May Tips

This month we have a few different types of tips. We have some words of wisdom for drivers out there, an explanation of where to be on your ski as you approach the wakes to create maximum direction after the second wake, and a quick note to help you keep your equipment in check. Please enjoy and let us know if you have any questions.

Drivers-Read Your Skier by: PJ McMillan

Adjust your driving style to meet the needs of the skier you are driving. Every skier is going to load the line and pull on the boat at different times in the course. A skier such as a traditional 34 MPH skier is going to load the line a lot earlier and harder then a new age, more progressive skier at 36 mph, who is going to load the line a lot later and for a shorter period of time. As a driver you have to realize these differences and adjust how you counter the skier. You should get a good feel for how a skier is going to pull you around after their first few easy passes. As the rope gets shorter you need to anticipate that they are going to be loading harder so be prepared to counter steer a bit more. It’s important to take pride in your driving and drive others as you would want to be driven when you are skiing. This means that you have to be conscientious both in and out of the course when you are behind the wheel.

Call 866.213.7993 and ask for PJ if you have any great questions about improving your driving.

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Where to be on that ski… by: Seth Stisher

I am the first to admit that my waterski background comes creeping back in everytime my brain fades and I get a little behind and rushed in the slalom course. What I mean is, as much as I preach about being balanced and loading progressively, I have a tendency to fall back to my back foot at the finish of the turn and therefore load the rope excessively. Since none of us are perfect, it never hurts to show multiple examples of how to get balanced, what it looks like, and what we get out of it.

The Prep: If you are balanced in coming into the turn, you have a better opportunity to be balanced at the finish which gives you a greater chance of staying light on the ski line as your ski carves its way back to the center of the wakes and out to the next buoy.

The Move: If you focus on twisting out to the shore your place the greatest mass of your body over the lnside leading edge of the ski and therefore all you need to do to create an effective turn is fall in the direction of desired travel while maintaining your countered position.

The Result: IF you can maintain a balanced stance and allow your hips to move back to the wakes slightly ahead of your feet, you will resist the urge to overload the rope too soon. This will allow you to carry your outbound direction through the wakes and out ahead of the next buoy.

Check out the pics below. In the first picture, I have greatly overload the line by dropping away with my entire head and body with no real respect to ski direction. In the second picture I have kept my body countered rotated, balanced, head up, etc. This position allows me to control my load on the line and carry my direction beyond the second wake resulting in an early and outbound approach into the next buoy.

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Keep Your Gear in Check

This one’s nothing high tech. We just wanted you to see what happens when you don’t pay attention to your gear. The video below is the result of someone mounting their Fogman release units too far apart from one another. Don’t be caught in a crash that will bring your pants down…like our friend Boba in this video.