Love to surf, but live in the Northwest?

No big waves are no problem with wakesurfing, a fast-growing water sport that has made its way to the Pacific Northwest and forged a legion of followers in Bellevue.

Surfing enthusiasts can now hang-ten on area lakes thanks to the sport, which requires only the use of a specially-designed wakeboarding boat, loaded with extra ballast (weight) on one side. The resulting wake leaves a wave for the wakesurfer to surf, first pulled up by a rope. Once they are able to stand up, the rope is dropped and the ride is on.

“I actually call it the geriatric watersport,” said Allison Goodman, a Bellevue resident and a member of the Northwest Wakesurf Association. “It’s very easy on the body; you can do it and you can’t get hurt. It’s a lot easier than wakeboarding.”

Goodman, 50, got into the sport seven years ago after what she called a “disastrous” ocean surfing experience. She found the process of wakesurfing near her home on Lake Sammamish much easier.

“You just bury the board and stand up,” she said. “Most of the time, somebody will be able to get up and ride with the rope the first time out.”

Once a person is able to stand on the surfboard, Goodman said, they can simply stand and ride the wave. Some get bored and try tricks; others, such as some in videos posted on youtube.com, pass drinks from boat to board, quite easy considering the boat only goes 9-11 miles per hour during a wakesurfing ride.

“The beauty of it is when you fall, you just sink into the water,” Goodman said, adding that one of wakesurfing’s premier board builders, Jeff Page of InlandSurfer.com, lives near her in Bellevue’s Rosemont neighborhood. Page is also on the board of the Northwest Wakesurf Association.

“I think its probably undisputed that he makes the best boards,” she said.

The association was started in order to expose more people to wakesurfing, Goodman said, and an integral part of that effort was headed up by Grace Han Stanton, the president of the Northwest Wakesurf Association and a partner at the Perkins Coie law firm.

“Grace has done so much work on this project and she really deserves a lot of credit,” Goodman said.

Goodman, Han Stanton and the rest of the Northwest Wakesurf Association are hoping to expose the sport to many more when the host the area’s first wakesurfing competition, the Northwest Wakesurf Open, August 28-30 at Vasa Park on the shores of Lake Sammamish.

“We’re very excited about it,” Goodman said. “Each year wakesurfing gets to be more and more popular. It’s something we’re very excited about.”

Those interested in learning more about wakesurfing or entering the competition can do so at the Northwest Wakesurf Association’s Web site, www.nwwsa.org.

Joel Willits can be reached at 425.453.5045.