2014 Polar Bear Chase Highlights

We have almost half of the reviews in from the riders, but like every year, getting the last of them is like herding cats! ;-) So if you are a rider and have not filled out your review, please get a hold of me or Rob so we can help you get that done ASAP.

We have amazing video and a bunch of incredible chase footage at 240FPS. I am not gonna lie, its damn sexy. The editor is working hard on it and I can't wait. I am going to give you a sneak peak of some of the chase video this week, but for now I have highlighted the chase photos for you and can share those.

I am going to share some of my favorites from each boat and do little to no commentary. I just have a couple of notes before I share them.

• We will post exact setups when we release the full video. All but 2 of the boats were setup more than stock, but what I would consider reasonable by most people. The exceptions are the 2015 Tige Z3 and the Axis T22. The Z3 was weighted exactly stock the first day, and a bit underweighted compared to the rest of the boats. On the second day, it was weighted about equivalent to adding the larger aftermarket plug and play sacs. The T22 was slammed to the limit. I think its safe to say that most of the riders would not weight their boat like this on a daily basis, but it threw a monster wake slammed the way it was and it made lots of smiles. It also used more gas than any other boat by far because of this. Less weight and I am sure it would have still made a fun wake.
• The G21 wake may not seem as photogenic as the other boats. However, when you read the reviews you will find that many really liked that wave. It wasn't the best cosmetic looking wave, but people liked it, for some it was their favorite.

Just keep those points in mind when looking at the pictures.

2014 Axis T22

IMG_6149.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

Thomas got a chance to ride.
IMG_6472.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_5602.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

2015 Centurion FS33

IMG_2312.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_5986.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

Jessie always makes a great wake model!
IMG_6163.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

2015 Nautique G21

IMG_1531.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_6190.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_5785.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

2015 Supra SC 450

IMG_6028.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_6224.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_5616.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

2015 Tige Z3

IMG_6294.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_6110.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_6292.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

2012 Wake9 Z3

The Wake9 Z3 was a backup boat and was used when the Pavati couldn't make it at the last minute. I am going to miss this boat.

IMG_6217.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_5621.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

IMG_5716.jpg by wake9, on Flickr

You can visit the entire set of 84 images here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wake9/...7646795381724/

All of the images are tagged with timestamps, boats, and type of shot. Enjoy.

I will have some teaser video up this week also. Can't wait to share.

Thanks for posting them up Ragboy! Can't wait to go next year!

Wow! Those are some impressive surf waves!

Yes, its amazing how much better wakesurf wakes are coming from the factories. All but the T22 were pretty close to stock, and the Z3 was stock the first day. The FS33 was just ramfill and plug and play on top of that, I am not sure if you consider that stock or not, but close. All boats made great wakes on both sides also.

Great time to get into wakesurfing.

Man, that was a good time!!! Boats bad boards everywhere..... It was a blast!
It was so nice to meet so many new people who all share the same passion.

Originally Posted by ragboy

Yes, its amazing how much better wakesurf wakes are coming from the factories. All but the T22 were pretty close to stock, and the Z3 was stock the first day. The FS33 was just ramfill and plug and play on top of that, I am not sure if you consider that stock or not, but close. All boats made great wakes on both sides also.

Great time to get into wakesurfing.

Great pics and can't wait for more! Thanks for all you do Robert . . . . . and yes that is 100% stock on the FS33 - they come with the PNP bags and bow bag in the WWSC package.

Nice!! looking forward to the vid!

Maybe I missed it but what happened to the Pavati boat?

Pavati tried real hard to be there, but they had only one boat to spare to bring and had an issue and couldn't get the part in time, something like that. It was a bummer, we were looking forward to seeing their progress since last time.

I was curious about Pavati too. I was really hoping to see a review.

Looks like fun times, nice weather, pretty water, and some pumping swell. Sorry I missed it.
Nick

How much weight is in that Axis? I keep coming back to this thread to see updates and the first pictures are of it and I'm sorry but that wave looks gigantic compared to the others. Maybe it just photograph's really well?

Originally Posted by timmyb

How much weight is in that Axis? I keep coming back to this thread to see updates and the first pictures are of it and I'm sorry but that wave looks gigantic compared to the others. Maybe it just photograph's really well?

The initial wave was huge..within 5-6 feet of the platform....then it lost all push in the back.. It was like a Huge roller... very hard to describe unless you rode it.

