ESPNSkier

Has anyone ever experienced speed drift on older (2004) Perfect Pass systems? I have been skiing 32 mph this summer/fall and was running 28 off maybe 50% of the time. I took almost a month off due to travel and over the last 3 or 4 sets I am struggling with 22 off again....how did I lose an entire pass in one month? Yesterday I pulled out the GPS and checked my 32.3 mph pass....only to find out that it was actually 33.7 mph. The setting has not changed (32.3 mph/3025 RPM) which was dead on the last time I checked with the GPS mid-summer. I have not changed props or anything else other than the alternator. Could this impact PP? Oh well, it was time to work back up to 34 anyway!

@Zman , John's Lake is between Oakland and Clermont off Hwy 50 about 20 miles west of downtown Orlando.

Actually, I need a coach! Been off the water for more than a month and couldn't do right by that awesome water this morning.

And the central Florida winds finally laid down, been a very windy fall but the attached image was the east course on John's Lake at 10:15 am this morning, absolutely beautiful! Still not wearing a heater top but will likely need to start next week as a cold front is pushing through tonight with a low in the 40s tonight.

Montverde, FL?

Lately it's "Tighten up Chicken Butt" (a quote from our 4 year old grandson) followed by "Hit it!".

Have to say that Marty's pass was right in the numbers! I am really happy to see us giving Collegiate Water Skiing some exposure. Unfortunately I was not able to be involved in this segment. If any of you watched the Battle at Bristol college football show a few weeks ago from Bristol Motor Speedway you may have seen Marty's segment from up inside the suspended Colossus big screen. One of my duties that weekend as Safety Director was to prep Marty and then escort him up there and he handled it like a pro!

Welcome @mundo! Great choice of ski for learning the course and beyond. I bought a CX Superliite this past spring and love it. I also broke an ankle years ago in Animals and was looking for a safer boot. I went with the Radar Vapor boots and feel that they release much easier than rubber. They are also much more comfortable.

I don't know the term "Winterizing" but down here in central Florida we are engaged in a new round of "Hurricanizing"!

Awesome, thanks!

Who won women's slalom? Nothing posted yet.

BOS comes through again! Really happy to see this post as this same issue has been bothering me this summer (LFF/right hip) and at 60 years old I was starting to really worry about a permanent hip issue. Thanks for the exercise post @cragginshred, I will also give this a try.

Orange top/blue bottom EP Comp 1 will always have a place on my wall!

There is life after 2 ball, congratulations @Horton, that is awesome!!!

Thanks for all the great feedback! I'll also keep skiing in the wind and light-to-moderate chop but no more whitecaps for me. I only ski on public water and agree that the worst conditions are the boat rollers (broke an ankle on a random roller out by 2 ball years ago).

Couldn't agree more @Mark_Matis and I have the utmost respect for the tournament skiers and especially the pros when I see some of the videos and images of tournaments with rough conditions. However, I'm a 60 year old novice/recreational course skier and I don't think skiing in white caps was a good idea for me personally as it seems to have set me back a ways. I've been skiing in wind and chop all summer and it really makes me appreciate those calm days. Still don't like a tail wind but I love a bit of head wind and am getting better at dealing with tails. White caps, however are not my bag!

Went out late yesterday in the dreaded NW wind and the course had whitecaps. We decided that it could help our skiing to run some rough water passes and work on form. Two sets later I was not so sure that this was a good decision. I ended up reverting to all my old bad habits (riding the tail, hunched over, hips back, etc.) trying to survive the passes and popped the handle a couple of times to avoid a bad OTF. Missed -22 off for the first time in more than a month and generally just got frustrated. Woke up this morning and felt like I was hit by a truck. Shook it off and tried another run today with much calmer conditions now that the wind had shifted to the NE. Much to my horror, the old bad habits that I worked to shed all summer were back and my form was horrible. Finally ran one ugly -28 off pass on my 4th attempt. I think I need to take a few days off and get my mind and body back on track but I'm worried that I have taken a real step backwards.

Speaking for myself, I'm a 32 mph 190lb skier and spent the last 4 or 5 years on a 69" CDX barely running 15 off. Switched to a 67" CX Superlite in late April and the difference was incredible. A much better ski to be sure but I believe the smaller size also makes it turn and hook up so much better than the old 69". Go with the 67" you will not be disappointed!

I watched Whitney ski earlier this week and all I can say is WOW!!!

My wife loves to ski and is the only person I have pulled that smiles during her entire run. She loves the feel of a smooth turn in glass water but is not really interested in the course. Now if I could only get her to try a new ski....she is still on the ski that she got used in 1980!

Thanks @Nautique196 and @Horton, reading this forum got me fired up again and I am really enjoying skiing again!

Unlike a lot of you guys I've never been a short line skier beyond some forays into 22 off with a tournament PB of 1 @ 22 off/36 mph back around 1982. Injuries and long periods off the water took me out of the sport and I had pretty much written off any chance of shortening the rope. The last few years I was content to bang around a few balls at 15 off @ 32 mph. Then I got interested again after stumbling across BOS this past spring. I bought a new HO CX Superlite in April and got a bit of coaching. Yesterday I ran 28 off back-to-back behind a ZO SN200 (still @ 32 mph) in a head wind and a tail wind and have a new practice PB of 2 @ 32 off. I'm just now starting to pick up the speed again but the new ski (and newfound interest) have been remarkable for me at age 60!

Always the same on my boat since the late 70s: "Tighten up" and "Hit it", unless you have to pee, then it's: "Feeding the catfish"!

Thanks for starting this thread @wish, good information for sking and for life in general! It's kind of funny (and sad) that I'm the "Safety Guy" but I'm also usually the skier who gets injured in my group.

I am a Safety Professional by trade and agree with everything said here. I would also recommend that you and your ski buddies take a CPR/basic first aid course (Red Cross and American Heart Association offer good courses) with refreshers every couple of years. I also strongly recommend an AED (Defibrillator) at every tournament site....we're not getting any younger!