Do you frequently ski a slalom course on public Water?

[Jody_Seal]

This poll is more for the skiers that do not live on or primarily ski on man made ski sites. Poll more for the boat life skier.

[oldjeep]

Yes - both courses I use are on public water and there are 2 or 3 more nearby that I don't use which are on public water. Private ski ditches are pretty rare in MN, only ones I know of are New Germany, Quarry and one somewhere up near chisago.

 

Of the 2 I use, 1 is fixed course the other is submersible.

 

[aupatking]

Only place within an hour from here

[MISkier]

Public lake courses in Michigan must be removed or sunk at the end of each day, with some grandfathered exceptions. Simply put, our state does not have a slalom-friendly policy.

[skihart]

That's all I ski unless I am in a tournament or in Florida at Rini's or TWB's.

[RazorRoss3]

Mon-Friday. 750 acre public site

[Chef23]

I ski almost exclusively on public water except for tournaments.

[GOODESkier]

Almost all of my training happens on the Columbia River......... My own little touch of paradise!

[ahopkinsTXi]

@MISkier most of the courses around here including ours only needs to be sunk on the weekend. Makes it manageable.

 

I ski our public course 99% of the time. Every so often I get invited to a club for a few sets.

[gregy]

Not frequently but I do have a portable course on public lakes for when the private lake gets too dry.

[PatM]

Home site is public water. Limited number of private sites in New England.

[adkh2oskier]

Always ski a course on public water, nearest manmade pond is a 2 and a half hour drive, so my only skiing on a MM pond is at tournaments, 4 or 5 times a season at best.

[DefectiveDave]

Almost always ski on public water except for tournaments or the occasional visit to a private lake.

[Bill22]

Yes, but it is portable and we take it home after every use.

 

We put in a permanent course and it did NOT make it two weeks! Someone cut all the buoy lines.

http://forum.ballofspray.com/discussion/comment/208825#Comment_208825

 

[MISkier]

@ahopkinsTXi, how long has that particular course been in existence and maintained on that lake? You are very fortunate to have that much access. When I renewed my public lake course permit this year (i don't use it very often), the DNR representative told me they were happy that they could actually grant it. They had been experiencing backlash in the northwest lower peninsula and had even been forced to conduct public hearings about some sites. My public lake is on the northeast side and we haven't had that drama....yet. And, I have the restrictions on my permit to remove/sink the course each day. I can't use a WallySinker, as my location is only 6 to 8 feet deep. So, it is much more effort to comply.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

I bought an EZ-slalom portable this season and have used it about once each week since mid-August. Have to put it in and pull it out each time. Takes us a little more time than average because our water is about 90 feet deep where we set up the course and I had to add a couple hundred feet of anchor line to each end (thus, more time dropping and pulling up anchors).

[chris55]

Only on public lake we have just one slalom in Geneva Switzerland and almost downtown. So the scenary is beatifull. Except twice a year for tournement

[LZywicki1]

Skied ours Wed. We have had our permit for 15 years, not up till 10am Monday and down by 1pm Saturday, before Memorial Day and after Labor Day it can stay up permanently.

[Orlando76]

We have a portable course left in year round on public water, what a nightmare. Also a permanent course magically appeared 2 minutes from my door step on public water, a lot less headache. Ski occasionally on private water when opportunity presents itself.

[Ed_Obermeier]

It's a rare treat to get to ski a private site, very infrequent. Almost always on public water, bigger half of the time using a portable course. Have to get out early to get any decent water. It is what it is.

[rodltg2]

I am surprised on how many ski a slalom course on public water. Here in Sacramento Ca I think it's easier to get access to private site vs setting up a course on a public water. I used to set one up on Folsom lake. You had to get there while it was still dark and get off by 8 or forget it. I got ticketed for obstruction of a waterway one morning and decided it was time for private site.

[ricski39]

I grew up skiing in a cove that was nestled in the back of Lake Thurmond, SC. Eventually we got tired of fisherman puncturing our buoys and started looking for a pond somewhere in SC that we could lease from the land owner. That's where I am today.

[thager]

Public lake , couple of times a week submersible in front of the house. Private course couple of times a week when able.

[Chef23]

I have been skiing on the same public water since I was 5. I am fortunate to live on the lake now. I can think of 3 private sites in New England and only one of them has a club you can join.

[lpskier]

Public water in NY, LaPOINTS' SKI PARK and Lucky Lowe's in Florida. I guess technically, Lucky's is "public" as it is a natural lake with other owners, primarily an orange grove owner, but I've never seen another boat on the lake that wasn't launched from Lucky's ramp.

[baja]

The Quarry in Corona, CA is a great club with a private site within 30 minutes of the OC. PM me if you'd like to give it a try.

[Waternut]

Right now I'd say I'm half and half but now that I have a surveyed course on my public lake, I will likely be using it more than the private lake. Even on a perfectly smooth day, I'm amazed how different those 2 courses feel. The private course is semi hard bottom at 3-6 feet deep with the deepest area being in the boat path. The public course is a soft mud bottom at 5-8 feet deep consistently getting deeper to one side.

[Bill22]

As many others have said, I ski on private lakes for 1-3 tournaments each year and when I pay for lessons. But mostly on public water.

[wolfgang]

I have never skiied on a private lake but have watched from shore and spotted from the boat. I like to think that our Saturday and Sunday morning group (6 or 7 direct drives - but never before 9 am!) are pretty good at tough conditions. We may be building up skills that can help in tournaments but still have a collective sigh when a tubber or bass boat "runs the course" while we wait our turns. Weekdays however are great.

[Marco]

We used to ski exclusively on a public lake. We had a great time camping with lots of friends, had a pontoon boat that we would anchor near the course, and all our boating friends would raft up at the pontoon and we'd hang out and ski all day. Then the Forest Circus decided that camping at the lake was not a good use of public land so they shut us down. That was the deciding factor in forcing me and a few of my ski pals to build our own private lake.

