What to do when your ski buddy finds another lake?

[Creeker]

What to do when your ski buddy finds another lake?

Sorry for the long post… Need some help…

 

I had the best ski buddy a person could ever find. Though true, I did start skiing (recreational) before he did, the bug hit him much harder. Of course now he is much better than I ever will be. He went to Coble’s and not knowing much about boats we bought one. The MC X2 is truly great boat, but he just would not ski behind it. The next summer, we all skied at Coble’s and figured out the boat oversite and picked up a MC 190 that following winter. That spring we became a member of one of Eddy’s & Clay’s lakes. Through some very generous help from members at our home lake, great local coaching, great support from members of another local ski lake, and help from many other skiers, my ski buddy really excelled and started competing. I on the other hand, still could not run the course. I did, however, learn a few new terms (e.g., “yard sale,” “out-the-front,” “55’s,” etc.).

 

That fall and winter we started skiing all year around in NC. Even had a few ski-ski days (snow ski in the morning, water ski in the afternoon). The following spring and summer he really excelled. We spent many hours at the lake, learning how to drive the boat better and learning how to ski better. He did so well that summer, he competed at Nationals and finished with a spot on the podium. We spent the next four years skiing as much as we could together. In the evenings, we usually had the lake to ourselves.

 

Now for the somewhat happy/sad part of this story. There are not a lot of skiers at our home lake. This spring, he tried another ski lake. Kind of my fault, I introduced him to this lake. I knew of the lake from when I was in college, though I never skied that course or any other course. He was reluctant to try this lake, but one visit convinced him that this was the lake for him. Around the middle of August, he just up and left for that new lake. Needless to say, I’m not skiing much without my ski buddy.

 

Some of y’all might know this new lake where he is skiing. It is called Lake Hartwell and the course is close to Clemson SC. He (my son, Martin) skis for Clemson now and is having a great time skiing with so many new friends.

 

Now for the question/help/recommendation part. Has something like this ever happened to you? Has your ski buddy found a new lake? Or maybe one day, your ski buddy will grow up and find that new lake? Did you find another skier to drive the boat for you? Or maybe you convinced a recreational skier or friend to join you in this crazy sport called water skiing? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Maybe after a few years in college, he’ll find something local and we will be skiing together all summer long. Until then, if you ever find yourself visiting Western NC and need a pull, we have a boat (CC 200) and a great lake I think you might like.

 

[gregy]

Hope you find another partner. More time for kayaking. One of my other activities is whitewater canoeing.

[seveet]

You must be proud, but darn kids and there growing up. Where in western NC. I am moving to Morganton and hope to end up on Lake James. It would be great to find people to ski with and boat with in general.

[Creeker]

The lake is a little south of Hickory NC, about 20 miles east of Morganton.

[Stevie Boy]

@Creeker, do not take it personally people are drawn to other lakes, for so many other reasons, situation of lake and how it is affected by wind, skiers at the same or higher level, demographic female/male, type of boat, as well as travelling distance , I am sure people could almost certainly list more, move on and do your own thing, but remember it's you that is going to make it happen, it's not going to come to you.

Wish you well !

[Creeker]

Stevie,

 

Good points, I guess it is hard to compete with the ability to bicycle a mile from his dorm room to the boat dock and then ski with a bunch of new friends on a nearly new boat.

[oldjeep]

Good reason to have your wife be your ski driver, they're stuck with you for life;)

[Than_Bogan]

Well told.

Congratulations, condolences, and good luck!

[lpskier]

I guess there is a membership open at Rocky Ford?

[RazorRoss3]

Congratulation on getting one to college, skiing in college is among the best decisions a kid can make second only to "showing up to class" and "graduating".

 

Good luck finding a replacement for the winter months and look forward to seeing your kid come back as a three event skier because it's going to happen... say hello to the 3 event bag

[jimbrake]

@Creeker - I feel ya, man. I've lost my TWO best ski buddies now. One to UC Santa Barbara and one to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The UCSB one unfortunately moved himself out of water ski territory, but fortunately into surf territory. The Cal Poly one moved to a new lake like your son. If your son was at NCWSA nats, then he may have crossed paths with my son.

