What is aquaplaning

Aquaplaning is the name given to a water sport. In aquaplaning, one end of a long rope is attached to a motorboat and the other end is attached to a flat board called an aquaplane. As the motorboat speeds along in the water, it pulls the aquaplane along behind it. The speed at which the aquaplane moves causes it to skim along the top of the water. A person riding an aquaplane holds on to a rope attached to the front of the board. Aquaplaning is a very thrilling sport.

A beginner can have lots of fun just standing straight on the aquaplane as it goes along at about ten miles an hour. More experienced aquaplaners like more speed, and sometimes the motorboat goes as fast as fifty miles an hour. This speed is dangerous, except for the most experienced aquaplaner. In aquaplaning, the main idea is to hang on and not be thrown no matter what happens. The driver of the motorboat will sometimes make sharp turns. When this happens, an inexperienced rider will fall off the aquaplane.

Experienced aquaplaners learn how to keep their balance at all times. Some even do acrobatic tricks on the board. They stand on their heads, or stand for a time without holding on. Sometimes two people aquaplane together. One person sits on the other's shoulders, or even stands on them. The greatest trick in this sport is to ride an aquaplane up a wooden ramp in the water. When the aquaplane gets to the edge of the ramp, it sails through the air before landing kerplunk in the water again. Only the most skillful aquaplaners can do this trick and keep their balance. One very popular form of aquaplaning is water-skiing. Instead of a board, a pair of skis are used. The skis are slightly larger than the kind used on snow. Water-skiing is more thrilling than aquaplaning because it is harder to ride two skis than one board. The trick is to keep the skis together. If they start to separate, the "skier" may wind up doing a split in the water.