Wakeboarding - the dream of gliding

To the photo gallery: Doros first wakeboard attempt

It's not that no one warned her. But a convinced snowboarder can hardly make two boards under your feet tasty. That's why Doro Votteler (27, ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com producer) does not pay any attention to the water skis on offer - her desire is for the wakeboard. Even if the entry is difficult, with only one instead of two boards under your feet.

Doro does not hand over her rental wakeboard anymore

A sunny Sunday morning. At the water ski resort on the Neuländer See in Hamburg, the terrace gradually fills with spectators, in front of the lift 10 and 15 people have arrived, waiting for their turn. Some have harnessed wakeboards, others water skiing, the classic variant. Wakeboarding is a relatively new sport, a combination of waterskiing and surfing. At the beginning, in the 90s, the freaks got pulled behind a motorboat - In the meantime cable cars have prevailed almost everywhere. There one hangs on wire towers fixed to high poles like a t-bar lift and is pulled over a rectangular course. For the pros there are ramps - they show daring, meter-high jumps and turns.

Doro first has another goal: not to land with a belly slapper on the water. Before the start, she is provided with explanations and - most importantly - the right clothes. With the neoprene suit from the rental is not done in the wakeboarding scene namely: If you want to be hip, you also need a boarder short. Fredy, 15, this year European Champion and German Champion in Wakeboarding at the "Boys", is looking for a short for Doro with a buddy.

Not only does Fredy speak a different language (phrases like "My perfect board should have a shape like wit, but of course I need a slider base") - he also has a different taste for clothes. In an unobserved moment, Doro pulls the short waistband sitting on the middle of her buttocks a bit higher.



Doro is not alone among the teenage freaks. Peter Schattenfroh, owner of the facility, points to two women who lined up in the queue in front of the lift: "One is a teacher, the other a banker," he says. You know each other. There are many regular customers, some even have an annual pass for 725 euros, they can use the system without restrictions.

"The start is the hardest, you have to get stiff, like a board, and then get pulled out", explains Lia (24). The student is an avid wakeboarder herself and works in the facility to earn the money for her annual pass. In five minutes, she explains to Doro and another newcomer what they need to know before the first start: "If the traffic light turns green, the driver pulls you out," says Lia. "Do you still have any questions?" The two shake their heads. Doro looks at the launch site. The traffic light turns to green, a wakeboarder jumps from the dock, the handle to the pull rope firmly in his hand. He drives safely through the first corner, glides easily over the water. It looks easy.

Doro joins the waiting line with the wakeboard in her arms. Lia looks after her. "It's easier to start with skis, it can happen that she does not make it today", she says. Good that Doro does not hear that. She is already sitting at the jetty in front of the starting point. The board in the water, the feet in the buckles, she slips on with the Po little by little. Now only two guys are left in front of her. Splash - head first, the first falls into the water, the next the handle slides out of his hand. From the speakers booms "You are as hot as a volcano".

It's Doro's turn. A young guy hands her the handle. Concentrated, she looks up, at the traffic signal.



"When the traffic light turned green, I was really scared, my stomach was cramping up, I had heart palpitations when I was in the water, so I was stressed out, I did not mean to embarrass myself in front of the many people in the café and In front of the 15-year-olds, who drive in a totally professional way and make it cool, you only have a short time at the start - and then you have to do everything right - if you do not tense the body in time, you will immediately be pulled out of the pines. "

She stands! Doro has managed to pull herself up from the rope. But luck does not last long: After a few seconds she makes an unintentional sideways turn and falls into the water. She trudges back to shore.

"The first three seconds I thought 'Hey, that's alright!' Then something went wrong. "

Second try: Doro almost stands, then loses her balance and tilts aside. On the third and fourth try, she lands in the water with a belly patter. Every beginner has to go through this.

"The falls are not without, especially when you hit your face first, you get water in your nose and you swallow a lot, but you forget that as soon as you get back on the jetty, and then it's adrenaline for the next time already there."



The starter field is a colorful mix: While the experts go elegant curves and also take the ramps loose, the water-ski beginners have difficulties to maintain the body tension. Legs apart, they stand on their skis, her upper body is pulled by the rope forward, her butt have stretched out far back.

Loud beats hammer over the water. The guys at the resort jump in time with. Doro lands on her stomach again on her fifth attempt. She immediately joins the queue again. One and a half hours are over, the café is now full. A boarder climbs onto the jetty, he beamed: "I have just made my first 1 3? 4 laps in a row," he tells his friends enthusiastically.

What is the fascinating thing about this sport? Two beginner in their early 30s, who are in line with Doro, especially the holiday and beach atmosphere at wakeboarding great. "The feeling on the water is addictive," says Lia, the student who gave Doro the briefing. "You get a real adrenalin kick", Doro finds that too:

"The short moments you get gives you an idea of ​​what it feels like to be able to do it, but the glide phases are a fragile patchwork, and you're happy when you've made it to the start the first hurdle. "

The short gliding phases are rare, the arms are now heavy. It takes a lot of strength, the grip always ranzuziehen to the hips and withstand the strong return. But Doro does not give up: Again and again she lines up in the queue. She is ambitious. She really wants to glide right, not just a few seconds. Only after the 18 or 19 attempt to start she stops. She sits on the bench before the rental, her arms trembling with the effort, despite the heat and despite the neoprene suit she shivers. She gave everything.

"You really need a lot of frustration tolerance, I really wanted to drive a whole lap, but when you glide, it's really fun, I'm totally motivated to come back."

And she remains - in spite of the muscle soreness in arms and back, which she still notices almost a week later. She wants to experience him, this moment of lightnesswhen it no longer hangs on the rope like a "small wet sack" but glides on the water surface - with its wakeboard.

Information for beginners

Wakeboard beginners pay 29 euros for two hours at the water ski facility in Hamburg. This includes the rental equipment including wetsuit and life jacket, the briefing and use of the cable car. Day passes are - depending on the temperature - between 20 and 35 euros.

An overview of the wakeboard and waterskiing facilities in Germany is available at www.wasserski.de.

Dream Lake (March 2024).



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