Dan's Papers - October 5, 2007 - The Y-Factor with Christian McLean

Okay, so you're thinking the summer is ending and the temperature are going to begin to drop, but this is actually the best time of the year to be in the water. If you haven't noticed, this September has seemed a lot like June, and while October isn't going to feel like July, the temps are still pretty warm in the daytime. Neither the bay nor the ocean has frozen over yet, so getting in while the sun's still up is a viable option. Look to do water sports in the late morning to early afternoon, after the surface of the water has had enough time to warm and before the air has had a chance to cool. With water temps. somewhere around 70 degrees, using the "It's too cold" argument is useless.

Your options for water fun are enormous. If you own a boat, then they're even larger. Wakeboarding, wakeskating, water skiing, tubing, and knee-boarding are all great activities. There is the initial investment for equipment, towropes, life vests, etc., but once you get past that it's good clean family fun.

If you're nervous about investing in a wakeboard, wakeskate or water skis, contact a local surf shop and sign up for a lesson. Sample a few different things and then go with what feels right. Another benefit of taking a couple of lessons with one of these places is that it eliminates the need to find a driver and a spotter for the boat. I personally prefer wakeboard, but it's difficult to get three people together to go out at the same time without making plans ahead of time. When the moment strikes, I can usually drum up one supporter, but finding a second whose schedule is free, is sometimes impossible. For safety and economic reasons I'll never go boarding without a spotter again. Last year I had a bit of a run-in with the local bay authorities when wakeboarding off the back of a waverunner without a spotter. Several fines later, I've decided it is just better to find a third person.

Another option is tubing. Tubing offers endless possibilities. You have your basic tube; round, a bunch of handles - you know what I'm talking about. But then you have all those other crazy contraptions that are dragged behind the boat. There's an 8-person towable catamaran, 3-person spaceship looking contraptions, one called Big Mabel, and another one that has some sort of wings so when you hit a wave you are actually launched into the air and momentarily fly. For the kids, there actually is an inflatable police car they can ride in behind the boat.

With September ending, you may be able to get deals on skis and boards, which makes getting started that much easier. If you're looking to board late into October, then you might also want to invest in a wetsuit. A 3mm suit should work fine, but if you get cold easily then maybe a 5mm suit would be best.

A relatively new sport with very old roots is wakeskating. A combination of wakeboards and skateboards, wakeskating is catching on. One of the reasons is that it provides a little more freedom when it comes to tricks. For anyone who has skateboarded, there is a familiarity to wakeskating, but unlike wakeboarding (which follows similar methods) the wakeskate requires no bindings, so your feet are free to move about the board (or off the board, whatever the case may be).

Another way to bask in the October sun is with a water trampoline. The company Rave has a number of different trampolines and "water parks" that vary from relatively inexpensive to $2,500 for a 20-foot diameter trampoline. You can increase the fun by adding slides and "logs" which give you and the family to chance to climb all over the sides, bounce on the trampoline and slide back down into the bay.

For those who aren't looking for anything crazy, anything zipping around, there's always the basic raft. Inflatable pool toys are great for the bay (not the ocean!) and can be found almost everywhere. There are lobsters, whales, yellow ducks, and everything else under the sun.

Technically it is autumn, but that doesn't mean anything these days. If global warming has done anything for us, it means the summer weather stays around for longer and longer each year. Labor Day doesn't mean you have to get out of the water until next May.