Must watch: Josh Kerr’s alley oop wake transfer

What isn’t to love about Josh Kerr? Not only is he a webcast drawcard (at any location), but he also wake surfs like a boss – you may remember a clip from one of the many Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast lay days (watch here). So good is Mr Kerr at surfing a boat wake, that he’s sponsored by a wake boat company (Tige Boats).

Following the Rio Pro, Kerrzy stuck around in Brazil with fellow Rusty teamer Noa Deane, and did time on a friend’s yacht. The benefit of a heavier boat? A much bigger wake. Really, it isn’t too far from a wavepool when done right. “This thing was different to the wake boats I usually surf behind,” says Kerrzy. “It’s a 30-foot, three-bedroom yacht. It’s naturally weighted almost perfect.”

Which is all fun and whatever, but the real kicker here is something Kerrzy stomped while wake surfing out to an island. By jamming the yacht in a certain directional change, Kerrzy figured out how best to transfer over the boat wake from the right-hander into the left. And not only that, but he managed to spin a full rotation oop over it. With no rope.

“I’ve done a bit of wake surfing over the past few years, and the boat always turns in a slow circle, which is what keeps one side opened up and not just foam,” says Mr Kerr. “But in Brazil, we were like, ‘What if we talk to the captain and get him to turn the other way at the perfect time?’ So we’d be doing a slow circle, and I’d yell ‘Now!’ and he’d start to veer the other way. You’d get this little whip and this crazy launch pad which you could transfer over.”

But, how did he get to the point of landing what you’ll see at the end of this clip? “I did a few little grab and no-grab airs across the wake and then I was like, fuck, I wanna spin over this thing,” continues Kerrzy. “First go I was like, yep, this is doable. I tried it five or six times and then nailed that one in the clip. Then I started trying to do a method grab oop but it’s really hard because of the timing of the acceleration. If you don’t time your run up you get caught too far behind or too far out in front – your timing has to be so on point. We also tried a few other things like turning for a fraction and then turning back, which gives you bigger ramps to do full rotes off.”

Watch the full rote oop transfer above.