We had the pleasure of being on-site with our Ambush Board Co. family this past weekend for the Nautique Wakeboard Championships, and it was everything we knew it would be. Our team riders Mike Dowdy and Massi Piffaretti both were on fire for Friday’s quarterfinals with a 90.33 and 90.00, respectively, so we knew Saturday was going to be lit. The day of the finals was super rad – families, chicks, dogs, just about everyone was on the beach enjoying the hot summer day with equally hot action on the water. One of the most legendary spots to watch the event is from the row of boats floating just outside the contest run, but you really need to wear your drinking helmet if you’re going to do that, because that crew likes to party. Heading into semifinals we saw all our boys make it through plus some heavy runs by friends JD Webb and Noah Flegel, who are no strangers to the massive Nautique G23 wake. Once it got to the finals the shoreline went ballistic for Massi as he was slaying his run – blind pete, heavy 9, the zero – but his last trick, the double flip, didn’t quite pan out for him this day. Most the guys did some pretty solid riding, but the last rider off the dock was Mike Dowdy, and his focus and determination was at an all-time high. Mike had a super solid run and on his second pass. Unfortunately, he came up short on a mobe 5, or…should we say long. See…once you are on your second pass there are 3/4 markings, and if you fall past those markings, you don’t get picked up. The toughest part was that it appeared he fell right on the line, which would have allowed him (like other riders the day before) a shot at getting back up and finishing out two more tricks. With a heavy hand down from the judges, Mike was deemed past the line and not allowed to complete his run. Mike kept his composure (better then most people, I’m sure) and that meant there would be a new winner. Australian Tony Iaconni took the top spot that day and earned his first win, and was followed by fellow Australian, Nic Rapa. Good ole American boy and Nautique team rider, Noah Flegel, finished in third. Read More >
What a weekend! The 57th Nautique Masters Water Ski and Wakeboard Tournament was held at the prestigious Callaway Gardens on the legendary Robin Lake. This year was a special one for a few reasons, but…most notably, it was Lee Elliott’s 19th Masters and Eddie Beverly’s 31st! That’s a combined 50 years between the two of them! As a thank you, we whipped up this gem of a photo and presented it to them.
On Friday every year Nautique puts on the “Nautique Open” golf tournament that features a bunch of athletes and industry friends. The golf tournament is equally as important to some of the riders as the on-water events. Seriously, it’s always fun getting paired up with friends and leveling the playing field off the water. Look, I’m not throwing any backside 7s anytime soon, but I’ll put up a solid fight on the course and send a few over 300 yards down the pipe. This year Ambush Board Co./BuyWake.com Team Rider, Cole Vanthof, came with us and put together a fun little Instagram video. Read More >
There is no better cure for the winter blues than when the Boat Show comes to town! This year’s boat show marks a long run of 15 years in a row for me. It’s a great time to catch up with friends and meet new people associated with the water sports industry. Ambush Board Co. and Nautique Boats set up in the Marine Max of Georgia booth and displayed an exemplary selection of boats from the 2015 lineup.
The G Series boats attracted a lot of attention and featured some outstanding new colorways this year. Nautique stepped it up with two colors in particular – Orange Metal Flake & Purple Metal Flake. The depth in the paint is astonishing in person! All of the Nautique boats were filled with people exploring all the details of the interior and learning about the new Linc 2.0 Helm System. Lines of people waited patiently for their turns to board the G21, G23, and G25. Seeing the boats in person was such an amazing experience and it was unbelievable to see people stay on the boats for 15-30 minutes at a time. Read More >
It’s no secret that the Hyperlite Team shines bright behind the boat. Jimmy Lariche, Rusty Malinoski, and JD Webb all have a history of being “the one’s to watch” when it comes time to pile into the G23. In this short edit shot at Bethany Creek Resort in Texas, the boys leverage their boat skills into this 2 min 40 sec heater full of creative wake tricks. One footers, osmosis tricks, and tons of off the wall invert variations make this edit “favorite worthy”.
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“JD Webb is well known for his abilities on Wakeboard Features so we brought him to Texas for Spring Break where he could put those skills to the test at BSR Wake Park. JD had never visited the park but his eyes lit up as soon as we arrived and he was like a kid in a candy shop the entire week. Spencer Norris followed JD around and put this clip together for our enjoyment. The crew at BSR let us move some things around and it didn’t take JD long to maneuver a kicker in front of their new kink-rail.”
