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skiyaker
06-23-2010, 09:18 PM
As requested I'm going to keep you guys posted as I attempt to make the transition from open water skier to working the course- and hopefully someday enter a grassroots tournament. So today I went out to the ski club and managed all the novice buoys at 15 off and about 31 mph. Met some other guys in the club and got some tips. The suggestion was to drop the speed to 28 mph and start gunning for the "real buoys" so I guess that's next.

BensonWdby
06-24-2010, 07:28 AM
For sure - run the real bouys. At 28 mph -
As the boat approaches the pullout bouys get in the lefthand whitewater outside the wake, and take a couple of deep relaxing breaths.
When you hit the pull out bouys,
1. focus your eyes on the pylon
2. do a quick out ( about a 2 second effort) shifting your knees and hips in the outbound direction, keep eyes on pylon
3. glide in a near upright position with weight balanced (not leaning back)
4. when the the back of the boat clears the gates make your move to the gates by shifting your hips toward the gate.
5. If you miss the gate don't quit or get bummed, just ski as if yo made it.

Keep in mind that this is way easier than you think if you hit the timing right. Don't make my typical mistake thinking this is really hard and get frantic.

Have fun and good luck.
Dave

PatL
06-25-2010, 07:18 AM
Good on ya Skiyaker...I'm trying to learn the course as well. On very rare occasions (like twice this year so far) I have managed all 6 buoys at 30mph 15 off. Mostly I can get about four in a row or 1,2,3,5,6. Thanks Benson for the insight on the gates. You hit the nail on the head. Every time I make the turn in for the gates I freak out and rush it. I'll post a pic of my feable attempts next time I'm out there.

graybmg
06-25-2010, 11:14 PM
Hey, cool. I want to do just this! There is a local slalom lake but I've been intimidated to go because I've never run the course and I get the feeling they are all pros there. Guess I just need to jump in and do it. Keep us posted.

skiyaker
06-26-2010, 10:02 AM
thanks for the thoughts/encouragement/advice
Dave- it sounds like you've coached some newbies and been there/done that
the timing of the entrance gates threw me off quite a bit at first- especially the times I skied over the entrance buoys instead of between them. Like you said I changed my goal to skiing somewhere near them and continuing my run even if I missed the gate- thanks for your advice on the timing- I'm hoping to get back out there tonight or tomorrow. The tough thing about our course is it's so short there's no real time to collect thoughts. As soon as the boat is up to speed it's right on the entrance gates but hey it's Indiana and as they say we suffer from "lack of water"

gray- I feel the same way; our club has some really good skiers there's at least one guy that skis at 32-35 off but all I had to do is meet one of them and express interest in "the lost art of slalom" and they got me right in. the first time I went out in a weekday afternoon with just my wife and kids but honestly I got a lot more out of it when there were some other skiers around that could coach me a little. I've found it's best just to explain my situation and abilities and be open to constructive advice. Indiana has some clinics put on by various ski clubs so I'm going to try to hit those too. One thing I can say for sure is it's really fun and I wish I had done this sooner but at age 33 hopefully there's still time to figure it out!

BensonWdby
06-26-2010, 10:48 AM
Actually I spent 40 years sking incorrectly and just last week I speent a week at The Liquid Edge in Farmer City IL. Doug worked hard to correct my years of bad habits and we spent a lot of time on the gates. So I am just replaying what I remember from that.

If there is anywhere you can get some lessons in the course, it will be a great investment.

Good luck - remember to relax and have fun... If you miss a gate or a bouy don't get all angry and animated. Just reflect on what might have caused the problem - try to visualize it and adjust...

Sled491
06-26-2010, 07:20 PM
Very cool. If I could make any suggestion it would parrot most of what has been said. My one thing is always make 6 turns. Doesn't matter if you missed the first one or all of them, always make six turns.

skiyaker
06-27-2010, 07:41 PM
well cool made it back to the course today- slowed down to 28-29 and on best pass made 1,2,4,6 "real buoys" and taking sleds advice I made novice buoy turns at 3,5 so I made 6 turns. wouldn't ya know there was a guy with a beautiful moomba boomerang there- he pulled me through the course with his boat and I pulled his son wakeboarding with the OBV.

Sled491
06-27-2010, 07:43 PM
Very cool. How was the pull behind the boomerang? Probably night and day from your V

skiyaker
06-27-2010, 07:59 PM
pull behind the boomerang was awesome though it was a tough day because the wind was blowing about 20 mph down the course. I'm pretty sure the chop from the wind was bigger than the wake ;)

BensonWdby
06-28-2010, 12:27 AM
One thing to keep in mind. Just like when you are driving a car - when you stare at something you head for it. In the course, if you look at the bouy the whole time you are skiing to it you will ski directly to it and you will be way late because your ski will still be heading out when you get to the bouy. In an ideal world your turn is already complete when you get to the bouy. Especially at 15 off at the slower speeds. I used to think I understood exactly how to overcome this, but not sure anymore.

skiyaker
06-30-2010, 07:38 PM
well had a tough go of it today but still had a blast- just seemed like I was late the whole course-but I'm officially addicted- and soon I'll stop posting every time I ski the course but for now I just can't help myself. After 10 passes or so we pulled the boat from the ski lake and took it out to the local reservoir and just swam and relaxed. So I guess you could say we had a full day of Moombaing! Also props to Mrs. Skiyaker for learning to point that OBV nose right down the center of the course- it made her pretty nervous at first but she's great at it!

deerfield
06-30-2010, 08:37 PM
Also props to Mrs. Skiyaker for learning to point that OBV nose right down the center of the course- it made her pretty nervous at first but she's great at it!

Way to go, Mrs. S!!

BensonWdby
06-30-2010, 08:45 PM
So when you say you were late, do you mean later than you wanted? Or too late to make the bouy? Are you getting just to the inside of the ball? Basically being narrow in the course? Does the course you are on have the green pullout bouys?

Sled491
06-30-2010, 09:27 PM
Always intimidating for a first timer to drive the course. Chirs Parish had a WR denied recently becuase the boat was to far off center on the # 5 bouy.

Timing is everything. But all this means nothing with out some Video and Pics :D

skiyaker
06-30-2010, 10:09 PM
sled- no doubt- next I'll have to teach the Mrs to drive and take pics haha- next time I see that boomerang out there though I'm posting a pic of it cause she's beautiful

Dave- no green pullout buoys on our course by the time you're up you're on the course. I did get the entrance gate timing down better but today it just seemed like I was being pulled down the course and each buoy I was just later and later to. The problem is my offside turn- it needs some work to say the least. I end up cranking on my onside but then get pulled down the course after the even buoys. I moved the fin forward hoping to free it up a bit but that didn't help- well now I have a new ski on the way so we'll see what happens there. I'm having a hard time focusing on technique with all those buoys flying past!

BensonWdby
06-30-2010, 11:57 PM
I would say your experience is typical. Just getting in the course regularly will help. the timing is different than when you are skiing open water. Have fun and don't freak out...

skiyaker
07-13-2010, 08:38 AM
went to a coaching clinic last night put on by the indiana waterski association- what a great group of guys. took a set behind a malibu response and got some good tips- I definitely have some things to work on. I'm loving the Radar Senate now and after talking with the guys last night it looks like I need to move the bindings forward a notch.