Baller war stories

[Edbrazil]

I likely have quite a few stories, most buried in memory. This one is from the WaterSki Magazine boat tests, where I participated from about 1987 to 1993 in the Traditional Skiing part of the tests, plus did a SL course installation that Tom King later was able to use, on the Butler chain in the Orlando area.

 

Estimate that I drove about 400 boats, and most through at least 4 passes in the course. There were some really terrible ones, and some that had serious flaws. At that time of the year, the manufacturers were just coming out with new boats, and occasionally we'd get one that had zero hours on it. Some off-topic stories there, for sure.

 

This wasn't one of those cases, but was a Big Name from the past that the company was trying to introduce as a modern ski boat. It had its troubles getting up to speed in the AWSA's tests, among other things. At the tests for the Mag, it was a bit of an oink-oink pig of a boat. Driving SL for tester Kreg Llewellyn, and stopping after one shortline run, he pulled out aggressively, and I also slowed and turned toward him. Standard procedure so that the skier could give verbal impressions of the wakes to write down.

 

But, I ended aiming at him in the water as the boat slowed down, and the boat would not respond to the steering. Somewhat like most PWC's typically do. Shut the key off, stood up in the boat, and yelled: LOOKOUT!! Kreg turned around and used his ski as a buffer, with a couple of bonk-bonks on the boat hull.

 

Fortunately, that was all there was to that potentially serious incident. The company struggled for a while over a couple of years, eventually gaining AWSA approval, but gave up eventually.

 

I expect that many others have something similar to relate about close calls when shortening the line. Gotta watch it every time.

[Churchy]

Teaching a kid to barefoot on the boom and decided to give him a demo of what I was trying to tell him. Asked his mum if she had driven a boat and was assured that she had her license and drove their boat "all the time". Jumped over the side and got up to speed just as an oncoming boat was coming towards us. She was too busy watching what I was doing to watch where she was headed and my shouts (quickly turning to screams) of LOOK OUT! only made her laugh harder. She must of thought that was part of my trick run. By the time I realised she was a complete nutter and wasn't going to slow down I was too frozen in fear to let go. The driver of the other boat only just turned at the last second and the end of my boom bar missed his boat by millimetres. Hate to think what might of happened if it hit. Moral of the story is never let anyone you don't know are competent drive your pride and joy, especially when you are hanging off the side of it!

[SkiJay]

@Churchy Your story warrants a "Horrifying" button.