Wait...Wakesurfing?

It sounded familiar enough. But as we pulled away from the dock after the sun had set with my sister-in-law behind the wheel and her husband in the water, I quickly realised I had no idea.

On a very short rope attached to the wakeboard tower of the MasterCraft boat (which also held the lights enabling this after-dark excursion), he held tight and popped up with the board horizontal, then quickly shifted it vertical. We were only going about 8mph, and after a few seconds, he started pulling himself closer and closer to the boat. I laughed out loud. "What is he doing?" I asked my 12-year-old nephew. "This is crazy!"

My step-brother-in-law kept his eyes down and held the rope while he positioned himself in front of the wake of the boat. I kept waiting for him to let go of the rope and surf along the wake and, I don't know, conjure up some pipe from the depths of the lake. But instead, he let go of the rope and kept going. Straight ahead. In front of the wake, a few feet back from the boat. It totally was crazy!

Need a visual?

If this isn't enough, my short research has led me to understand there is also a thing called Tanker Surfing, whereby surfers on the Gulf of Mexico surf on the waves created by tankers. This Columbia Sportswear ad gives about the most concise picture of what it is: guys with surfboards on boats chasing waves made by tankers, then jumping in the water to catch them and ride them, for, like ages.

Work is going to be pretty boring today, huh.

Sarah Western Balzer

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Sarah Western Balzer is the editor of HITC Life. She grew up in Tampa, Florida, and lived in Washington, DC and New York before moving to London, where she lived for seven years. She now lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. Her background is in the music industry, lifestyle relocation, and journalism. If you'd like to contribute to HITC Life, and work in banking or a field related to finance, please drop her a line (sarah.balzer@hereisthecity.com).