My first introduction to being dragged along on a rope behind a boat, began when I was working in the bush in Western Australia. Initially I was trying to learn how to water ski - the routine went much like this: try to get skis on whilst floating in water, try to catch tow rope as boat goes past, hold on to tow rope as it tenses and boat takes off, swallow lots of hypersaline water as I am dragged over face first, let go of tow rope and retrieve skis, begin routine again. I soon decided that this was not much fun and that my lungs did not enjoy being flushed with gallons of salt. After three weeks perseverance I had managed to become upright on the skis for a grand total of around 3 seconds, and I moved on to knee-boarding.

Unlike water ski-ing, I took to kneeboarding straight away, and for a while enjoyed kneeling on a body board, whilst being dragged at speed behind the boat. My arms soon felt like they were being hauled out of their sockets, and this game was abandoned in favour of a jet-ski, which I found much more exhilarating. Flat out it reached about 100km/hr, and I had found my niche in water sports - minimal effort, maximum feel good factor.

Almost a year later, I was reintroduced to water sports, this time to scurfing. For those of you who haven't heard of this, it is like water-skiing, except the skis are replaced by a surf board, which you are somehow expected to stand up on whilst being towed behind a boat. Needless to say, this was even harder than it sounded and I was unsuccessful at even standing on the board to be pulled away from the beach.

I then tried wakeboarding, which is similar to snow boarding, except on water instead of snow. Your feet are strapped to a board, as you bob around in deep water, and wait for the boat to take off. Similar to my water skiing experience, I was pulled forward and tumbled over, every time the boat took off.

My conclusion - water sports are very tiring when you don't know what you are doing, and if at first you don't succeed, be clever and give up.

Where to go and how much to pay:
If you are lucky enough to find some one with a boat and the right equipment, you can try these activities for free. If not, check out some country parks, (such as Monikie or Crombie, in Scotland), or local water sports clubs. Prices vary depending on the type of activity you wish to pursue, and whether or not you wish to pay for instruction (advisable for first timers!).