Blue Creek Marina hosted it’s first annual women’s wakeboarding and boating clinic yesterday afternoon on Lake Martin.
The clinic serves as a way to expose women lake-goers to the sport of wakeboarding and any other questions or concerns regarding boating safety.
“We have a lot of mothers that come down to the lake during the week with only their kids and we want them to feel comfortable about driving and parking their boats and other things like that,” clinic organizer Sawyer Davis said.
“We want them to be able to take their kids out and know about the safety measures that can come along with water sports and boating.”
Along with safety instructions, clinic attendees were also given the opportunity to get on the water and try out both wake boarding and parking boats.
Professional wakeboarder Corrie Dyer took numerous ladies out on different slews throughout the lake and gave them an opportunity to get a feel for the sport.
“Moms and dads should get to enjoy the sport too and it’s great to have a professional boarder like Corrie participate in giving them some pointers,” Davis said.
Davis went on to say that wakeboarding is a sport that has tremendously taken off throughout the Lake Martin area over the last few years and it’s important for kids to learn how to get involved in the sport the right way.
“We feel that if we can get parents to attend the clinic than we can teach them the fundamentals of the sport and in turn they can relay those lessons to their kids.”
The clinic also focused on docking and driving boats in as safe a way as possible.
“Many people assume that everyone just knows how to drive and park a boat and water etiquette,” Davis said.
“However, a lot of times that isn’t the case.”
Davis, along with other clinic workers took the time to show numerous attendees the basics of boat driving and parking.
Some of the tips included ways to approach a dock when parking, how to manage the boat throttle, and how to drive at careful speeds while people are in the water.
“Lake etiquette is something that all lake-goers can continue to brush up on,” Davis said.
“Not barrelling into coves or speeding through certain areas are important things when it comes to lake safety.”
Davis made sure to stress that the clinic is something that Blue Creek plans to continue on a yearly basis, with the hopes of eventually doing it more than once a year.
“It’s something that can be really helpful for people who are looking to get involved on the lake and want to make sure they are doing things the safe way,” Davis said.
“Whether it be through water sports or driving a boat, it’s always important to do it the right way.”
By J.D. Cowart