Cnewbert

There are a great many equestrians who are not pursuing the sport as a business, they are just pursuing their passion. I know dozens and dozens of them, especially since I was one. So virtually every expense associated with horses is, in truth, not a business expense for huge numbers of equestrians, and even mid level competitors will spend far more on their non-business sport than water skiers ever will. It's not just the cost of a horse. Horse board alone runs $1200 a month, and training is on top of that. And that's just the beginning. Really nice horse trailers cost as much as a nice 3-event ski boat that everyone complains about, and then you need a diesel dually to haul it with. Also, the USEF does not sanction every horse show. In fact, the largest horse show venue in the world, the World Equestrian Center to which I previously referred to, hosts no USEF events whatsoever. The international Nations Cup Qualifier they just had was so jammed you couldn't find parking or even get tickets if you didn't pre-purchase them. Since when has a water ski tournament attracted anything resembling a big crowd? Not the World's last year at Travers. We were there. All I'm suggesting is the cost of new 3-event boats is not the problem, if in fact the sport is dying as some insist.

There is no reason why someone who wants to ski can't find a perfectly serviceable used ski boat at a price they can afford. Ski It Again currently has 169 3-event boats listed at all price ranges, and that's just one source, albeit the best perhaps, but there are many others. The idea that anyone needs a brand new boat in the $100K range before they can ski is preposterous. Even at that price for a new tug, water skiing is downright cheap compared to many sports that are flourishing. Close to where I live is the new World Equestrian Center, a $1 billion dollar facility (that's right, billion with a B) that features 2 luxury hotels, numerous restaurants, dozens of shops, an 18 pump on-site gas station for participants and spectators, 5 huge climate controlled indoor arenas, 2500 stalls, a chapel and much more. Anyone who thinks skiing and ski boats are expensive better not even think about getting involved with horses. That $100K + investment in a brand new ski boat is chump change in the equestrian competition world. Yet no one in equestrian sports is blaming the cost of top level horses -- upwards of $250K or more... much more, where even mid-level horses sell for $50K, not to mention the shocking cost of training, boarding, vets and myriad other expenses associated with competing... for the sport dying. Because it isn't dying. It's thriving in spite of the eye-watering costs to own show horses and to compete. If skiing is dying, the reasons have nothing to do with the price of new boats.

Can Moomba be watched on delay or just live?

@coach3 good luck with your knee surgery! I had robotic assisted (CORI) minimally invasive quadriceps sparring knee placement surgery one year ago today. I had 124˚ ROM the very next day and was slalom skiing exactly 42 days after the surgery. I hope yours goes as well and you're back on the water soon!

@Rednucleus have you tried putting one of those thin plastic grocery bags down the heel side of your boot, sliding your foot in then pulling the bag out? They work great for drysuits, wetsuits, cowboy boots… just about any kind of boot or tight opening where your foot (hand, head) needs to slip through a restricted opening with minimal resistance.

Still skiing? Who stopped? (Said the FL resident 😃)

@markn it sure has been cold and windy in Central FL, but we've still managed to ski about 3 mornings a week on average, getting out early to enjoy the glass before the wind comes up. Water temp hit a season low last week at 57˚, but climbed back up to 62º yesterday. It's averaged 59º for a month or more and the air has often been in the low to mid 40s when we head out. Happily though, we're impervious to the cold with our O'Neal Fluid Neos and our dryrobes. With the added plus of having our public lake practically to ourselves save for the odd fisherman, we have a new found love for winter skiing. (I won't lie though. We still can't wait for summer!)

@03RLXi me too. I do that once or twice a year.

@Hucklefin here's a photo of the GoPro bracket I made to center the optical axis of the lens directly over the center of the pylon. Also, moving the weight of the camera to the center and removing the side camera bracket allows the camera to swing more easily.

I watch all TWBC's events, every skier, every pass, but mix live and replays as my free time allows. Yes, maybe the opening passes for the top skiers are boring for some, as it's a slam dunk they'll make the pass. But someone like me learns a lot just from watching these easy passes, so I do it for the educational value even though there is rarely any drama involved. It's definitely time well spent.

I'm still hoping some enterprising coach or coaches (Rossi and Trent for example) might put together a multi disc DVD instructional package utilizing video, stills, slo-mo, telestrator, side by side, re-play etc. to visually and graphically illustrate what can frequently be ambiguous and/or confusing when describing 3 dimensional, often simultaneous physical actions and movements in words alone. DVDs are cheap to produce once the content has been created... far less expensive than books... and the economy of scale is far less advantageous than the printing and binding of books, so short production runs are economically feasible. I have been active in the horse world long before I took up skiing and there are a great number of equestrian clinicians who have produced just such instructional DVD sets about many different riding disciplines and horsemanship in general. They have done very well with them because visual learning is so much more effective than the written or spoken word alone.

