Skiing without 55s

[fu_man]

You would think after skiing for so long without the pre-gates that it would be easy to judge when to pull out to time a good gate. My current method is to stand in the white wash, look at the boat approaching the gates, and try to judge the right distance for when to go. This has proved that my judgement of the proper distance is sporadic and thus has affected the consistency of my gates: either getting pulled in or dealing with slack right off the bat.

 

I recall some people using specific visual markers such as when the right gate buoy lines up with blah blah. Can anyone share the visuals that have helped them? Skiing at -22 and -28.

[klindy]

When standing just outside the wake, pull out when the right gate buoy lines up with #5 turn ball. It's the same everywhere and you can adjust as needed for your style/timing and wind, etc.

[Jetsetr]

@klindy great tip...we don’t have enough room for 55’s when I splash the EZ Slalom...

 

[PatM]

I do exactly what @klindy does. Not as consistant as 55s, but it works if you don't have them.

[Mick04]

Be as consistent as possible with how far outside the wake you start. A small variation there changes the alignment of the buoys a lot.

[Horton]

Brick + bungee + green ball X 4

[fu_man]

Not that simple. Semi public lake where some people still think the buoys are there for them to tie up to. Course gets moved and straightened all the time.

[MattP]

@fu_man only put them in when you ski. You only need the left hand side 55. Easy to run 55m of line and drop a buoy on both ends. Then pull them out when you are done.

[markn]

Great question. I have never used 55's as a reference. My course never had them and even when I ski at sites with them and in tournaments, never use them. Before 55's were instituted, Schnitz taught the "when left gate ball lines up with 5 ball, start your pull out, stop your pull when the left gate ball lines up with 3 ball....your intensity my vary depending on head/tail conditions.

 

[markn]

Holy crap! My error. I meant RIGHT gate ball and 5 for pull out and LEFT gate and 3 ball to stop. Sorry for the confusion.