Where to wakeboard this X-Mas???

[spongebob]

I want to get out of the frozen north (Canada) this christmas and do a little wakeboarding.

These are my requirements:

1) December 23rd to January 1st or so

2) 2-9 people depending on what I can line up for accomodations & boat

3) Reasonably warm, sunny and calm. In Canada... I am used to 55F-75F water and 50-86F air temps. If there is a hot tub... I can definetly handle the lower temps.

4) Newer tournament Vdrive wakeboarding boat available for use/rent... Malibu being my preference of course

5) Reasonably near some restaurants and shopping for the wife

I woud be into a wakeboard camp setup all the up to a turn key house & boat setup.

Where is the best place to go @ X-Mas to do some boarding (i.e. Florida, California, Mexico, etc.)?

Anyone got any leads?

Thanx.

[Hman442]

I was in Florida in February, it was very marginal to want to swim, etc. The major Mexico resorts probably offer boarding in the ocean, but that may not be that neat. I'm certain others will chime in with some ideas based on experience. Sounds like a great idea though.

[spongebob]

Hman,

I'm with ya in regards to boarding in the ocean... not too keen on that for sure. So... let me add a 6th requirement:

6) Fresh water

There has got to be a decent place to go boarding, in North America, in the dead of winter... right?

My kingdom to the man or women that can hook me up

[spaznoook]

I googled this for you... :D

Wakeboard Camp Lake Clermont

Some excerpts & other info I found:

Where it is:

TWC is on the Clermont Chain of Lakes which is made up of 11 natural lakes. It has been been designated a Florida Outstanding Waterway and is one of the cleanest and most beautiful chains of lakes anywhere in the world. These lakes are big too. This means it doesn't matter which way the wind blows, we just go to the side of the lake that the wind is blowing from and we have miles of glass calm water.

Weather in the winter:

We don't get much of a winter here but it can get a little chilly if a big front makes it down here. Even in the dead of winter our average highs are in the low 70's. This means that some days are in the upper 70's and low 80's, but some days the highs can only get into the 50's or 60's when the strongest of fronts move through. They usually don't last too long though because the Florida sun warms us back up pretty quickly. Water temp is usually low 60's but can get a little cooler during a cold snap. A full or dry suit will keep you riding on the coldest of days here.

Per Weather.com (for your pleasure)

Dec 72°F 50°F 61°F 2.40 in. 89°F (2000) 19°F (1989)

I hope this helps!!

Edited October 15, 2006 by shannoook

[spongebob]

Shannoook,

Thanx for the tip... one step ahead of ya though... they are shut down for X-mas... called this morning

Is there no one out there to take my money this holiday season?

[spaznoook]

LOL! Well, I tried!

Let me know what you find though.......

[jshap]

There are probably 20 wakeboard camps/schools in the Orlando area. Check wakeworld.com for a list of them.

Arizona, Texas, and SoCal will all have nice weather and conditions, but possibly slightly warmer than the Orlando area in Dec/Jan.

[spongebob]

Thanx dude... I will check out the available camps; however, I am anticipating that most... if not all camps will be shut down over X-mas.

Anyone else know of a good camp, resort, group, club, private rental, etc?

Thanx.

[obski]

Many of the camps are closed over Christmas, but may be willing to fit you in for a day or two...or more. Last year we went to Orlando over Christmas week and contacted Shaun Murray's place, The Boarding School and arranged for a day with them. Shaun was visiting the inlaws I believe, but we had a great time with Travis Moye and Keith Lyman. The day with them was easily the highlight of the trip. The water temp was around 64F, which they thought was cold, but we were quite comfortable in our neo tops. The conditions were quite similar to that here late in the season. Actually, my wife wore her drysuit as she does not like to be cold, but the rest of us just wore the neo tops. We are going down to FL again for New Year's week and will see about getting in a day boarding again.

[jshap]

I imagine OWC will be open the week between Christmas and New Year's as well. You can get 30 min boat sets on a Nautique for $50 (with instruction), but they will book you as long as you want to go. After the boat sets, hit the cables for a while for a full day of fun. We're going in Early November, so the water and air should still be fairly nice (hopefully).

[uk_exile]

go for a trip down under

http://www.ballistics.co.nz/index.cfm/wake...amp/Camp_photos

[spongebob]

My wife wants to travel and I want to wakeboard... Orlando here we come

[bobofthenorth]

If you're not already committed to Orlando, Scott Smith in Cancun (waterskicancun.com) will pull you for boarding with a Supra Launch or a MC190 for skiing. They ski and board on the lagoon which is to the west of the hotel zone along the strip in Cancun. We were there last January and got well looked after. The lagoon is brackish - not fresh water but not salt water either. No worries about bumps - I skied every day that I was up for it. And they were great hosts. We stayed down on the Mayan Riviera but you could easily stay in Cancun and just walk across the road to Scott's marina. Ask them for the names of the hotels that are close - I can't remember them.

Phone Ruthie at 800-697 1517 or phone Scott on his cellphone at 998 874 4816.

Edited October 16, 2006 by bobofthenorth

[jshap]

Thanks Bob. I'm actually going down to Playa in December and was wondering about wakeboarding down there. I guess I'm not so crazy about wakeboarding in a body of water attached to the ocean (especially in a brackish area where Bull sharks are known to roam and feed), but if the urge is strong enough, I may just have to call em.

[smedman]

Hey Spongebob,

Yes, if you haven't settled on Orlando you should check out Austin.

We wakeboard year round (Feb is wetsuit weather), and the lake is glass cuz nobodys out.

I just found this site to give you an idea if you want to rent your own boat. (Although it is a Mobius) Not too cheap either. http://www.austinaquaventures.com/369806.html

I could check with the wife - I'm sure she'd be happy to tow you guys on our boat all day for a couple hundred US$

[Brad B]

Hey Spongebob,

Yes, if you haven't settled on Orlando you should check out Austin.

We wakeboard year round (Feb is wetsuit weather), and the lake is glass cuz nobodys out.

I just found this site to give you an idea if you want to rent your own boat. (Although it is a Mobius) Not too cheap either. http://www.austinaquaventures.com/369806.html

I could check with the wife - I'm sure she'd be happy to tow you guys on our boat all day for a couple hundred US$

We oughta do a winter WOW in CENTEX and get a bunch a Northerners to join us.

[vette-ski]

We oughta do a winter WOW in CENTEX and get a bunch a Northerners to join us.

Between Christmas and New Years, I'd definitely give it some consideration.

[Madmanacrossthewater]

Shannoook,

Thanx for the tip... one step ahead of ya though... they are shut down for X-mas... called this morning

Is there no one out there to take my money this holiday season?

How much will you pay, for me to drag your frozen carcass around for a couple hours. Indy isn't that far away?

[stewart]

We oughta do a winter WOW in CENTEX and get a bunch a Northerners to join us.

Between Christmas and New Years, I'd definitely give it some consideration.

Me 2

[spongebob]

Wow... I have been stupid busy this week... no time to check posts.

Thanx for all the great ideas... the wife is coming back from Houston this weekend. So I'm gonna corner her and decide where we are going. Right after I get a proper meal in me. Day 8 of soup and crackers suck. I miss my mommy

I like the idea of a bunch of "frozen carcasses" heading down for some boarding... but then again... I need a vacation not a project. Anyone want to volunteer?

Thanx again.