Finding out about wakes most often comes from hard lessons learnt on the water. A typical example was experienced recently, while out taking photos on a boat review, I was positioned on the forward seat ideally placed in front of the covered helm with my camera at the ready. We were restricted to a slowish pace behind a cruiser that was ahead of us in the channel.
As we exited the harbour, the captain of my boat pulled out to the side of the cruiser and started to cut across the wake. When we entered the wake, all seemed fine, but as the boat hit the trough of the wake, I was dislodged from my seat and nearly flung overboard, camera and all. I managed to stay aboard and luckily my camera strap was positioned around my neck or it would have been a very waterlogged review camera and reviewer. Here are some of the most common wake mistakes.
Don’t get too close
Try not to run up too close to the boat in front of you before you overtake. Hang back, ease off the throttle. The increased distance between the boats will lessen the
impact and size of the wake, making it easier to traverse. Crossing a wake close to the leading boat catches the wake at its steepest and highest point. Keep your
distance and the wake will have partially dissipated when you reach it.
