashes of water. I pulled myself trying not to have any slight change on my stance. I was waiting for me to be hurled back in the water. At the back of my head it was saying that this is the time I should have fallen but I was still standing on the wakeboard. Everything became clear to me. I was already on the middle on the lake and is near to other side. I can hear my friends shouting and cheering for me. But I should never lose my concentration. I need to reach the end of the lake so that I will not have a hard swimming to the shore. 

With the right timing I let go of the cable and my body went down to the water with a big splash. The next challenge I have to overcome is swimming to shore. Since I almost reached the end of the lake the water is already shallow. I was able to swim and a girl sitting at the edge told me that I that I can already put my feet down. My friends came running to me worried that I might not able to swim to shore but proud that I was able to reach the end.

Aside from CWC, there are also wakeboarding in Batangas, Pampanga, Davao and Cebu. A wakeboarding area has also opened in Nuvali, Laguna which is much closer in Metro Manila.