The feeling of literally getting barreled behind a boat . . . priceless, and after nearly a decade of big boat surfing there had never been a more flawless wake than this years. Captain Michael Wilson of Texas Powerboating said that he wanted to find a boat this year that had a flatter bottom to it rather than a deeper hull and this resulted in a clean wake on both sides. The opposite really for bigger boats compared to 24 foot wakeboard boats where the V hull is so important. “You really have to find a boat that is the right size, if it is too big then you can’t get a good surf wake. Over the past couple of years we have found the sweet spot with 38-42 foot cruiser yachts like Carvers and Sea Rays,” says Big Boat founder Tyler Marshall.
"It’s HUGE!" No, that’s not what she said, well actually it is. "The wave is huge!" Pro wake surfers Emily Agate and Ashley Kidd both agreed that the wave behind the 35 foot Carver Yacht at the Big Boat Invitational was the biggest and cleanest boat surf wave ever surfed. According to top women’s wake surfer Ashley Kidd, “it’s kind of intimidating.”
For the second year in a row Mendonesia Surf team rider/shaper Todd Johnson, Liquid Force team rider Dominic Lagace, and Malibu Boats team rider Parker Payne took part in the Big Boat event at DFW Surf on Lake Lewisville Texas. Todd Johnson took the Off the Wall award because he literally went off the wall with jet ski tow ins and big double grab airs to 360 acid drops from the top deck. He ended up breaking a chunk off his board, but he commented afterwards, “it was worth it.”
"The focus this year seemed to be about how many surfers we could get surfing at once,” said event producer and DFW Surf team rider Danny Braught. Possibly a world record for most surfers behind a boat at once including five regular and two on the goofy side. "The tough part was getting the tow rope out of the way.”
Special thanks to Mendonesia Surf, Boarders Magazine, TX Powerboating, and DFW Surf for producing the event and thanks to all the invited athletes who could make it out.
