. For wakeboarding, it is important to choose the right board. Just because two boards look the same doesn't mean they will perform the same (WakeWorld). Bigger/fatter boards ride differently than smaller/thinner boards, but within each of these two board type there are many differences. You need to look for what kind of pop it gets, how easy it is to move around in the air for 180's and 360's, how it feels riding, and how it is for doing surface tricks. Lots of design work and engineering goes into wakeboards by companies trying to design the perfect combination for the many different styles and riders using them. Because there are so many different boards available these days, finding the right one for you is becoming easier. The hard part is narrowing the many choices of boards down to just two or three boards and then taking a demo ride on them before deciding which one suits your riding style the best.
One way to get instruction on wakeboarding is from an instructional videos (WakeWorld). You can also go to a wakeboard clinic or to a ski school, or you can compete in local wakeboard tournaments. The best way is to start by watching instructional videos at home and learning the basic techniques from them. The advantage of watching tapes is that you can watch them over and over until you know the techniques well enough to try them out in the wake. You can rewatch the videos while you are learning, and each time you watch them, you pick up something new to try.
Beginners usually start around 19-20 mph, which is a good speed at which to become familiar with the wakeboard while you are learning to control it an maneuver it (WakeWorld). At this speed you don't experience much drag, but its fast enough for you to practice cutting over the wake and moving into surface 180's and 360's. As you improve and start to build up confidence, you can go at faster speeds between 20-24 mph. It all depends on your individual...