NewStarts

And yet it is all true. It happens when you are dependent on one driver, my aunt (as I mentioned, they are trying to show my cousin how to do it, but she will only do it when my aunt is in the boat right now), and paying for someone else to teach you feels like a real splurge due to your straightened circumstances. And I would have gotten up if I hadn’t had that stupid panic attack. I’m really pissed at myself. I’ve decided I will spend 100 bucks and just get a lesson at that place in Virginia. A few days later, I asked my cousin, and she said that I actually had gotten up on a plane when I let go. All I had to do was stand. So frustrating.

Wow, that is some different advice! Innoway, I ended up sort of adapting what you were talking about, because the handle that they have is too narrow for my arms to go around my knees, so I sort of put them on top of my kneecaps. And, like I said, I actually would have gotten off if I hadn’t had that moment of panic. They told me afterward that I actually had gotten up on a plane when I let go. That’s why it was so frustrating that I didn’t end up getting another chance after that day. I have made up my mind that I’m going to pay for that place in Virginia. I simply don’t want to wait another year. I know they will get me up on the broom first most likely, and that sounds pretty fool proof. I was thinking that I have a friend whose girlfriend is handicapped, but who loves doing “adventure” type activities. At one point before my most recent trip I had mentioned to him that she might find adaptive water skiing. Interesting. He agreed that that might be up her alley. I intend to find out if that place in Virginia offers that, because if they do, I will simply go down there with them, and both she and I could get up on skis!

Oh wow, they are on Lake Anna! And $100 *is* pretty reasonable. I’d have to shuffle a few things to spend even that, but I’m strongly tempted. I really would rather not stop when I’m so close. I’d have to figure out how to get out there, since my old car finally died this year and I can’t replace it right now. But maybe I can interest a friend in a day trip? 😁 I’m certainly interested. Thanks again for your good counsel!

Hahahahaha!!!! 🦈

Home for me happens to be Washington, D.C. How about you?

Unfortunately, my aunt wasn’t feeling well today, so I didn’t get a chance to try again. I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon, but the weather tomorrow is supposed to be terrible — thunderstorms all day with a flood watch. I guess that’s it until next year. I came so close…. The idea that after all that effort and all that waiting, if I hadn’t had an unaccountable moment of panic, I would have gotten up on a plane — really sticks in my craw. Two summers down and I still haven’t accomplished something that should be simple. Thank you all for your kind assistance. I promise you that I will be trying again, no matter how long it takes me or how long I have to wait, and when I finally pull this off, I will be sure to let you all know. Thanks so much for the support!

That’s an excellent idea! Any particular stretches you recommend?

Thank you! I said I was determined to get it. I think I’ve finally got it - I just cannot believe I panicked and didn’t finish getting up. Now that I have a better idea of the sensations I’ll do some mental preparation before I try it tomorrow so that doesn’t happen again. Also, I now realize that trying to aid my coordination by closing my eyes was a dumb thing to do. When you are moving on water, you need to keep your eyes open for safety. I tried closing my eyes because when I had trouble finding the form for certain exercises in the past, it helped. It didn’t occur to me that that’s a terrible idea when you can hit something. In any event, I think closing my eyes, although helping with my coordination, actually ended up disorienting me, which is part of why I ended up panicking. So that’s an easy one to fix. I don’t think I really need to do that now that I felt what it should feel like anyway.

