Kiwi's Surfing Video Goes Viral

A wakesurfer's antics near Waiheke Island has become a hit on the internet, with footage of him catching makeshift waves behind a boat going viral.

Jesse Cassrels, of Devonport, was on a boys' weekend out on the water on Labour Day when they noticed the big waves coming off the wakeboat they were following.

"We just seized the moment and we saw that the wave was big enough to surf and we gave it a nudge. We weren't sure it was gonna work properly. But it did,'' he said.

The video of Mr Cassrels' riding the waves shows him gliding the water with ease. His mates can be heard in the background cheering excitedly.

The video was posted on Facebook yesterday and later picked up by a number of surf websites. It has reached more than 120,000 views on his personal page.

The 26-year-old is a plumber by trade but has been surfing his whole life and has attempted wakesurfing - similar to wakeboarding - in the past.

"We often do it behind my dad's boat, which is a 30ft boat.''

The vessel in the video is a 75-foot launcher.

He said perfect weather conditions made the whole experience even better and said it was one of the best things he had been able to do in a while.

"The wave was pretty much shoulder-height. Every surfer's dream is to surf an endless wave where you don't have to paddle and you can just surf. So it's pretty cool to be able to surf like that.''

NZ Herald