It had roughly 6500 lbs in it...

The guy driving it was a stand up guy! It was a fun boat..but more sacks than you knew what to do with LOL... The 6.0L had trouble getting us up to speed, we had to move guys up front just to get it to hit 11.0 mph at 4500 RPM!

Oh man, that's disappointing to hear because it looks so awesome in pictures!

Everyone had fun on that wave, but I think the description of a "huge roller" is pretty accurate for how it was looking at it, and how riders described it, not much of a lip. That isn't to say, a different setup may produce different results. And I paid for the gas for the boat, and I can tell you that making a wave like that on a regular basis could bankrupt you. ;-)

Its not the photography, it was big, it was gnarly. I always go through all of the pictures and pick out the very best for each boat, I figure that is the easiest way to be impartial, just show what is obviously the best. The only time I wouldn't show something that looked amazing is if maybe it was an unusual angle or some shot that didn't represent the truth, like it made the wave look like it was overhead or something. But I will say, as huge as it looks in those pictures, it was really that huge. But like greeko said, he was running 4500 RPM or so to make that wave, it was slammed.

I am going to add one thing, this is one of the reasons I love this event so much. Boats get to show off their wake, and we do our best to document it well for all to see. The thing is, there are lots of witnesses for hours in each boat and you get to hear from the riders exactly what it took, and the experience, and weight it all out for your own decision. Everyone has their own bias, but when you factor it all in, the truth, not the brochure and the marketing, come out. I love it.

The aspect I always like to see in the photos, although static depictions of the wake, is how it is forming; is it a gradual s-curve with a relatively small angle of inclination with the approximate max wave height forming pretty far from the boat or is it more of an abrupt curve, with a greater angle of inclination, maybe not even a s-curve at all but more of a staged angle with the approximate max wave height forming closer to the boat .

Nick

This is the wave from a normally weighted Axis T22, still a great shape and plenty of push but easier to move around the boat and a lot lighter on the wallet for fuel.



Same boat/weight setup just different day.





Robert, any idea when the video/rider reviews will be done? Really interested to hear some of the board reviews.

they should be done in about a week, just waiting for a few stragglers. I will have some quick video up shortly.

Those are both great pictures, but I think the wide angle images make the wave look a bit longer that it is. That is one of the reason I use side chase shots a lot for the PB without a wide angle.

Just about every image above is from a iPhone 6.

There is no doubt that boat makes a fun wave and doesn't necessarily need to be slammed.

Originally Posted by Greeko

The initial wave was huge..within 5-6 feet of the platform....then it lost all push in the back.. It was like a Huge roller... very hard to describe unless you rode it.

It had roughly 6500 lbs in it...

The guy driving it was a stand up guy! It was a fun boat..but more sacks than you knew what to do with LOL... The 6.0L had trouble getting us up to speed, we had to move guys up front just to get it to hit 11.0 mph at 4500 RPM!

That's a pretty fair and accurate judgement of it. The ballast, according to the driver was 6300 lbs including the wedge which he figured to equal 1200 lbs. After not having surfed for 6 weeks, I wish that was not the first boat I surfed behind. Would have been better to work the rust off on another one. Still, it was fun. It would be interesting to see what the other boats were capable of with similar weight. The whole event was really nice.

Scuba Steve, can you define "normally weighted" so we know what that means? Additional weight etc... Thanks in advance.

Mark, by normally weighted I mean the following setup.

Stock hard tanks - 900lbs
Rears 250lbs *2 = 500lbs
Center 400lbs

Plug-n-Play - 2450lbs
Rear Sumo 900lb *2= 1800
Sumo bow bag 650lbs

Optional - 400lbs
Depending on the amount of people an additional 400lb bag might need to go on top of the bow seats to add some front weight and even out the boat.

The wedge is optional, generally the surf style riders wanted it deployed and skim style riders preferred it retracted but it was a preference thing. It would only change the transition of the wave face.

Speed was around 10.5-11.3 depending on the rider.

Base 330 motor with the torque prop had no problem moving this weight around and surf and wakeboard speeds.

Understanding your setup, the BOLD numbers are the totals? So 3350 total lbs plus additional/optional 400?

Robert, that would be correct.

So 900lbs stock + 2450lbs PnP = 3350lbs and add the additional 400lbs on the bow as needed depending on people and the wedge is just for rider preference.

Any luck with the video and reviews Rob?