For reasons that are obvious, I am a bit reluctant to post any video of me skiing on this New Year’s Day morning to this advanced group. But what the hell, I’m not proud. I’ll turn 75 in a matter of weeks. I only started skiing at 68 plus I had a knee joint replacement 9 months ago, so I have no shortage of excuses! 😂 What great conditions we enjoyed to welcome the new year! F9A3A0BB-3552-4156-9347-66BB7F4E819A.mov

As soon as the early morning fog lifted we hit the water to start the new year off right. 43° air temp, but with our DryRobes we were warm as toast. Mirror smooth conditions!

And this chilly New Year’s Eve we discovered a great off-label use for our new DryRobes — staying warm while drinking sunset beers on the dock!

Since we bought our lakeside home last May, we’re living the dream, and now winter skiing will never be the same! We awoke this morning to flawless glassy conditions, but 43° air here in Central Florida. Never mind we have O’Neal Fluid Neos to stay warm in the water, we formerly would have either froze in the boat, or, far more likely, chickened out altogether and waited until later in the day when the air warmed but the conditions deteriorated. However, Santa gave us both DryRobes for Xmas (thoughtfully matching our Prostar) and now we can put on our drysuits in the protection and comfort of our house, bundle up in our DryRobes, make the short walk to the dock, then ski in complete and joyous warmth, toasty and cozy in our DryRobes between runs and to and from the dock. When we’re done, we walk back to the house, take everything off once inside raising nary a goosebump in the process. Thanks BOS for the DryRobe referral! What a great way to end 2023. 😁

Melanie models her new DryRobe Santa gave her for Christmas. Yes, we live in Florida, but there is no shortage of mornings in the 40s when we just can’t psych ourselves up to get wet in spite of great water conditions. Those days are now gone!

When did it ever end? We winterize our ski boats here in Florida by throwing wetsuits on board.🤪

@dvskier my snow skiing addiction started at Keystone in 1984. I was on the Teller lift in 1985 when the bull wheel at the top lift tower broke loose and the cable disconnected and slammed into the lift tower, sending a huge shock wave down the lift. The molded chairs near the top slammed into each other with such force they shattered, littering the slope with skiers and resulting in two fatalities. I was far from the top, thankfully. Our chairs stayed in tact and no one came off, but it was a wild ride while it lasted and we had no idea what was happening. We were maybe 25 ft. off the slope and it would be hours before the ski patrol could get us down. With no foot rests for support, our skis got so heavy on our feet and legs we had to kick them off and let them drop to find relief. Fortunately it was a gorgeous sunny day, whereas the day before was brutally cold, gray and windy, and I'm not sure how long we could have lasted had this occurred then, exposed as we were.

@DaveHofert check out Ocean Pond in Sanderson, near Lake City. It's good size (1,700 acres or so) about an hour from J-ville I believe. Nice double ramp, nice little park with a swimming beach and camping. Water is not clear however, at least any time I skied there, but rather tea colored from natural tannins. There used to be a course on it, but I believe it is gone now. Paid parking but I think you can buy a season pass. I've skied Lake Santa Fe. It's pretty big (5,800 acres). The launch ramps in Melrose are useable, but not especially good and you'd want to be wearing a Hazmat suit before entering the public rest room at the ramps. Then there is a longish narrow channel from ramps to the lake. But it's a nice lake once you get there, though it can get pretty busy on weekends. I can't quite remember much about the water clarity, other than it was not as tannin colored as Ocean Pond and is said to be clear. I think there is also a beach park that may have a swimming area, but we've only gone to the ramps. There is also a second ramp on the lake that was farther to get to, so we never used it and I can't comment on it.

Seadeck gets dirty ridiculously easy. Decadence will sear you feet in hot sunny weather. We love tried and true snap-in carpet in our environment (FL) and it looks like new after 4 years. It stays cool and soft under foot in our hottest Florida summers, hides dirt well, and cleans up with periodic vacuuming. It won't dry as quickly as Decadence or Seadeck, yet we ski daily and it is never soggy the next day, just slightly damp in places at the very worst.

@101driver No worries at all!

Thanks @Cam, @jeblanc, @101driver, and @LeonL. Very helpful. I've lost my "reaction" buttons since the server migration, so I'll just thank you directly.

@Horton I don't have any "reaction" buttons for responding to posts on a topic I started a couple of days ago.

Looks as though I'm probably going to need cataract surgery in one eye sometime in the coming year or so. I'm wondering how long I will need to wait before resuming skiing, post surgery. I suspect my eye doctor will suggest an overly conservative interval as he knows nothing about skiing. I believe there must be some on BOS who have had such eye surgery and can offer a realistic time frame, and I'd appreciate learning of your experience. Thanks!

@jjfresh If you are debating about moving to Florida, gators should be the least of your worries. It's FL drivers you need to fear! The riskiest part of water skiing is driving to the lake as there are no documented attacks on water skiers by gators in FL (nor any other state for that matter). But if you are in Florida and decide to go in the ocean to swim or surf, just be aware FL leads the nation in shark attacks, and is often referred to as the "shark attack capital of the world". So if by some miracle you survive the drive to the beach, enter the ocean with extreme caution! 😄