Today I tried again. The first time, I tipped over just when the power was applied. The skis are really buoyant, and it is hard to hold them in proper orientation for any length of time without tipping over. I mentioned BraceMaker’s idea of trying weights, by the way, but they didn’t seem too keen on that idea, so I didn’t pursue it. I don’t think they want to modify their skis. The thing is, I’m not sure how that ever gets easier for people who know how to do this? It seems like it would always be kind of a struggle to keep them stable and oriented? The second time, I instinctively started pressing when the power came on, which, of course, was I knew was the wrong thing to do, but it was incredibly hard not to respond that way in the moment. So that attempt failed. The third one absolutely kills me. I actually almost had it. I was simply in my tight ball (which still took some strength to hold tightly) and the boat was pulling me up. I had my eyes closed and was concentrating on the sensations trying to coordinate everything. I was rising in a completely different way, and it was actually going to happen…I was going to be on a plane… And then the sensations of power, speed, lack of control, and instability became completely overwhelming. I *panicked.* I let the rope go. Something I've wanted to do for a year ... And I panicked when it was about to actually happen. Imagine a middle aged guy panicking while getting up on water skis. Just ... wow. 😞 I have no words. I tried a fourth time, but this time there was a miscommunication in the boat (my aunt actually let my cousin try to pull me up, and my cousin doesn’t have a lot of experience yet) and they started pulling me, but never really accelerated, so I was just being dragged through the water. Then my hamstring cramped solid, and would not uncramp. It would begin to loosen, only to recramp. That was it. I had to come back to shore and take magnesium for the cramp. I can't believe I actually *had* it, was almost on a plane (if I hadn’t actually gotten there) and *panicked*, after all that. I’m pretty annoyed with myself right now. I’m not sure if my cramped leg will let me try again today (I’m guessing not), but if the weather is ok tomorrow (the forecast is iffy) I intend to try again. I hope it works out; tomorrow is my last day. I definitely can’t let *that* be it, and have to think about that for the next year. At least I think I know what to do now, anyway.

I got my brother in law to help me practice on shore. No one else had wanted to do so, because who wants to pull up a 200 pound guy, lol? It took a long time but I think we figured it out. By myself, I don’t think I ever would have figured this motion out. All this time I had been thinking of this as a pivoting motion. It seems to actually be a rocking motion achieved by transferring your weight forward on your feet. A completely different and unanticipated sort of motion and feeling. No pressure necessary other than that exerted through the act of standing. I recognize that one one does this after one is already on a plane; but I figured it l would still help. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard it described that way, but that’s the best description I can come up with (if I was right about it). Unfortunately, my aunt didn’t end up taking the boat out this afternoon, so I didn’t get a chance to try it. I hope the weather holds out; the forecast looks iffy for this part of Maine for the rest of my trip. I’ll be really put out if I can’t get up before I leave on Sunday. I’ve been waiting all year for this. So I’m hoping for good weather tomorrow!

Thank you so much for your incredibly patient and informative replies! I’m definitely going to make a conscious attempt to do this. I will suppress any impulses to do anything at all and see if I can get on a plane this time. The weights definitely look like they would be helpful. That said, I’m reluctant to ask them to modify their skis just for me, so I will see if I can get up without them just by doing nothing, as described, and if I’m still having trouble getting up, I will bring it up. last year the boat actually wasn’t pulling me up, but we figured out that my ankles were flexed the wrong way, a problem I have fixed, so hopefully that will cure that specific issue and I will just ride up.

Thanks! Yeah, I had thought I had followed all the advice I had gotten, but I didn’t realize that in the moment, when everything happens so fast, I actually wasn’t following the advice until folks on here started asking me questions about various aspects, and I started to go back in my mind and run back through what happened. I haven’t been monitoring moderation policies of the site very closely, I admit. Did they decide to make this a more course specific site? If a mod wishes to correct me, I will absolutely obey their directives.

Interesting! Is this a problem with skis in general? Or these in particular

Actually, no, I’ve received several responses that I admitted varied from what I was doing. I’m getting some good advice on here. And I didn’t realize this was a course-specific site. I thought it was just a general water skiing site. There aren’t very many places on the net where you can ask questions like this. I tried on the Reddit site, but I don’t really post much, so I guess I didn’t have enough “karma” to do that, and my posts wouldn’t go up. This was the only place I‘ve found to actually ask these questions and get some answers. But if I’m violating the rules, I apologize. A pretty big example of advice I’ve gotten contrary to what I was doing was not to push with my legs. I actually didn’t realize I was doing that until someone mentioned it, and that caused me to reflect on what I was doing with my legs.

I’ll ask about that. It is definitely a struggle to keep them upright in the start position. I’m not sure how you would attach weight to them? Also, I have to fight with them in the start position not only to make sure they don’t fall over, but to keep them from overlapping. That’s funny about the hovercraft!