ESPNSkier

Hi Scott! A few years ago I had a gator attacking the balls on the north end of my course. I was losing about 4 balls a week for a month or so. Tried everything including aqua seal but no repairs lasted very long.

Thank you @SkiJay! I skied at Matt's yesterday and saw that 11 year old ripping it...simply amazing! I was also struck by how many WhisperFins I saw there. It was only my 2nd set on the WhisperFin and I'm only running 15- at the moment but I'm already a believer. My ski is definately coming around quicker and finishing turns with better angle. I'm not really chasing buoys yet this season but Matt told me that it's the best he's ever seen me ski. I'm stoked and can't wait to start shortening the line again! As an interesting side note, I was chatting with another older skier like myself and we both have noticed that the ski is easier to get up on with the WhisperFin which is an unexpected but welcome benefit! Plus it whistles at you when you make a good turn! :)

Such sad news as we just lost a living legend! I only met him once when I did some diving to help put in the course on Lake Lawne in Orlando for a Pro Tour stop. It was a very memorable couple of days for sure!

Good suggestions but I already bought the parts from Performance. I may just drop them off and have the nice folks at Performance change them out for me! :)

I need to change out heel and toe pieces on some hi wraps on an old pair of Kidder jumpers. I have not done this in many years but as I recall this can be a pain. Does anyone have a good system for changing out rubber on old-school hi wraps?

Bill and his team have been providing outstanding customer service and have supported the sport for 30 years now! It's always a pleasure to go into the skiing "Candy Shop" to chat with this upbeat group about what's new in the industry. A while back I needed a special handle that they don't carry. Bill made a few calls and had a handle shipped in for me and then added this product to his inventory....just another example of how they consistently go above and beyond!

At least we have our own Alligator control systems in Florida.

Thank you all, definitely some good advice here. I know that a lot of my problem starts with my gates as my timing is all out of whack and I’m not getting a good one ball.

So, I'm just getting started again after yet another long injury-driven absence and am back at 15 off and trying to regain some form. I know that I'm bending at the waist and reaching for the handle too early coming out of 1-3-5 and was recently told to "let the ski finish the turn" before grabbing the handle. This makes perfect sense but I am struggling with how to make this happen out on the water. Any advice on things that I should be doing....or not doing....that would help in allowing the ski to come around a bit more before I grab the handle?

A couple of years ago I had the entrance gate buoys and buoys #1 and 2 popped several times over the course of a month or so. It was always on the same end of the course and happened 3 or 4 times. I thought someone was messing with the course until I noticed bite marks on the bottom of the buoys. Funny, I never noticed any marks on the boat guides at that end, just the red balls. I guess gators like red balls.

My Dad was a career Coast Guard officer and we grew up with an unbreakable rule that you always tow in someone in need and hope that you get towed less often than you tow other people! I had a similar experience a few months ago. I often use a small 13' outboard to retrieve lost buoys from the grass and do course maintenance. I was out working on the course mid-afternoon on a weekend and the motor broke down. I pulled the cowling off and was working on it when a large surf boat came by towing a wake boarder. I thought they were going to stop and offer me assistance but instead they cruised by less than 100' away and I had to jump in the bow of my boat to avoid being swamped by the huge wake....then they turned around and cruised by a few more times before I was able to get the boat started.

Congratulations on your 1st tournament and new PB Scott, glad to see you doing so well!

Mexican cruise SegWay excursion....turned out to be a lot less fun than expected.

Unfortunately, I'm with @lpskier and @BRY, waiting for bones to heal. Fractured my pelvis in 5 places two weeks ago today. Weather is beautiful out there too.

Very little and gave back all of the progress I made last year. Got hurt in December and did not ski again until May, then never could regain my form and skied progressively worse until I quit skiing out of frustration in July. Hope to get back in the saddle this week.

Praying for you and your family. Hang tough!

None of the courses are back in action on John’s Lake near Winter Garden yet either. Some docks were damaged and most are still underwater. Had 19” of water over my dock after the storm and it’s down to 8” now.

That picture of Dallas is from the 2015 Body Issue in ESPN The Magazine. Definitely one of the more interesting events that I have worked at ESPN over the years. It was shot in Hudson, FL in February.

We ski on public water and usually drop, unless we see a boat heading our way, then we spin to get in another pass before the other boat's rollers hit the course.

Will do, thanks!

Thanks all! I'll try some free skiing drills when I return home and can get back on the water in a couple of weeks.

Thanks, good advice for next time! It was always the gates and balls 1 & 2 on the same end and it went on for a few months then stopped. I called the state nuisance gator folks and they said, "sorry, can't help you unless it is in your backyard".

You are correct @Mark_Matis, I went through that in Winter Garden 2 years ago and was losing 2 to 4 balls a week for a while.

Can anyone recommend some good wake crossing drills? I finally took some video (sorry, too ugly to post) of why I am struggling to get back on track and found that I have reverted to an old, nasty habit of standing up at the 1st wake and getting pulled flat into 1 ball. I seem to be able to get away with this at 15 and 22 most of the time but getting nothing but slack at 1 ball when I try 28-.

Thanks again, hopefully I'll give it a try at 28- tomorrow!