Watersports

Waterskiing

What a great sport! Tie two planks of wood to your feet, hold on to a piece of rope attached to a boat and then tell the boat to pull away. This is such a fantastic feeling as you come out of the water and find yourself skimming over the top of the waves - total exhilaration and definitely addictive. The website for all good Waterski and Wakeboard Clubs is found at the British Waterski Federation - www.bwsf.co.uk.

Wakeboarding

This is relatively new compared to the rest of the watersports featured. However, it has now been in the UK for around 10 - 15 years and it is growing fast! Similar to snowboarding in the type of equipment you use, tricks to negotiate etc. Lots of fun to be had and very very cool.

Canoeing

This can be a very gentle, peaceful sport or it can be an adrenalin fuelled, white water, out on the sea type activity. So many different places offer canoeing and kayaking across the UK, it was a real struggle to identify just a few for the use of The Wave™ Gift Card here. The official canoeing body is the British Canoe Union - www.bcu.org.uk.

Jetskiing

This is a real good fun watersport. There are two types of jet ski you can hire – a sit on – very like riding a motorbike on water and a stand up. The stand up jet skis are a little more tricky but superb once mastered. The best thing about jet skiing is the worst that can happen is you get wet!

Sailing

No blazer required to go sailing with The Wave™ Gift Card. Each Sailing School has been selected as they are open to people who may never have sailed before. They will offer a half day or full day "taster" session for you to see if you like the sport. Then they can give you all the help you need to learn and have fun, building up your time on the water until you achieve Royal Yachting Association qualifications (the best in the business). Keep buying that Lottery ticket - a yacht may be on your shopping list soon. Check out the Royal Yachting Association official website at www.rya.org.uk for the full information on sailing and, indeed, boating generally.

Surfing

What is it all about? The Beach Boys? VW Camper Vans? Loud Shirts? Check out www.britsurf.co.uk for the official British Surfing Association website. This will give you all the information about the various Surfing Schools - do not think Surfing is just about Cornwall and Devon though. Look at Wales and Cleveland too!

Windsurfing

This has got to be one of the most frustrating and then exhilarating water sports there is! Learning how to stand up and balance on a board which looks very similar to an ironing board; pull up a sail and then make the board go in the direction you want by moving the sail around – what a hoot! My earliest memories of windsurfing are of climbing on the board, pulling on the rope to get the sail up and then falling right off again... and again... and again. Very bruised elbows and knees followed...

However, once you have managed to pull the sail upright, put your hands on the boom and start sailing, it is a fantastic feeling. Probably the closest I will ever get to feeling like I own my own yacht – the huge sense of achievement that you are actually directing this little tiny sailing craft, whilst balanced on it, is immense and you will be immediately hooked. A very quick learning curve – most people will manage to windsurf after just two lessons (some clever types will manage after just one lesson). Try it – you will be addicted!

Kayaking

Kayaking - what's the difference between kayaking and canoeing? With a kayak you have a blade on both ends of your paddle and sit facing forward with your legs in front of you. A canoe sees you either kneeling or sitting and there is one blade on the paddle. This is a sport that looks very easy and serene - until you try it. Getting the boat to go straight is hugely entertaining and once you have mastered going along in a direction of your choosing you can progress to going down rapids, through waterfalls and all sorts of exhilarating, very swift routes through fast moving water and obstacles.

The National Governing Body for kayaking is the same as for canoeing www.bcu.org.uk.

Kitesurfing

Kite Surfing is a fabulous sport which is relatively new to most people in the UK. However, it is as addictive as other water sports. The idea is that you use the kite in the same way as a sail and 'capture' the wind in order to propel yourself along. You balance on the water on a board, similar to a wakeboard and the power of your kite is what propels you. You are the only connection between the kite and the board ......a great rush as you manage to skim across the top of waves progressing to jumps and various other tricks as you get more proficient. The National Governing Body for kite surfing is www.britishkitesurfingassociation.co.uk.

Scuba Diving

This is an amazing experience – going underwater and seeing how there is a whole world under there that you didn’t know about! Many people have always wanted to try scuba but have no idea how to go about it – now you do! Just telephone the British Sub Aqua Club on 0500 947 202 and tell them you want to use your Wave® Gift Card as full or part payment for Scuba4You. (Please have your Wave® Gift Card to hand as you will need to give them the numbers on the back) Scuba4You is an amazing package which not only gives you access to a try dive at one of over 700 branches around the UK but also gets you a gift box with all sorts of goodies* in. The team at the British Sub Aqua Club will point you in the right direction, get you booked into your nearest convenient branch and send you out all the paperwork/information you need. A try dive lets you try out scuba diving in perfect safety with all the equipment and someone to (literally) hold your hand. I am sure after just one dive you will be hooked! www.bsac.com/scuba4you is the official website for The British Sub Aqua Club, the national governing body for the sport.

^*Contents of the goodie box are subject to change without notice but currently include an underwater camera; waterproof notebook and pen; dvd about diving; pin badge. Details correct at August 2009.

Canal Boating

This is not something I have personally experienced but is on my list of “to try”.

The UK is riddled with canals going through some of the most beautiful countryside. Hiring a canal boat is the ideal way to slow down, relax and smell the coffee as you drift through leafy tree tunnels, through open fields and decide which pub to stop at for your next meal. No one who has ever been canal boating, that I have spoken to, has a bad word to say about it – a total chill out experience – not just for the oldies either!! There is only one centre offering canal boating through The Wave Gift Card at present – please let me know if you would like more centres – it is a new one for me so I am interested how it goes!