Why is 41 So Hard?

[AdamCord]

Over the past month or so I've been skiing mostly at 34mph because I want to try and catch f*@#ing @adamhcaldwell as he just dominates at 34mph. It turns out that 41 is a really short rope, and anyone who has gotten through it at ANY speed is an absolute legend.

 

I was looking at some video from a set yesterday and trying to really see why the jump from 39 to 41 feels so much bigger than the jumps between any of the previous line lengths. By looking at where the rope's maximum swing lands compared to the boat it becomes pretty clear: You have to get WAY higher on the boat to get around buoys at 41. The amount the rope has to swing from line length to line length looks fairly linear through 39, then it makes a HUGE jump to 41.

 

The amount of energy it takes to get this much higher on the boat also feels like a LOT, as I'm pulling much harder behind the boat to feel like I can make ANY space at 41.

 

 

Anyway I thought some people might find this interesting. Really impressive not just that Caldwell and others can run 41, but that they can do it with any sort of consistency. It becomes a game of power and control at a level much higher and more precise than most people will ever understand.

[GaryJanzig]

Most people don't understand how hard the sport is in general. In college I had a guy scoff at me saying water skiing is not a sport, he said it took no talent to get dragged behind a boat.

 

[Than_Bogan]

When you look at the actual lengths (metric -- @Horton feel free to hide), you see that every shortening amount is less that the previous shortening amount from 23m all the way to 10.75m. But THEN the shortening amount to the next length is the same (50cm). So right from the get-go the step from -39 to -41 is too big.

 

But then it gets worse. The step from 10.25 to 9.75 is AGAIN the same. Surely this means that the gap between -41 and -43 is ludicrous.

 

Given the potential disruption to the record books, it seems "too late" to fix 10.25/-41. But since nobody has ever run -43, I truly feel now is the time to change that gap to something in the range of 25-40cm. Having it be exactly 10m is oddly satsifying, but also totally irrelevant to the geometry, so I'd probably pick a 35cm gap and a 9.9m line.

 

OR ... fix the problem for real and make the course wider! @drew :)

[Justin_C]

What I find interesting for those at the longer line lengths looking at this is the angle of the skier at the buoy. It's virtually unchanged the whole way up to 41 off. To me this proves that the work in the slalom course is not done at the buoy but before and after the buoy. That big spray that attracts people to the sport is simply a by-product of the work that's been done to get the skier to the point where they need to change their direction. As for me, the jump from 28 to 32 is enough to keep me busy for a while!

[GaryJanzig]

I have only got 6@35 off once, but lost the handle at the exit gates in practice.

[AdamCord]

@GaryJanzig yes good point. I think we’ve all seen the look of befuddlement in someone’s eyes the first time you try and explain to them that you are a competitive water skier.

 

@Than_Bogan I’m on board, let’s lobby for the 10m line length!

 

@Justin_C you are absolutely right. I approach the turns exactly the same way regardless of line length. It’s the work you do between the turns that matters.

[Kimbymon]

@GaryJanzig i get that exact comment at least weekly from my husband. So I feel your pain. And I will never even remotely approach 41 off. I also get “its not exercise”.

[Than_Bogan]

@Kimbymon WOAH. That is grounds for divorce. It's one thing if you're the uneducated masses, but when you've seen the sport and what it takes to improve at it, and you STILL don't respect it, that's a problem.

[Wish]

@Kimbymon bet he can’t drive a boat either.

[dnewton]

I am rather new to the sport and was always so confused why guys weren’t crushing 41 every time, because they all make 39 basically look easy. Recently watched an attempt at 36/41 from in the boat. It flat out looks 100% impossible. I was blown away in the difference from 39 to 41. Truly unbelievable.

[buoyboy1]

@AdamCord Was the larger dimension on the side of the boat for 39 verses 41 consistent for all your passes? If you had a lot of extra speed at the buoy at 41 and skied down course further would that not be the reason for the larger offset? Are these results similar with the other Adam or some of the 36 mph guys? Love this kind of analysis. Thanks.

[Kimbymon]

@Than_Bogan , @Wish I guess in his defense, water isn’t his thing. He didn’t grow up on the water like I did. He isn’t comfortable being in a boat or swimming. And No , he can’t drive a boat. Wouldn’t even put my brothers prostar in gear to get us away from shore. He thinks i ski way too much. But I love it so. I will just keep skiing. It makes me happy and that is what counts.

[AdamCord]

@buoyboy1 great question. I purposefully chose to use 1 ball from each pass for this comparison so that my early/late-ness in the course isn’t a factor in the comparison. Not sure about other skiers but this offset seems pretty consistent in my own skiing, maybe that’s part of why I’m not out there crushing 41 up and down the lake like Caldwell :#

[richfoster]

Not taking anything away from Caldwell( he’s a beast),but skiing year round at Trophy would surely help.

[Than_Bogan]

I'm not comfortable jumping out of airplanes, but that doesn't mean I assume sky surfing is easy...

[GregHind]

What do the same photos look like for @adamhcaldwell when he does run 41?

[GaryWilkinson]

Wait,... What? @Than_Bogan you want to shorten 10.25 to 10m?

And make the course wider?

 

Did you have a hard fall lately and go boom boom? ?

 

What I take from this post is that speed and getting high on the boat is paramount and my current challenge at getting consistent at 35 off.

 

The span and technique differences between 41 and 43 are akin to me worrying about which new Pratt and Whitney engine I should put in my Global Express.

 

But I truly take your point Adam.

[Adam Caldwell]

Heres a composite of my skiing. You would find the same thing going on with any high level skier. Its just part of the game.

