how did you make the transition to one hand?

[kmenard]

Every time I try to make a one handed turn...I get a nice drink of lake water.

 

One thing I know I need to fix is 'pulling the rope'

 

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/338172_10151597635527524_1604232668_o.jpg

 

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/s720x720/255285_10151597633037524_1452199778_n.jpg

[kfennell]

1. Please buy a real rope, that one will break and you wil not like the faceplant.

2. It looks like you are skiing at long line, you should be skiing with a 60 foot rope or 15 off.

3. When you take your hand off the rope are you just jerking it away? it should be a smooth movement starting with you kind of standing up out of your lean and opening your shoulders then slowly bringing your hand back.

[footloose42]

The only reason I started making 1 handed turns was because my ski coach told me to. I had been told that it isn't necessary until '28 off and frankly, I was a tad scared to try it and get the rope yanked out of my hand.

 

I'm not knowledgeable enough to say for sure what you should do, but my first guess would be you could try squaring your shoulders to the boat. If you try a one-handed turn in the position you're in now, I could see how you could easily fall since your left shoulder is far lower than your right, causing you to be off balance. But if both shoulders stay equal height and facing the boat while your hips and legs rotate for each turn, you stay balanced and expel minimum effort. Here's what I was first told regarding the turn:

 

"Let go of the handle when traveling outwards, letting it dangle in your hand. Move your now free hand to rest on your hip. turn by "skiing back to the handle". Don't move your free hand off that hip, move your ski to meet it."

 

My coach tells me "ski back to the handle" all the time because I always forget it, but it works so well. Instead of fighting the boat and pulling that handle back to your free hand and then forcing the ski to turn, you just leave the handle where it is and move your ski to catch up with it.

 

I hope that helps/makes sense. Like I said I'm probably not good enough to warrant giving advice yet.

[Than_Bogan]

A 1-handed turn doesn't make a lot of sense at long line. It's helpful, but not truly necessary, at -15. But "everyone" learns it at -15, because otherwise by the time you get to where you really need it, it seems like a bizarre foreign idea.

 

I learned 1-hand turn after quite a few years of 2-handing it, but I was a kid at the time so some details elude my memory. But I'm pretty sure I did a lot of open water skiing with a relatively short rope: -22 or maybe even -28?

 

You should only be letting go of the rope when there is very little tension on it. That means you need to build some speed and get "free" of the boat. Then go out for a turn, and ski right around back to the rope, regrabbing it only because you're in the pull position and need both hands for that! Make sure you don't "reach" back for the rope or you'll be totally destabilized. Ski right back into your leverage position, grabbing the rope with you off hand at the last moment before the load starts to come up.

 

Any time you only have one hand on the rope, there should be very little tension on it. If that's not the case, then something is fundamentally wrong and needs to be addressed before letting go of the handle will work.

 

Also, that water you are skiing on looks awfully rough. Need some calm water for learning new things!

[kmenard]

the water was TERRIBLE that day...but in New England, you only get so many days to ski, so sometimes you gotta ski the moguls :) That wasn't the day I tried it (again). The rope is quite long to get out of the jet wash, but I have been seriously considering trying a shorter rope and seeing how it is. I have been working to turn the ski more this year, rather than just burying the back, which is a bad habit I picked up a long time ago. Squaring my shoulders to the boat? yikes...that sounds like it going to be tough :)

[Than_Bogan]

Sounds like you also need a new boat :).