[UPDATE: 2011-11-07 11am] Man, wouldn’t it be really nice if you could try out three world class wakesurfing boats, on over 40 different boards, with some of the best, kind-hearted people around, for two whole days...Oh wait, the 2011 Polar Bear was just that! Two days of non-stop surfing, demoing boards and boats... it was amazing even great enough to attract riders from California, Ohio, Oregon, and Idaho. And I guess this wouldn’t even be possible without the stupendous help of Wake9 and CalMarineSports especially CMS for bringing all of the boards and Supreme, Tigé, and Centurion for supplying the amazing boats. Sadly, we didn’t have much time to hype up for the polar bear this year, so the turnout wasn’t as great as lsat year, but wake9 feels very blessed to be able to put on such a fun event for three years in a row, and hopefully will continue to do so for many more years to come.

The event wasn’t done on Lake Oroville this year, instead we did it at the same location as the West Coast Open, Camp Far West Lake in Wheatland, California. I personally enjoyed this setting much more because it allowed for a much more casual event. Every one seemed very laid back. In fact, the second day was a free-for-all meaning people could choose whatever board to ride on whatever boat for how ever long – no schedule. Another great aspect of having the event at Camp Far West was the ability for everyone to just sit around a campfire and commune and have fun to the wee hours of the night. As mentioned before in podcasts and whatnot, life-long friends are made at the polar bear. It’s a great place for friendly people to come together for a shared love: Wakesurfing.

Everyone really seemed to have a good time; I can’t think of anyone that went to the polar bear and didn’t have a good time. I’m very much sure that is physically impossible not to have a good time. The first day mostly everyone showed up; there were a few latecomers, but not really a big deal. Based on the online information we made everyone fill out, we made their schedules which determined what boards they will be trying for the day – Everybody rode on every boat (except for one guy I’m pretty sure). I was given the privilege of driving the wake ma-chin (24Ve) all day. It was really a great time, everyone was whooping and hollerin’ and cheering on the rider in the water. Friends were made real quick. Like I said, it’s physically impossible to not have fun at the polar bear.

Most of the feedback on all off the boards and boats was very positive. To sum up the average opinion out there, the Centurion interior was incredible, nothing like it. It had a real good wake, but some people felt that it may not of been waited right a few times. To be honest though, it’s real hard to keep a boat waiting correctly when you have different sized people coming in and out of your boat with however many boards. That definitely will mess up wake a bit. People said the Supreme wake was gorgeous, and I think I agree. Grant from CalMarineSports had that wake dialed in. The pictures and video look amazing. The 24Ve also had an amazing wake said by the people. It didn’t have nice interior, but it’s an older boat.

All in all, the polar bear was an amazing time, and everyone didn’t come but wanted too, and now they feel really bad...well...you really should feel bad because it was an amazing time. However, that doesn’t mean you have to feel bad next year! So make sure you get the details about the polar bear way ahead of time so that you may be able to come. Wake9 and CalMarineSports are almost certain it’s going to be at Camp Far West Lake again because of how great the venue is. Wake9/CMS are also might be trying to do another demo event at Camp Far West in May during the other really fun event – West Coast Open. So that’s another “great time” event that you may want to come too. Stay tuned to Wake9.com to get all the news about upcoming events and all the crazy fun stuff we do.
- RJ

We have lots of great video and information for you to view from the event. First, check out the prototype Flickr/Wake9 image viewer below where you can filter/select and only view the images you want to see. Visit the community forums if you have any suggestions or issues. It is not styled yet by our artist, but it is a working prototype.

PROTOTYPE FLICKR PHOTO VIEWER FOR THE POLAR BEAR WAKESURF

The videos from the event and slide shows of all the pictures are at the bottom of this page. There are 4 videos, the first is a recap that also shows videos of the boat wakes shown one after the other so you can compare them for yourselves. Care was taken to use 3 identical video cameras and positioned in the same place so that the video of the wakes should be presented in such a way for viewers to compare wakes. The pictures are not this way, there are several cameras and many angles and pictures can't be compared very well. There are 3 other videos, each shows every rider and every board we have video of. A few rides were missed, but just a few. Each video is of each boat - Supreme, Centurion, Tige. Enjoy.

Don't forget to view all of the riders comments that we have compiled, lots of great, unedited comments to help you review these boards and boats by proxy.

View Riders Statistics and Wake/Board Comments