Here at TOAD we like to catch the next wave, so Sarah Riches tries out flowboarding.
Ever wished you could ride waves with your bros like the surfers do off Australia’s Gold Coast? Then head over to Yas WaterWorld on Yas Island, where the surf’s always up.
As part of the TOAD fitness challenge, we tried flowboarding on the park’s Rush Rider – an artificial, permanent wave.
The wave is 7m wide and 8m long, so there’s space for a maximum of two riders at any one time. Unlike the ocean, where waves come from behind a surfer, Rush Rider water rushes towards riders at 45km/h.
The waves skim a rubber surface that resembles a trampoline or basic catamaran, so you bounce when, not if you fall, before the water pushes you over the crest of the wave on to dry land.
But we’re in safe hands, as our South African instructor, Clayton Barker, has been flowboarding for 11 years and is a former flowboarding world champion.
Clayton starts by pushing us from behind to determine which leg is dominant, before asking us if we can dance. Eh?
‘It helps if you have rhythm,’ he explains.
‘I’ve never surfed before,’ we admit.
‘That will actually help, as you have no preconceptions,’ he reassures us.
Holding his hand, we step on to a flowboard.
‘Don’t let go,’ we whimper, as water rushes beneath us faster than Usain Bolt breaking from the starting blocks.
Clayton tells us how to position ourselves on the board, which is 4ft long. Keeping our legs wide, we bend our knees and lean on our strongest leg at the back of the board, keeping our other foot at the front.
‘Keep your head up and look forward to maintain your balance,’ he instructs. ‘If you want to move backwards, lean on your heels; to move forwards, put more weight on your toes.’
Following his instructions, we manage to stay on the board.
Feeling more confident, we ramp things up a bit. The next level – flowboarding while holding on to a rope with one hand – helps us balance while giving us more freedom to move around the Rush Rider.
‘Keep your shoulders loose,’ Clayton shouts from the side, above the roar of water. ‘It’ll help you balance.’
Before long we’ve got a feel for it and we feel steady on our feet. We move forwards, backwards, up and down and realise that most of the time the rope is slack. Still, it’s reassuring to know it’s there.
We soon feel the burn in our dominant thigh, and when we can’t squat any longer we wipe out – that means fall, in case you’re not down with the lingo.
Exhilarated, we can see how flowboarding can become addictive, especially as we notice an improvement in our one-hour session.
Sessions usually last three hours, and are held every first and third Saturday 8-11am December to March. There will also be a new session starting Wednesdays 6-9pm in March.
We’re tempted to sign up, as Clayton explains that the next level is to flowboard in the opposite direction, leaning back on our weaker leg.
Once we’ve mastered flowboarding on both sides, we could try an intermediate move – a 360° spin. After that we’d be ready for the ‘pop shove it’. An advanced skateboarding move, the pop shove it is an aerial flip where the rider jumps, the board spins 180° and the rider lands back on it – in theory. Experienced surfers can also try the park’s Bubble Barrel ride, which has a more powerful wave.
To give our thighs a break, we try bodyboarding next, which involves more technique than first appears. Starting in the water, we grip a 2ft wide board, propping ourselves up on our elbows. Chest raised, we rest our hips on the end of the board.
When Clayton lets go, we shoot up the rest of the wave. Pressing on our left elbow and hip, we move to the left, then do the same on the other side to move right. The moves twist our core and work our biceps.
We spend the rest of the day on the park slides, and soon realise that carrying rubber rings and climbing steps to the slides is tough in itself.
Our muscles ache for two days afterwards. Still, once our thighs are stronger we’d like to return for a full flowboarding session with our homies – and dudes, we’ll be ready for some bombin’ flowboarding, man.
Dhs200 flowboarding or bodyboarding, Dhs235 entry, Yas WaterWorld, Yas Island, www.yaswaterworld.com (02 414 2000).
