auskier

skiers stopping skiers skiing.. WTF http://i.imgur.com/3xPms.gif

as someone who skis 36 and weighs around 150lb water condition is much more important than wind. I can deal with the timing issues etc, but when it feels like my ski is sitting 1" deep because of chop, its not worth wasting the gas.

few interesting things to note from moomba this year. not one skier formally protested their gates being pulled. most of the skiers knew they missed them and I know for a fact the correct call was made each and every time. when showing a certain skier their missed gate following the event, he commented 'when I run 41 in practice I always get my gates, ive never run it missing them'.. these skiers aren't the ones complaining about the rules of gates. But, keep flogging the horse if you wish..

the awesome crash aside, this shows you how the city end run in can be tricky

There are several reasons why gates are an issue at moomba. In previous years, most gates have been missed from the city end - with the short run in. However, this year the majority were missed from the bridge end. It was obvious that a lot of skiers took their gates from the bridge end with caution and was common for them to appear narrow and drift in before they went for it. If you are hesitant, the rollers, current and unusual run in will chew you up. All the balls are on single string lines around 4 foot long down to the crosswire. Adding bungee and thickness to the buoy line has been found to increase debris catching on the lines, and drag more in the current. With very little elasticity, the buoys tend to move sideways, more than up and down. The guys who manage the course have been doing it for decades. They know what works, and what doesnt better than anyone! They have seen it all. Getting an RC slalom and jump course on the Yarra is darn HARD. There are several skiers who pushed the limits on gates EVERY pass. All it takes is the smallest roller, the boat being a few inches off the centre and the buoy will move from where you expect it to be. If you want to ski at moomba and flirt with the right hand gate ball, be prepared to have them pulled.

@webbdawg99 exactly why farmers walks are a great skiing exercise. combines core strength to keep your posture up and core tight, shoulders and upper traps get fried - just like skiing and grip strength. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmhVI9k6Swo

3 specific exercises.. pullups (kipping, butterfly, strict - whatever), burpees and farmers walks. Or better still, do crossfit 3 times a week..

designed, no. aus owned and built under license in Albury, yes. They pretty much make more ski/wake boats than every other aus manufacturer combined. The 'aussie' builders simply cant compete with the big 3. as a consequence, their product is a decade or more behind MC, CC, malibu and centurion. Off topic, but I spent last weekend on a brand new 23 wakesetter LSV. amazing machine. huge amount of ballast, wedge and surf gate. they really have come a long way in the last few years.

you coming back @Jody_Seal?

LARS surgery is another option to bring up with your surgeon. like all options, it has its down sides but it may be your best chance to have some amount of ski season.

3 days straight here with temps over 105. water sitting around 90. summer is cooking us this year after a few years of very mild temperatures.

another option is the DVD by joel wing. its an instructional video for nearly every trick in the book.

digging up an old thread.. has anyone else had more experience with the wakeye? I am considering using one for boat footage for upcoming RC tournaments. Anyone know of one being used for multiple rounds in a day? any issues with it staying tight for an extended period? pros? cons? thanks

highly doubt that its his ski.

so they seriously used the 6.2lt as a slalom boat? only Will would pull crap like that and say that he intentionally missed his gates. he always pushes the limit, every pass. skiing gates like he does, he will get them pulled from time to time. so is that 3 times this season? moomba, worlds, and I think there was somewhere else?

@ShaneH what about skiers making an unsuccessful S turn and popping the handle back into the boat and trying to take the hit? There are times where it does happen, especially at the elite level. Would it be safer for the skier and boat crew if the boat was disengaged? probably I say. would it be fair? No. With the current tight line rule before the next set of boat guides, skiers are now taking more hits in the course. Ive driven a fair amount in recent months for 38-41 off level skiers, and would often find myself disengaging out the gates and in course to pick the skier back up once they shoot out past the boat. no one is going to take a hit or push for a full point in practice so its safer and easier to back off. In a tournament, leave it engaged I say. Its a risky area best left alone..

so if it is a matter of safety when the driver backs off going out the gates, why not do it in the course as well? As you say @Bruce_Butterfield, the driver should know where the skier is. therefore, if the skier is late, pulls all the way and just gets around the next ball (say 2 ball), with the safety argument, the driver should be backing off just the same in course. But you never see that, and I dont think anyone wants to see that happen in a tournament. The skier is still going to try and get the full point, regardless if its 2 or 6, so why should the boat do anything different at each ball? The only time I have seen a boat back off mid course prior to the skier falling was when the skier hit the boat (pre current half/full point tight line rule change). The cases of the driver backing off out the gates ive heard of have been drivers giving 'favourable treatment' to the skiers of their choosing and could easily be seen as unsportsman like.

@AB I tried the go-pro idea with head and chest mounts. Chest mount was too low to see down course. On the head mount in a 197, exactly where you wanted to see was the top of the wind shield. Mounting it on the drivers left shoulder would be ideal to get a drivers eye perspective. You would see down course, the wheel and the mirror to see where the skier is at.

@shaneH yes, im well aware of the rules and how it should be measured. I am a TC and sr 3 event judge. My question was more around how or what does the software measure to give the result? So I take it it somehow picks up the sensors on the pylon and windscreen? No doubt this is a massive improvement over the corson EC monitoring program. I look forward to using it. @Ham Wallace a hard pull with a straight pylon vs a soft pull I think comes down to when the wheel is being moved and by how much. I think too many drivers are not willing enough to make aggressive moves with the wheel at the right time, therefore having to make longer moves moving the boat for a longer period of time. When the skier releases from the boat they have released from the pylon with it on a specific path as it moves down the lake. Movements too late will alter the swing the skier has been put on out to and at the ball. Think of a pendulum, if you move the axis point when the object is in the height of the swing, you will significantly affect the momentum of it. In this case, giving line or taking it away from the skier. I try and drive by doing most of the wheel work when the skier is just hooking up and coming off the ball and ideally no movement AT ALL when the skier is off the second wake. Thats my take. Feel free to tell me if you think im wrong!

There was an amazing amount of footage taken over the summer by several people with many gopros at Coble's. This is just a sample of what was shot. Toby G a.k.a. 'Spielberg' is the guy behind it all who spent a lot of time floating on paddle boards and went everywhere with a gopro in hand. Hopefully there is more to come.

Great stuff Donal, no doubt it will be well received like all of your products. Question for you.. what does the software actually measure to determine the deviation? I believe there is a difference between keeping a straight boat and keeping a straight pole. Between the skier load and a rudder acting on the rear of the boat to change direction, keeping a straight boat wont automatically correlate to a good pull. For lack of a better term I believe 'boat attitude' is very important to help give a good pull. Does, or can the software take into account yaw of the boat, but not necessarily a lateral pole movement? could this yaw or twisting of the boat somewhat skew the result of the path deviation? thanks.

Crossfit! If you are sensible about it and know your limits the chances of you getting hurt are no greater than any other fitness regime. Why people always bag out crossfit and getting injured is because some people do take it serious. Its a sport, as skiing is for us. You are going to push yourself to get that last lift out or last rep, the same way we will try and take a massive hit now and then out the gates of your hardest pass. Both not the smartest things to do and you have a chance of hurting yourself.

serious question.. can a 200 with a 5.7 get to 36 before the gates? its certainly not a gate set-up you practice too often!

after just watching the video of regina on the homepage of her 3 at 41, I couldnt help but think if nate was on a goode, the video would have been up on the interwebs in a flash! it HAS to exist, someone post it!

If you have done a severe retinaculum tear there is every chance it will happen again. If I was you I would be getting an ultrasound/MRI done to look at the extent of the damage. I'm a podiatrist.