 

Fortunately, I still have other good ski pards at my lake, but I miss my two main guys badly. Maybe someday they'll be back.

[Chunkyd]

@Creeker -Congrats, My daughter / ski buddy went to school up north and now works on the west coast. I joined a ski club and ski a bunch with some good friends. Daughter came home for thanksgiving and we made it to the lake three times. Wife thought we were nuts. Should be 80 today, so if your ever is south Texas stop on by.....

[balsamcutter]

When my ski buddy moved away I ended up buying a stand up jet ski...and thus became the enemy of you all.

[LoopSki]

I still have at least 11 more years with my ski buddy.

He prefers wake boarding for now. I’m just happy he goes out with me.

 

 

 

[Kelvin]

Enjoy the time while you can, it flies by. My "ski buddies" have been away for about 3 years now and I still miss them.

[6balls]

Tuff, eh? Got one in college...there's lots of buddy, right? My rib/hot wing eating buddy, my lifting buddy, my go see live music buddy, my basketball and football watching buddy, my race karting buddy, my SCUBA diving buddy, my co-pilot etc. It does go fast. The other just started driving on her own after turning 16.

[Creeker]

LoopSki,

May your ski buddy can come back from the dark side. There is still time.

 

If not slalom, maybe trick skiing?

 

Great that he is on the water. No matter what sport.

Time on the water together is priceless. Enjoy.

[Beeker]

Congrats on your son going to college, and still remaining in the sport, at Clemson no less! Gotta love that! I am sure there will be times he will come home and you guys will get in some skiing, making more memories than you already have. I have been very fortunate, I was sitting on the back of my I/O and saw this guy ripping up the lake and throwing huge walls of water. I was a recreational skier at the time, and I said to myself "I want to ski like that guy!" He happened to come to shore where I was beached, and now 1 and a half years later of skiing with my primary ski buddy @VONMAN on a regular basis, (all year long here in Fl.) I am swerving like I never have before! I even bought my first ski tug this year.

[WaterSkier12]

Guy in the pic is 12, he carves it up thanks to many people coaching, advice and attaboys over the years.

Gonna miss it when he moves on, but we're gonna have a great time traveling, competing and meeting new friends with this whole skiing gig!

And tellin lies with our old friends!

[HighAltitude]

Just had my triplets go off to college. Talk about going cold turkey!

They all are great drivers and they love being around the water. Luckily, we live on a ski lake so it was part of our daily ritual this summer. Thank goodness my wife is also is a good driver and loves to ski. I never thought I would say this... but I'm hoping they don't get summer jobs/internships quite yet as I want another magical summer like 2017.

[jimbrake]

@HighAltitude - that is tough. All three gone at once. I should get youngest back this summer as his summer job will be near home and he will want to ski as much as possible. It would be awesome if older one got an internship close to home, but that doesn't seem likely. I'm just being selfish though. We have to let 'em go do their thing.

[bigskieridaho]

Congrats to him! You will find more, that why you are on BOS!

[HighAltitude]

Two out of my three are on ROTC scholarships at college, so I'm trying to convince them to take their summers off and just stay at home. They know they have a job after college and they make money every month so I would think it's a no brainer. Of course, I know I'm being selfish but they only have a few more summers before the real world kicks in. Needless to say, I will support them whatever they do. Even with them working crazy hard last summer we still had a ton of time together.

[storm34]

@Creeker - Congrats and a job well done! This is a great problem for all of us to envy.

 

All the hours on and off the water together with your ski buddy not only create a special bond between father and son, but also breathe life into the sport we all love. My fondest memories as a kid are hanging out in the boat, skiing with my dad and brother. Hopefully your son will pass along the love of the sport to as many of his classmates as possible.

 

The cycle begins again but there's gotta be a new water skier hiding somewhere in your neck of the woods. Give them an opportunity to get out on the water, teach them to love the challenge and develop the next chapter of the sport.

 

One of my best ski buddies was mowing his yard on a 100+ degree day when I stopped to ask if he wanted to go for a boat ride. A year later and we're skiing 4 days a week at 6AM and qualifying for regionals!

 

Enjoy the process. My guess is your place will be flooded with 3-event skiers after graduation!