 

The secret behind short-line is not necessarily about generating more speed. But carrying your connection further around the pylon before allowing your mass to swing away from the handle.

 

For example, I don't need to go faster through the gate to run a clean 35 versus a scrappy 35. Usually my 35s are better when I cross CL moving slower, but can keep my upper body connected to the rope further around the pylon (radially). A slower gate and longer connection will make my speed at the buoy slower making the timing with the boat at the finish of turn much better.

 

As the rope shortens you will be moving faster though the gate and back of the boat, but its not necessarily the objective. The objective/ focus is on connection as we travel around the pylon. A long connection (after CL is made easier by optimizing the relationship between the handle path and the skis trajectory. To get the handle path and ski path to match more closely, we need to set the timing with the boat prior to entering the slalom course and control our path through CL so that we can productively be pulled into the swing after crossing CL.

 

 

[Wish]

43 is insane. You’re practically slapping the driver in the back with the rope. Truly mind bending. That’s gotta be a weird peripheral visual for the driver to see a skier straight out and next to his head. Like a jumper passing the driver in the air.

[Adam Caldwell]

Maybe the rope hitting the seat is the issue at 43??

 

 

[9400]

Must be worse with taller drivers, that's as far as the seat will go forward.

[MISkier]

Swap out the seat for one with a lower back and try it.

 

[ReallyGottaSki]

@Kimbymon - Ski too much? Inconceivable!

[Kimbymon]

@ReallyGottaSki exactly my thoughts too. There is no such thing as skiing too much.

[ToddF]

@adamhcaldwell

Can you explain your third paragraph. If I wanted to try what you said how would that look?

[Adam Caldwell]

Whats cool to see in these photos is how much quicker the skier needs to get to the ball as the rope gets shorter.

 

This concept is kind of hard to think about...but these pictures show it happening.

 

Proof that short-line is not about getting to buoy width faster, its about getting to the ball faster.

 

How to accomplish that is the ultimate challenge!

[jimski]

It would be interesting to. See the speed difference from 32 to 41

[Adam Caldwell]

I’m sure there’s some calculations out there somewhere.... but here’s a visual perspective.

 

32-41

 

43

[jimski]

Surprisingly I thought 41 would be way faster but he makes it look pretty smooth

[Horton]

The rope just gets too short

[Jody_Seal]

I think it has more to do with physical aptitude! Most of us are physical disasters!

[ToddF]

Did anyone else notice the 6 ball at 38 and 39 off? Pretty cool

[DanE]

@Horton

It always does.

[Justin_C]

@adamhcaldwell two hands around 6 ball at 39? That's ok I guess

[ToddF]

I think I found the new technique at 43 off. try and get the back of your head to touch the water as you are crossing the wake

[Adam Caldwell]

@ToddF - thats a start!! If you dont, the front of your head will hit the ski about 2 feet past CL!! lol

 

[Wish]

Cord sets Pacific Northwest MM record with 3 at 41 on the c75 Insanity. Video was from a good distance but looked to me like 4 ball may have been an option. Either way that’s crazy good skiing and seems like a full 41 may be in the cards for Adam. Congrats !!!! ??

[Wish]

https://www.facebook.com/100000189973580/posts/3761539480529014/?d=n

[rockdog]

@adamhcaldwell out of interest what is your height and weight?

[Adam Caldwell]

5' 9ish 175ish

[keithh2oskier]

@adamhcaldwell what is the percentage your running 41 in practice? Thats some bad @$$ skiing.

[Adam Caldwell]

@keithh2oskier This spring I was rarely missing it on several different skis and several fin setups for nearly 2-3 months. Thats how you know a ski is GOOD.....and your driver is even better! I had purposely stopped posting video as it didn't look hard anymore, and I already had enough people trying to call bullshit as it was. Trying to figure out 43 is the new challenge but its hard. Have only been outside of 3 ball once. However its rare I'll even cut the rope. It can be brutal on the body, and I'm more focused on building confidence and learning the 41 pass...so I tend to spend more time there.

 

 

[coach3]

@AdamCord When you are working on swinging on the pylon from CL up, what are the main keys? Pushing your ski through, handle in tight as the load decreases (Parrish), yawing the ski inward?

[AdamCord]

@coach3 assuming I've done everything I want to do on the way into CL, I'm attempting to get the ski pointed down the lake as early as possible and get into a position where the handle can't get peeled off my body through the whitewash. Easier said than done, especially at 41 since it's hard to build enough speed before CL, so the ski tends to still be loaded at CL, and also since the loads can get so high at the 2nd whitewash.

 

I do try and pull/keep my arms in, but that isn't even remotely possible if the ski is still pointed out when I get to the transition. The other key is letting the boat "open me up" off the 2nd wake, which means my hips/shoulders are rolling in toward the boat on the way out. That pulls me up over the ski and gets the ski to yaw a lot before I even release the handle. If I don't let that happen I'll run parallel to the boat and ski into a pile of slack on the back side of the turn.

 

This move is hard to see in pros if you don't know what you are looking for, but pay attention to how early you see the spray coming off their ski in the preturn. Spray is a sign that the ski is already starting to rotate into the turn. If you're not seeing much spray off your ski until after you release the handle, then you got separated and you let the ski go to the bank way too long.

[coach3]

@AdamCord I may be thinking wrongly, regarding "open up" and letting the ski "yaw" in toward the boat. Can you explain. This may be a key for staying connected on the way up?

[Lars]

Wow 2 handed 6 ball at 39 off. If I could do a two handed 6 ball at 35 off I would be soooo happy.....

[Hockdog]

I can do a 2-handed deepwater start.......

[Alberto Soares]

I guess I need to change my bimini to make 39