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Fishing isn’t the only thing popping on Grand Isle. Wakeboarding is picking up some steam, as well.
Wake Side Cable Park is quickly becoming one of the island’s hottest attractions.
Owned by Robert Vegas and family affiliated with Bridge Side Marina, the cable park is enjoying big numbers in its inaugural summer in Grand Isle’s warm waters.
“Everybody that we’ve talked to has really enjoyed it so far – we haven’t heard any complaints,” Vegas said. “Everything has been going great. We have had a very good start to the summer for sure.”
So what exactly is Wake Side Cable Park? And where does all of the fun come from?
It all starts at the dock with an adventurous, water-loving soul and a wakeboard.
Where open-water wakeboarding involves a boat pulling a rider on a board across the water, Wake Side has a cable system that serves as the source of momentum that mechanically creates the forward motion.
“It’s just like being pulled behind a boat,” Vegas said. “The cables generate the power and get you moving forward.”
From there, it is up to the rider to navigate the course, plotted by Wake Side’s staff.
Experienced, savvy boarders like Vegas and others that roam Grand Isle’s beaches will glide through the air and make sharp turns and twists on their board while parading through the circular course.
For others, merely holding on and enjoying the 15-20 mph ride is the thrill of the day.
The cables are set up in a shape, and a complete ride brings wakeboarders all the way through the entire course in a circular loop.
“It’s all a continuous ride through the entire course,” Vegas said. “You make your way throughout the full course and back.”
We know that you’re thinking: “That sounds fun, but I don’t want to embarrass myself doing something that I’ve never done before.”
Vegas emphasized continually that he doesn’t want potential customers to be intimidated by the course or the sport.
He said a lot of Wake Side’s customers are first-time boarders who just want to give the sport a try to see what all of the fuss is about.
Kids are also welcome and have the option to cruise the course in a tube.
If a person falls or is having trouble staying upright, the workers exhibit patience to make sure the ride is enjoyable for riders of all skill levels.
“Probably 80 percent of the people who come are either kids or beginners,” Vegas said. “We walk anyone through it – whether you fall or not. We just get you back up and we keep going.”
Equipment isn’t an issue for anyone wanting to give Wake Side a shot. Vegas said that a 10-minute ride at the cable course costs $30 if a customer has his/her own board. That $30 fee includes a rider’s helmet and life jacket. Wake Side rents boards to customers for just $5 a ride.
Hourly rentals are also available to anyone interested in an extended stay on the water.
“We already have everything that anyone needs,” Vegas said. “People who want to just come and try for the first time are more than welcomed. We have everything they need here to get started for the first time.”
The idea for Wake Side came from some good, ol’ fashioned college fun.
Vegas said he used to wakeboard at a course in a crawfish pond while he was a student at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
From there, he took the idea home to his native Grand Isle.
With an abundance of water at his disposal, he decided to build a park locally.
Wakeboarding is one of the fastest growing sports, according to many publications across the country.
The sport’s ascent is so great that the International Olympic Committee has announced that it is considering adding cable wakeboarding as an official sport for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
That Olympic appeal is because of the sport’s popularity around the globe.
Cable skiing (as officially called in professional ranks) is one of the most popular sports in Europe. In Germany alone, there are close to 100 cable parks. Part of the appeal there is because the sport was invented in that nation in the 1950s by engineer Bruno Rixen.
Wake Side is one of a handful of cable parks that exist in state waters – one of many that sit along the Gulf of Mexico.
“I was always into wakeboarding,” Vegas said. “I did this when I was in college, so I thought about it last year, but we had that spot already rented out to somebody. But we had a year to prepare for it – a year to get all of the permits and everything we needed, and here we are. I think it came out pretty great.”
If anyone wants to head to Grand Isle to test the course out, the weekend may be the surest bet.
Wake Side is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The course is also available on the weekdays, but by appointment only.
Wake Side will be open at least through Labor Day, Vegas said. Depending on hurricane season and the temperature, he said he is open to keeping the business open longer.
– casey@gumboguide.com
Wake Side, a wake-boarding cable park in Grand Isle, provides the thrills of the sport without the necessity of a boat. Ten-minute rides cost $30.
