More Decadence

[eleeski]

I just got a Wakesurfer magazine in the mail. Hmmm. While wake surfing is not tubing, it is a bit tough on the lakes. Huge gas guzzling boats that cost as much as a condo. But more bikinis than Science news or Discover magazine (and National Geographic has gotten tame recently). So I was OK.

 

Until I read the contents page. Now I'm worried that Waterski magazine has morphed into Wakesurf magazine.

 

Wakesurfing is fun but a long way from the exhilarating challenge of waterskiing or even wakeboarding. I hope our sport is able to survive this threat.

 

Personally I like body surfing better than board surfing. A lot of the fun is wave selection. Takes some skill...

 

Eric

[keithh2oskier]

Got it also. Giving the magazine to my coworker who wakesurfes. I didn't even bother to flip through it.

[andjules]

While I agree with you re: the environmental issues, I personally think it's best to see wakesurfing and wakeboarding (and to a lesser extent, even tubing) as allies, not a "threat" (even though if you share public water, they're also likely to be annoyances on any given afternoon).

 

If waterskiing ever experiences a real renaissance in popularity, I believe it will come via a renewed passion for "lake culture" - family boating on public water, getting out & being active. As always (and sadly, increasingly in today's culture), some folks will gravitate to activities that produce a lot of fun for little investment (tubing, beginner-wakesurfing), whereas others will be attracted to something more challenging and (hopefully) more rewarding. And a minority of the former may eventually get bored and join the ranks of the latter.

 

So—despite the number of folks on this board that ski on purpose-built lakes or in club settings—I think for waterskiing, (non-cable) wakeboarding and wakesurfing, our fortunes/popularity will rise and fall in sync with each other and with people's attitudes towards/attraction to/financial capacity to participate in "lake culture".

 

That last point—"financial capacity"—is going to be a challenging one for wakesurfing. You can learn to ski, wakeboard or tube on any runabout with a 50hp outboard.

 

My 2¢.

[Horton]

Unfortunately for those of us on private lakes big boats equal disaster. If somebody put a medium sized Surf Boat on my lake the shorelines would be wrecked overnight

[ski6jones]

Our boat was nearly swamped at Lake Shasta by a passing wake surfing boat. No love here. The wakes from those boats can do lots of damage on public water to docks and other boats, not to mention the damage to shorelines of private lakes. Especially on public water the operator is liable for damages caused by their wake. I don't think most of them realize this.

[jcamp]

My main concern with wake surfing is that people won't the able to distinguish them from other, more responsible boaters on the lake. So when shore erosion, dock destruction and unsafe waves become an issue on any given lake, the powers that be will simply ban all motorized activities on the lake. Skiers will get thrown out with the bath water even though they were not the culprits.

 

Looks fun though ...

[303Skier]

I know a few wakeboarders who go to small competition slalom lakes to wakeboard....I don't get it!? Also I don't get why the owners allow it? Like @Horton says, it destroys the shorelines and causes erosion which equals loss of value to your investment.

[oldjeep]

Got it also, seems to have gone out to everyone who gets Wakeboarding magazine since my wifes name was on it. Surfing is the new tubing, anyone can do it after about 10 minutes worth of trying and you can do it all day without getting tired out. I foresee a lot of new regulations coming out as the surf boats become more prevalent on smaller lakes.

[dchristman]

@eleeski this may have some redeeming value after all... It prompted me to check out the online version of the magazine, which led me to this article. It might be interesting to try this idea on a trick ski!

[Billbert]

I too received one....but I wakesurf so actually enjoyed flipping through it briefly. We ski primarily and wakesurf in rougher water or when the boat is too crowded to ski. Reading this thread some of the elitist comments perhaps shed some light on why our sport is dying. The learning curve for wakesurfing is substantially less than that of salom skiing but as with all sports to do it well takes talent, fitness and practice. Comparing it to tubing or stating that anyone can do it is the equivalent of comparing short line skiing to dragging behind the boat on one stick at 75feet thinking about crossing the wake. All I am saying is keep an open mind, there is no better time than time on the water. I don't think many private lake owners have anything to worry about....you generally need a good 15-20 feet of water minimum for a good wave to develop and I am guessing most of your ski lakes are too shallow for that. Public water is another thing, but public water brings all kinds of other challenges with it as well. Flip through the magazine, maybe learn something, broaden your horizons and move on.

[eleeski]

@Billbert I wasn't meaning to bag on wake surfing (too much). I was more concerned that Todd Ristorcelli had given up skiing for surfing. That would truly indicate that the sport is dead.

 

Plus I enjoy Waterski magazine.

 

Eric

[I5boi]

Big boats = big waves. Bring out the Rickter and rip it up!

[epnault]

This popped up on my Ipad for free in my Waterski Magazine library.

 

I have mixed feelings about it. I love course slalom skiing first but we often load up the ProStar with some ballast and play around with surfing during the middle of some summer weekend days because it doesn't matter what the conditions are. We don't have to sit on the shore waiting for slalom conditions and we can be out on the boat all day which is great. The other thing about this sport is that it got some people in my family off their butts and started participating in water sports again and to that I love it. To continue course slalom skiing as you get older you have to be dedicated both in time and physical fitness to participate. It takes a special type of person to deal with the crashes, sore muscles, injuries, costs, etc... to stay in the slalom game which most weekend or holiday people don't like. I think there is room for everyone to do what they like on the water and I will never be critical of how someone spends there time. Believe it or not there are plenty of people on public waters that don't like slalom skiers either so I know how it feels.

