Watersports are popular in Abu Dhabi for good reason. Given the capital was host to the championships this month, TOAD decided to have a go at one of the toughest around, wakeboarding.
Given the abundance of watersports available in Abu Dhabi, it’s no wonder wakeboarding is a hit. The sport, originally called skurfing, is a combination of snowboarding, surfing and waterskiing. The rider is towed behind a boat, hence ‘wake’ – it’s in the boat’s wake. The actions of the rider then mimic those of a snowboarder closely.
This high-adrenaline sport is on offer at a few places around the city, making use of the flat waters and wide channels. We went to the Hiltonia Beach Club to have a try of this unusual sport with Watercooled, their watersports provider.
Most wakeboarding experts (and people who have done it once), told us the hardest part is getting up. We thought that sounded pretty normal, we’ve tried surfing and various other sports that are tricky to get the hang of and it hasn’t been too difficult – the toughest part is getting up on a surf board and we did fine there.
The Watercooled staff are well trained and will go through the entire process with you before hitting the water. Knees in, arms straight and hold tight – we practice this a few times on the pontoon. The next instruction is that once you are up swivel to the side, putting your favoured leg at the back, and keep the handle to your hip.
Now these instructions sound simple enough, to the point where even beginners like us are thinking, ‘Now that can’t be so hard’. But then it’s time to get out there and prove it. Suddenly terrified, we get into the boat with another rider, Camilla, and zoom across to a quiet part of the water.
Bobbing about in the water, our instructor reminds us: knees bent, arms straight and hold on tight. It sounds simple enough. ‘Okay, let’s go!’ The boat slowly gains speed – making the rope taught. We feel the pull and try to hold on for dear life, before catapulting out of the water and landing back down face first.
This is harder than expected.
Somehow our board had too much traction, putting pressure on our frail forearms and the handle just slipped right away. We bob in the water while the boat comes round and we line up for a second go. Again, we feel the rope tighten and then flick away from us before we can even more. ‘Right! We can do this!’ We think to ourselves. The instructor gives us some feedback, apparently the board is too low in the water and we need to keep our arms straight. We note this and line up for another turn.
We try a third time and manage to get up a little higher, bending our knees to about 90 degrees before the handle becomes slippery and shoots away from us again. Two more attempts render us useless and exhausted, so we take a rest on the boat.
Next, it’s Camilla’s turn. She is experienced at watersports and seems far more coordinated and athletic than us. She glides up effortlessly into a sideward stance, jetting through the water – making the sport far cooler and more glamourous than our weak attempts.
Happy but a little disappointed, and with aching forearms, we decided we will have to try again in a few weeks… once we regain the use of our arms! This is a cool watersport and definitely worth a go.
Hilton Abu Dhabi, Al Khuberira www.hilton.com (02 681 1900)
Try wakeboarding
Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort
Has a private beach with access so you can enjoy wakeboarding completely uninterrupted.
Corniche Road East, Al Markaziyah (02 677 3333).
Al Forsan Sports Resort
Host to the Wakeboarding Championships – this place has its own safe facilities to give you a super fun experience.
Khalifa City A (02 556 8555).
Beach Rotana
Backs onto the ocean with its resort facilities, offering a myriad of activities.
Tourist Club Area (02 697 9000).