[aupatking]

Public water, boat came out of an inlet right as we were getting to the course. Good sized rollers at 2 ball. About made @art90notch an organ donor. We're looking for land and lake builders

 

[Drago]

Free ski on public lakes, but no courses

[mmosley899]

used to, not much in the past 15 years.

[HPskier1]

Public course on tablerock lake with @GroovyGrant

[bbirlew]

Growing up in northern BC we had 5 public lakes within 45 minutes of town with slalom courses. That was in the 90s but I'd imagine the courses are still there for the most part...

 

Now I'm in southern BC (Vancouver island) and still no private sites anywhere close, but 2 courses on Sproat lake that we frequent and help maintain.

 

Mornings and weekdays can still be great water.

[ALPJr]

Yes. There are 4 public lakes with courses from 10 to 45 minutes from our house.

[Bill22]

@ALPJr you guys are lucky to have so many course on public water!

[MikeT]

I ski on a public lake in a Massachusetts state park along with Chef23 and Than. It's 20 miles west of Boston. If you drive on the Mass pike you drive right through our lake. The ski club was established back in the early 70's and we've always had a great relationship with state park staff along with the fact that they view this lake as a recreational water sports lake with many other water sports like crew and sailing competitions, canoe and kayak, bass tournaments, etc. We have 2 courses with one in well protected cove where the NE Slalom Championship was staged for 10 years. The lake actually has 3 separated and connected lakes with designated separate uses, so it works out well.

[Waternut]

I know we've only had roughly 130 votes at this point but I'm really surprised by how many people are primarily skiing courses on public lakes. I figured it'd be about 70/30 in the opposite direction. I'm feeling very thankful to have options to ski both on a regular basis.

[Broussard]

@Waternut "This poll is more for the skiers that do not live on or primarily ski on man made ski sites. Poll more for the boat life skier."

[behindpropellers]

One of my sore spots with USAws. They hardly support courses/clubs on public water.

[Waternut]

@Broussard Good call. I read it initially but had forgotten as time went on.

[Skoot1123]

So - for those who are on public waters and want to ski a private site - and want to make the trek - give me a shout and we'll try and make something work!

[RAWSki]

Keep in mind. "Public water" in the midwest(.. smaller lakes with considerate neighbors) can be much different than water in the southeast or the west IMO. One way to grow our sport would be to get more courses on public water along with education and encouragement while floating around the buoys. I love to ski private ski sites but public lakes are the where most skiers get started. The seems comparable to those golfers that play at a private club in under 3 hrs vs. those of us that 'hack around' at a county park track lasting 5+ hrs?

[behindpropellers]

@RAWSki-

 

Too bad USAws does not share that feeling.

[MISkier]

In the comments section of the USAWS survey I just completed, I suggested that some effort be put toward establishing and maintaining private, USAWS-owned sites across the country that can be used by USAWS members for a fee (or include a daily USAWS membership in the fee). This addresses the issue of no access to club sites and also avoids the larger fight of getting equal rights on public water for slalom and jump courses. I doubt anything will happen regarding my suggestion, but it's 100% certain that nothing will happen if it is never suggested.

[wtrskr]

I had to answer no to the "frequently" part because I don't get access to slalom courses frequently. When I do, it is on a public lake and with a portable course.

 

I take a vacation on a lake in a rural area every year and we "illegally" leave the course in the whole week (doesn't bother anyone). Other than that, we put the portable course on a public lake maybe a couple times a year.

 

I have kids so a trip to the lake at this stage of my life is a family affair. I free ski when we go out because my little guys don't have the patience or the manpower to help daddy put in and take out a course.

 

I have probably 15 public lakes I could launch my boat at within 45 minutes of my house and, as far as I know, none of them have a permanent course. I'm of the if-they-build-it they-will-come mentality as it relates to slalom courses. If the majority of those lakes had courses, I'd bet this area would have a whole bunch of high-level skiers. There are some now, but probably more that are involved with show skiing. I attribute that in part to being able to practice many of the show skiing skills on public lakes and because show skiing is entertainment focused, and thus gets community support.

 

 

[brody]

I ski on am aller public lake and I can leave my course in all summer. This is at our family cottage. Where we r there is a ton of public lakes within 1-2hr drive from the city. All you need is a permit from natural resources for the course. We have a couple of private courses in the city that for the most part anyone can access for pay as you go fees. The membership is very cheap compared to what most people elsewhere have to pay.

I prefer to ski at our public lake over the private courses. There is usually no issue with others wrecking your water but it does happen. Others visiting are able to use our course for free

Skiing on the public lake allows us to train without having to give up the benefits of a family cottage.

You would think that all this freedom we have would be a great benefit to the ski community but it isn't and our competitive scene is tiny.

[Web]

Vote is yes, frequently ski slalom courses on public waters. Network of friends and ski buddies use public water. One permanent course (yes we have the permits to do that) and a couple other portable courses. The permanent course is a 35 minute drive, and the portables are much closer but 20 minutes set up. In all cases, the same ingredients lead to success... you have to be up and on the water before first light, have the first skier in the water when the second hand strokes legal day-break, and then ski like hell before the fisherman and rec boaters show up. Also helps to burrow into your local fishing club websites to learn the tournament schedules. Oh... and then there is the wind. Ski locale greatly depends on that. So all that said........ wow is it nice when we can ski on the couple private ponds in the area!!!! Way, way, way better for sure. Its so nice skiing any time of the day and concentrating on skiing well, rather than waking at stupid:30 and eating rollers all morning.

[Web]

We do have a lot of fun on the public waters even so...... no question there!