Wakesurfing is cool in that the wave is yours—and yours alone. In wakesurfing, you own the wave for as long as you care to ride it.

Wakesurfing responsibly means that you’re not only having a good time on the water, but you’re doing so in a way that respects other boaters and local homeowners.

A little courtesy and respect goes a long way in keeping our waterways open and wake-friendly. Be sure to follow these three key pillars whenever you are wakesurfing:

1. Minimize repetitive passes.

We all seek the calm, protected shorelines and once we find it, we claim it as ours. However, repetitively driving back and forth in the same line can damage shores and docks. After a few passes you’ll have churned up the water anyways. Take a break, move to another location and return later. Your spot will still be there when you return.

2. Keep music at a responsible level.

We realize that marine audio stereos are better and louder than ever before. Although water activities and cranking tunes go hand-in-hand, it’s important to be considerate of the time and situation.

3. Stay 200 feet from shore.

Staying at least 200 feet away from docks and other structures allows boat wakes to dampen enough to minimize any adverse effects when they reach the shore.

Wakesurfing is even more cool when you have the right boat. People started using wake boarding boats for surfing. Suddenly the tow boat industry took notice and began to tailor their lines to wakesurfing. Want to know why wakesurfing become so cool so quickly? Because you’re less likely to get hurt while wakesurfing than you would if you were water skiing or wake boarding.

Wakesurfing is more forgiving physically than skiing or wake boarding, and it’s also not too difficult to learn, even a deep-water start. That makes it better suited to older riders such as baby boomers, who can still enjoy being behind a boat.