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-   -   Christmas Wakeboarding (Almost) (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=791243)

CasMarks 12-25-2011 10:58 PM

Christmas Wakeboarding (Almost)
 
So to start this brief story, I'll go ahead and begin with the events leading up to our bullet proof idea of going wakeboarding early on Christmas morning.

Our beautiful '89 Nautique had been out of commission for about 5 months needing an engine replacement. Fortunately for us, Santa had one in stock and even had it in our hands a week early! So, as you might imagine, we were eager to make a quick switch and get out there on the water for the first time in a while. With a few complications going into replacing the engine, a week had almost past and as luck would have it, the engine was up and running Christmas eve.

Now it is simple routine like we have done so many times before. Make unnecessary preparations to your gear, hook the trailer up to the truck, triple check the wind forecasts, and make the call to meet up. Seeing that it was Christmas morning, we decided to meet at 7 so we could return in time for other obligations.

The ever so disturbing sound of the alarm rings and off we go. With the usual delays, we arrive at the boat ramp at 8 AM to see sheet glass throughout the entire river. The boat is quickly loaded up and after a few tries, the engine kicks into gear, sounding better than ever. "Okay, were just going to run it around for a second then we can fill the sacs and get to riding." Sure, why not, it's a new engine, might as well warm it up. Ten minutes of ripping the boat around toward the middle of the river and were satisfied with how she is running, time to get down to business.

Patiently waiting for the sacs to fill up, we take a second to hook the rope up and remain amazed at the conditions. The excitement is building and before we know it, the sacs are filled up and it's time to crank up the engine and determine who is going first. "Alright start her up." Attempt 1, unsuccessful. Attempt 2, unsuccessful. Pretty typical for it to take a few tries so we continue. Attempt 10... unsuccessful with a clear sound of a dying battery. We stay quiet, each of us beginning to realize what the obvious conclusion is going to be. After a few minutes in silence we make a last attempt at starting the boat before the last kicks of the battery ring out.

Without a boat in sight, we have to find another solution to make it back to the boat ramp. We initially go for paddles but those were taken out during the repair process so we had to resort to using our boards. After 20 minutes of paddling and still a long ways to go, we figure getting in and swimming the boat back is going to be the most efficient way. In we go to start our journey back to the boat ramp. Stroke by stroke, we slowly make our way toward the shore, thinking of how Christmas morning was supposed to be. 45 minutes later, our arms are dead but we made it to the boat ramp. We spent some time trying to salvage our mission once we docked up, but to no avail. All in all, we figure our next time out should be pretty good in comparison.

In conclusion, I hope your Christmas morning was better than mine.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3.../RiverSwim.jpg

TheHebrewHammer 12-26-2011 4:04 AM

Ahhhh, gotta love the challenge of swimming the boat in. Glad to see you're still riding, or at least trying to, at this time of year. Merry Christmas!

alexair 12-26-2011 4:38 AM

Funny Xmas! Santa brought the real challenge for you. Hope trouble is not big.

Wiatowski 12-26-2011 6:53 AM

The boat would start because......?


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