wife cannot clear wake

My wife has tried and tried but she cannot clear the wake. I have told her that she is absorbing alot with her knees. She will charge the wake like a bat out of hell and just kind of skip across like a rock. I asked all of my guy friends but none of their suggestions worked. I was wondering if any of you smart women have any suggestions for me to tell her.

Look up at the shoreline (very hard not to watch where you are landing) and keep the rope tight at the hip, this is what the guys I ride with tell me all the time...

Tell her to keep her shoulders back and hold her edge all the way through the wake. Also, another important point - tell her to not cut so hard into the wake. A nice progressive edge (slow turn and picking up speed as she approaches the wake) will do the trick as long as she doesn't let up before she gets to the wake. You don't have to have an aggressive cut to clear the wake. This will allow her to get better pop as well. Hope this helps!

Russ - If she is "charging" the wake it sounds like she might be cutting all the way out and then coming in. In order to clear the wake and also get excellent pop she doens't need to cut but maybe 15 feet outside the wake. It sounds like she might be coming off edge when she approaches the wake and isn't standing up at the top. Bonnie suggested a progressive cut, which I also suggest. A steady progressive cut and standing at the wake will create the energey and force needed to clear the wake... she won't want to charge the wake yet build speed with a steady progressive edge by creating load on the line and keep the rope into her him! Hope this helps!

Why don't you rent/buy some DVD's for her?
The Book is a great collection by the guys from the Wakeboard Camp and it's great for every level of rider! It also includes cd's for the intermediate to advanced rider!
Also, crud, what is the name of it.....
UGH-another DVD that is good for skill...
Maybe it's Pre-Pop....I can't remember.
But I definitely would say get her a DVD to watch so you can slow it down and she can see what she needs to do. It sounds like she's trying and trying and just not there quite yet.
Remember to have her keep her eyes on the horizon, too. Don't stare at the wake and concentrate on that too hard. Tell her to casually go out and progress back in and just go through the wake, standing at the top and looking at the opposite side shoreline or something....
Good luck!

just shorten the rope until she can easily clear it, then as she progresses gradually let it back out.

If she's not clearing the wake, she's not edging all the way up and through the wake. Casing the wake, in almost every instance is because of this.

Tell her to let the WAKE do the work!!

2 words: Progressive Edge. I know because I've been there. I use to cut way out and then ride so fast I could not control anything. Have her cut oustide the wake at 10 to 15 feet at the most. Then she must take time to "cruise" keep her board stabilized in the flats before she slowly cuts toward the wake as the boat pulls her in. she wants to cut slowly first and much harder as she approches the wake. Then straighten the knees on top of the wake, rop handle to hip level and enjoy the flight!

In my crew, the girls like to feminize all the rules: so she needs to pretend her boobs have eyes. If her eyes are looking up then she's good, but if they're looking down then she is gonna go down. It helps us, hope it helps your wife

Sounds like she needs to work on board and pressure control. I had a problem with this too. Once I started doing some drills of edging to and fro the wake, but not trying to cross it, it came naturally. Maybe she just don't understand that you don't have to be so aggressive to cross the wake.

well, all this has certainly helped me understand the approach - not to be too aggressive. I thought I really had to hit mach speed to get some air - will work on this this weekend. Good luck to your wife. By now, she should be doing well.

What speed is she going?

What rope length & speed? She might want to shorten the rope to 55' or 60' to make it easier to clear the wake. This helped me. When I started to land in the flats most of the time, I just lengthened the rope. It is also less intimidating to jump without balast & casing the wake isn't as bad.

I like to hear "feedback/advice" from 1 voice and preferably not my husband. It is often hard to teach your spouse anything without conflict arising. She just needs to practice and feel it out....crash a lot..careful of pulling the rope too far in, it can be very turbulent back there between the wakes. Maybe try to focus on little "baby" one wake jumps and get the form set in her muscle memory. When she feels ready, she will take a big approach. Don't push her, it will only make her more nervous.

I feel the speed is about right when I can pull on the rope while riding behind the boat and can pull myself foward. That means my speed with my weight and my board choice are dialed in nicely. That means my board is planed out nicely and the board will react nicely. Find when she gets to that point and she will have more control of the board.

The approach to the wake should be short. She does not need high speed to clear the wake. That is how most beginners get hurt bad. Speed kills. You need edge to clear the wake, not speed. Have her pull the rope to her belly button. Then slowly try and show the bottom of the board to the people in the boat. To imagin that, draw a wall straight to the sky. 90 degrees to the water. Put your shoulder blades on the wall, then your hips will be just our front of your shoulders, then your feet should be in a strong position in front of your hips. Do not break down from this position. In that position, you should show more of you board to the people in the boat as you approach the wake. The rope will be at your belly button (90 degrees to the wall). As you get to the through of the wake, straighten your legs. When you straighten your legs, keep the same position that I discribed. Feet in front of the hips, hips in front of the shoulders. You will feel the wake buck you straight up. Increase speed until you clear. You will feel more in control and will ride slower with less injury.

Also, Just like Niki beat me too....Tell someone else the advice and let them tell her for you. Good luck.