Thomas Wayne

"If the "ideal" is a static pull, then eliminate the boat, install arail system (hydraulic I would guess) along the bottom of the lakestraight down the course with a bar sticking out of the water to attachthe rope. " Something very much like this was conceptualized - complete with images - at least a decade ago in Waterski magazine when there was a big push to introduce Waterskiing into the Olympics. The ideas was to eliminate the human variable at the non-business end of the rope. I remember a tiny hull-like pod riding on the surface with a robot-looking "driver", and submerged rails underneath. TW

LOL! That is exactly representative of how my mind works during a pass. Thank you for expressing my inner thoughts. You complete me. TW

I'm not an engineer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I think the primary problem with ANY computer-controlled steering is that a good driver actually anticipates his skier, and also uses all kinds of other subtle input to adjust for what's going on behind the boat. It would take a very sophisticated system to emulate that, and I can't even begin to wrap my head around what the algorithm(s) would look like. That said, I was told by a fairly reliable source that the full-screen display on some of the new boats is beta testing for the GUI that will someday accompany just such a system. My concern, should this ever come about, is that most skiers won't actually like a dead-straight boat path - just as many don't like a truly balls-on boat speed (ZO) - but they won't know that until the AWSA makes it mandatory... TW

Highly cool. TW

Some unexpected chafing occurred. TW

Thanks for that - though I'd be okay with you coming up as well (or instead). Hopefully next year, if everything goes as planned... TW

What I need from Santa Eddie is a fistful of Sequence Plates... and they're not even for me. TW

By any chance did he leave early and hide alongside the road, waiting for a chance to test his radar on your cars? You know, so the day wouldn't be a total loss... TW

One thing you'll want to be sure to do with that mount is kiss your camera goodbye before you say "Hit it"... IMO. Although I might consider trusting my camera to a suction cup if I wet the cup first - you know, with superglue. TW

Your theory is not the craziest I've ever heard... but it's right up there with JFK convalescing in the White house basement and 7-11 Elvis sightings. At my wife's request I spray about two gallons of a malathion mix around our property (we have 3 1/2 acres) twice a summer to eliminate virtually all flying pests (such as mosquitoes). As far as I know, I'm the only one to do that among my friends, and they haven't mentioned any particular "bug fest" problem at their lakes either. Maybe all these northern bugs live mostly in your mind... Now I have heard that when you get into the deep interior of Alaska you may run into an insect issue that is the stuff of legends - "mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds" and so on - but where we are it's absolutely not an issue. We do have a significant small bird population at the lake that may have something to do with controlling insect population levels. In the big picture, however, I've been bothered far more by insects in Florida than I ever have in Alaska, and personally haven't felt the need to use "Off"-type bug spray at our place ever. TW

Remember Kyle, all you have to do is schedule a few days off (and get yourself up to Anchorage) for all the AK skiing you can handle. I think you have my cell number, and I know you have my email... TW

"Radar waves like metal, so if you have trouble, you might try to have some tin foil with you as a target." Great idea! I am aware of at least one popular way to do that, as depicted below: http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Foil-Hat--66733.jpg TW

"That's a beautiful sight. How many people ski there regularly? I'venever actually been to Alaska(had no clue 80 deg. was possible)and I ama bit surprised that there's interest in water skiing there." Atmy lake I have 4 skiers that are very regular and all ski into mid-35or shorter - they have gate keys. Then we have a peripheral group thatvisit occasionally running from -15' through -28' - probably ten or adozen of those. We also occasionally get skiers visiting from the realworld (lower 48). That's at my private site. Within a few milesof my place there are several more public lakes with active slalomcourses; the closest is about five minutes away (owner is an HO andRadar dealer) and the farthest is perhaps 1/2 hour or so furthernorth. There are also a number of nearby lakes that have [currently]sunken courses just waiting for someone to tie on buoys. Drive up toFairbanks (350 miles away) and there's an entirely different contingentof course skiers on Harding Lake who also take the game seriously. TheMatanuska-Susitna Borough (and points farther north) have many, manydozens of lakes, and waterfront property is extremely popular. With atotal population of less than 650,000 people (statewide) and dealers(over the years) for Correct Craft, Mastercraft, Brendella, Centurian, Tige andother tournament brands, I would be willing to bet we may have thehighest per capita number of tournament inboards of any state in the U.S. Who knew? TW

"I meant to ask on my previous post, how is your water clarity?" Crystal clear and drinkable (if you don't stir up the muck in the shallows). Two filters - one for coarse and one for bacteria level - would guarantee total purity, though in our current cabin we have a separate fresh water supply. The next cabin (larger) will use such filtration to utilize lake water for all purposes. We often have glorious summers, with many days above 70 and some above 80. What's surprising is that 70 degrees in Alaska feels like 90 in Seattle (or wherever). We're not talking about the locals simply being acclimatized - visitors in the springtime are amazed when they're sweating their asses off in 60-degree sunlight. I don't know if I'd describe this phenomenon as "solar gain", but it's because the sun comes through at a much more direct angle (less atmospheric shielding) and becasue the summer days are very long (20+ hours). For all skiing-related visits I tend to recommend mid-June through July for the best chance at glorious weather, although last year we skied to mid-September... TW

No snakes or gators in Alaska, but in the top photo you can see the damn duck rollers we have to contend with on a regular basis. We're about 30 minutes from Anchorage by car... a day and a half by dogsled. TW

Cold. Usually we get up in the 70's throughout most of the summer, but this year the rain (and lack of sunshine) has kept the water in the mid-60's. That day it was 63* TW

Some photos of my site (Kings Lake, Alaska) on the morning of Sunday, August 15, 2010 - 8:30 am. We've had the worst summer for weather that I can remember (in almost 30 years), but this was a great day http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Northcourse-1.jpg North course. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Westcourse.jpg West course. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Bothcourses-artsy-fartsy.jpg Artsy-fartsy shot of both courses. TW (61°37'14.22"N - 149°20'40.02"W)Â

I'd be curious to see how the lens might be affected by a treatment with Rain-X. TW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt0NEESrUA&feature=related

My personal favorite: http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/JohnnyHortonlovesAlaska.jpg TW

Not to digress, but when I first met Horton he was about 5 y/o, and went by "Little Johnny Horton", though I know he doesn't remember. TW (PS: Okay, the "Little" part was probably just something we said, but he did answer to "Johnny"...)

"...too busy to type out an essay." Well thank God for that. TW (PS: Oh c'mon now, you know that was funny.)

Contactl Darren at Wiley's: http://www.wileyski.com/ They supply the aluminum plates to FM, and manufacture all kinds of parts for a zillion different bindings. Almost certainly they'll have something that will work for you. TW

Second the vote for the 69" Senate-C. I'm only 210 - 215 lbs ("only" - lol), but when I tried the C I found it to be unbelievably nimble. It's as big as a jumper and pops up a deep-water-start like a canoe, but that ski can turn! The newest improvements for 2011 can only make it better, IMO. TW

"No idea why Scoke sent this:"Â http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4-6ay9R-bLE/TGLv44K86zI/AAAAAAAADYE/dnuP_w2IrLg/s400/scoke%203.JPG He's giving you your props. TW