[liquid d]

Todd has not "jumped" ship. Swerving Daily.

[MrJones]

Got it in mail. Immediately brought to office and dropped in lobby without opening.

[swc5150]

I guess I'm not seeing the elitist remarks on this thread? Slammed boats are wrecking the shoreline on our lake, so it won't break my heart if the recreational trend falls back to tubing and kneeboarding. I also had an unfortunate incident of a giant roller sweeping my mom off our dock. She's in her 70's and walks with a cane, but the kids in the wake boat thought it was hilarious. This fad cannot go away fast enough for me, sorry. I'm not elitist, just tired of having our dock and shore destroyed. Rant over

[ski6jones]

We used to anchor and fish along the intracoastal at Corpus Christi. These tug boats would pass by periodically producing these massive wakes, much bigger than the biggest surf wakes I've seen. Strangely they slowed down when passing anchored boats so they didn't swamp them. They knew they were liable for damage caused by their wakes. Most operators of wake boats don't have the same knowledge or courtesy. I don't have a problem with surfing on public water, but the operators need to get a clue. The situation cited by @swc5150 above is exactly the problem.

[Horton]

@Billbert

Every time somebody uses the word elitist on this website that hair stands up on the back of my neck. At the upper end of this sport we do something very specific that requires very specific conditions. Personally I have a ridiculous amount of money invested in access to tournament quality water conditions. Most tournament skiers find a way to ski on very flat water in very controlled conditions. For some of us it's a matter of dollars for some of us it's a matter of just living in the right place or being willing to travel to the right place.

 

If the subject was - is the sport worse off since the migration from public to private water? That is a totally different subject and there's a lot of people think that sport is worse off since private water became the norm for better skiers.

 

This website is orientated towards competitive tournament skiers with the understanding that the majority of the readership is not at that level but may aspire to be at that level. If you find that offensive you're simply on the wrong website.

[EricW]

Little upset that counts towards the 6 issues they publish per year, one less seemingly growing smaller pure waterski magazine to enjoy.

[oldjeep]

@EricW is it actually a replacement? Or just a 3rd magazine from the same publisher (I don't think most folks actually pay for Waterski or Wakeboard mags)

[Horton]

WSM has to cater to a broader audience than a website like this. I would love their ad revenue but I would not like Todd's job. It is an impossible task to sell as many mags as possible and to make slalom geeks happy. He does a darn good job with the task.

[eleeski]

@Horton @Billbert certainly belongs here. He's a long time member of the board with a few comments. His latest post was thoughtful and polite. And really made me think.

 

Most importantly, some very good information has been disseminated to the wakesurfers - namely that they are liable for the damage from their wakes.

 

Don't get upset about being called elitist, we are. Accept the points of view that differ, it can make you better. And generate more business for your site

 

Eric (the trick skier outsider)

[Horton]

@eleeski Yea I assume @Billbert does belong here but the elitist tag is beginning to be offensive. Perhaps this is the first time @Billbert has used it and he did to mean it the way I took it but this is far from the first time I have heard the accusation. The simple fact is the current state of slalom skiing does not mesh well on the same lake as wake surfing. I am certainly not against wake surfing but I am 100% against a wake surf boat on my lake.

You can put your wake surf boat on my lake the same day as I drive a monster truck in your house.

 

 

[slow]

Wake surfing is destroying The shoreline of natural lakes as well. At high water the waves cause considerable damage.

[skiinxs]

@horton +1 on that statement for me!

[Jody_Seal]

@Horton

Horton For President!!

 

Viva La Revolution!!

[lcgordon]

Our lake is pretty small not much bigger than your private ski lakes. We have a course in the back on one side of it. My problem is not that people are surfing/wakeboarding its not my place to judge what you like. Its that there is no respect. We will have 3-5 slalom boats lined up by the course waiting their turn a to ski respecting everyone else water. Then we will have a wakeboarder or surfer blow by us and go back into the course with zero respect for anybody on the water. Thats why I hate them so much if they just shared the water with respect we could all have fun. But for now I just hope all there boats sink/fall off the trailer on the road.

[Horton]

What they're doing looks like fun it just doesn't go with what we're doing

[Billbert]

@Horton I apologize for use of the "E" word. It was not intended to conjure images of monocles and top hats but rather to reflect on the often seen opinion that because slalom skiing is difficult and does require more restricted water conditions all other activities found on public waters should take the back seat to the superior sport of water skiing.

 

The point I attempted and failed to make was that if we as water skiers (and I use the term loosely when applied to my self in comparison to others who participate in this forum) are unable to look upon an emerging sport such as wake surfing with an open mind how do we expect to grow our own.

 

Please note that I am not defending wake surfing from the issues of shore erosion, irresponsible operators etc. These issues apply to almost all activities found on public waters weather its a tube, PWC or some twit fishing from his canoe in the middle of the slalom course. Its up to all of us who use the public water ways to keep an open mind and respect each other. I too have a tremendous amount of capital invested from our summer home on the lake to our boat, lift, dock etc and I am protective of my investment, but there is no place in my mind where I believe I have more of a right to the water than the guy who drops in at the public launch. But ours is a public lake.....I am certain my perspective would be different if my investment was centred around a private lake.

 

A large part of the appeal to this forum is the interaction with competitive high level tournament skiers. Many of you ski at a level I can only dream of and aspire to be at. You are truly elite athletes, your input is enjoyed and respected. For the most part many of you make us lowly recreational skiers feel at home here and it is appreciated.

 

[Horton]

Apologize not needed. Just a hard subject and source of frustration.