Learning to Bungee Surf

Since we sell bungee surfing systems all over the world, we need a post to teach people how and where to bungee surf.  I have tought many ocean surfer to bungee surf and they have all told me that standing and riding while bungee surfing is harder to learn than standing and riding while ocean surfing. This is mainly due to the high speed and fin-less board that we use. First an explanation of bungee surfing – bungee surfers ride small surfboards, that are more like a skimboard, on rivers, shooting upstream at 30+ mph. Good riders can do all kinds of skateboarding tricks once riding upstream. There is no boat or motor used. Bungee surfers are propelled upstream by a 20 ft long specialized bungee cord. They sink their board in the river current and use the river current against the board to stretch the bungee from 20 ft to almost 200 feet. Once fully stretched the surfer changes his position on the board and is flung upstream. When the bungee is done pulling the surfer upstream and has no more energy, it disconnects from the board and now the surfer is free to do all kinds of skateboard tricks. It might be helpfull if you go to the company website www.evensurf.com and look at the bungee surfing terminology. The kind of water that you need to bungee surf is what we call “Fast Glass”. We like water that is moving fast, but has a smooth surface. The water depth needs to be at least 5 feet deep. The deeper the water is the faster you will stretch. You will need about 75 ft of lead line. This is rope that you will tie to a rock, tree, anything Solid along the side of the river. At the other end of this rope is where you attach the bungee using a carbiner. At the other end of the bungee is where you attach the patented release system. This is a 6 ft long piece of rope that is covered in plastic and has a loop on the end. It is this loop that attaches to the small hook on the bottom of your riverboard. So you set the system up in fast glass, jump in, swim to the bungee, let it go through your hands untill you reach the loop at the end of the release system and hook that loop onto the hook on the board. You then go to your knees on the board, then move immediatly to the stretching postion which is standing with STRAIGHT legs and the balls of your feet on the Kicker of the tail pad. You have to have a tailpad with a kicker on the end. Kicker is the rasied section at the end of most traction pads. In this position the board will be almost vertical in the water and you will be in a hole in the river as the water rushes around you(Back in the Hole). Stretching is always hard for most beginners. But if you don’t get a good stretch and don’t get even, you won’t have a good ride. Once you have stretched back far enough, you bend your knees which brings the nose of the board out of the water and at the same time transfer your weight more forward on the board. At this point you can take your forward foot and place it sideways across the nose of the board and rotate your rear foot sideways also. Now stay VERY low on the board as you will gain speed quickly.  You will now be in the classic surfer stance on the board. After riding about 60 yards the bungee will disconnet from board and you are now free to perform board tricks with the board. I hope this helps. And if any beginners have some pointers, please leave them in the comment section.