Cam

I just noticed that my 2 month old A1 has a few section on the base that have discoloured, this wouldn't normally bother me but the discoloured areas are rough to the touch. Has anyone else seen this? as I plan to take it back to the dealer tomorrow and would like to know if this is a problem with the ski that other people have had. Cam

My fin snapped off coming out of 3 ball and it was scary, I had no control over the ski at all. Then again if you watch edged and see the course being run on the "barracuda" then I bet someone could do it.

Thanks John, I am on a 68 Monza so I don't think the 67.5 will hurt me. HO have a policy now that they won't allow US dealers to sell to Europe and there is only one outlet in Scotland who can't get demos, but I will support the local dealer anyway.  Cam

Thanks Ali,  Can't seem to get any advice anywhere, looks like I am either going to have to loose some weight or stick with my monza until the summer and hope I meet someone with a ski I can demo.  Cam

Had my 1st set on an A1 today and I am hooked it does everything my 05 Monza does but faster and easier. I am 180lbs and ski on a 68" monza into -32 @ 34mph but my test ski was a 66.25" owned by a 36mph -38 skier and it felt good, I am just wondering if I should go for the 67.5" for my standard and speed as I can't demo any other skis than friend's skis.  Thanks Cam

Hey Clive, Southlake rocks I still haven't beat the 2 @ 13 I got there in 2006, maybe this year. This winter hit early so November and December were hard with a lot of ice and high winds but it has eased of a bit now, I don't think we have had it as bad as down south, I am working in the garden today and you are probably snowed in. Woody will be jealous of your sauna he has been trying to get one at the centre for years. Brent, all our guys have their own ways to keep warm I personally have double shells with Intuition liners which keep my feet warm. A normal set is 8 passes where I spin the1st two and then drop at both ends after that, we normally come on the boat and stick our hands in a bucket of warm water after 4 passes, it is also nice to have the break. The hot water to the handle is in it's infancy it is working but not as well as I had hoped for although I did have a full set last time out without taking a hot water break.

Colin No it is the national centre in Scotland. I work offshore and miss half of the normal season so skiing through the winter gives me a full season, also living in Scotland if I was to wait for 16C I would be as well taking up golf, didn't get to ski in shorts last year at all. Four of us have been skiing through the winter for almost 10 years now and so far have had no injuries as we stay within our comfort zones, unfortunately we can't back to back more than 2 passes as we get too much backwash to make it skiable. We used to stay in the course all of the winter but now most of us are doing a lot more free skiing and working on technique which means we are not pushing it too hard and I can't remember the last time I fell in, anyway if I wasn't enjoying it I wouldn't do it and it stops me hibernating.

Not really, it is a very shallow lake trickers hate it as the wakes are so low, I always get a shock when I ski elsewhere, just my bad technique showing. As for the temp we are well wrapped up and feel warmer than we do when we go into spring suits in May.

The water temp is around 2 degrees centigrade. Yes it is 6mm plastic pipe taking hot water from the engine.

Me free skiing yesterday 22 off 34 mph, trying to get smooth and keep the handle tight. I am open to any tips or criticism. Thanks Cam http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eRwv255BidI

And my on side

Just looked at some pictures of my onside and offside turns and the amount of ski in the water differs a lot, is this usual or should I look at changing my settings?

Sorry I took a while to reply but am still trying to evaluate it myself, only thing I can say is my new coach is making west coast believable to an old school skier.

Had a new coach in the boat yesterday and he decided my line was all wrong, so he took it all the way back to my pull out and glide, that improved within a couple of passes and I found myself approaching the buoys from a different position allowing me time to do all the things I had been working on previously which helped me to maintain speed through the turn and allow my ski to turn by itself without me pushing it.

I bought the book last year and tried the concept for a while but had forgotten about it. I wll try it again next time out, maybe try some free skiing to get it right before going into the course.

As an older skier (56) I have always accepted that young kids coming through will pass me in a couple of years if they stick at it. But I am starting to get frustrated now that I can't improve at the kids pace or even half of it, I am still improving scores wise but when I watch myself on video it still sucks. I try to get professional coaching a couple of times a year and always have a coach in the boat at home and do try working on things rather than bashing away at the same mistakes. It seems when I am taught something it goes into my head OK, but something else has to be forgotten to allow space for the new thing, which leaves me going round in circles. Anyone got any advice on this or should I just accept I am getting old. I ski @ 34mph and on a good day can get half way through 32.

I have been on a reflex style front boot for just over 4 years and as the sole of the boot was starting to wear I glued on some 1/32" insertion rubber to the sole to protect it. I have had 6 sets on the boot now and after every set I have noticed that the rubber at the front of the boot is getting fatigued and ripped away almost like a flag in a strong wind. I wouldn't have thought that water would have affected the front of the boot, but am now thinking about streamlining the front of the boot in some way to stop this problem which must be producing drag. I did notice George Mayling had his binding streamlined, but didn't realise why, but am now starting to get an idea. Any thoughts?

I spent a couple of weeks last month trying Gordon Rathbun/Seth Stisher drills to achieve the above, I worked hard at it at 22 with minimal returns , but when I tried it at 32 it just seemed to happen with no effort.

Will you ship to the UK?

I agree, I am 56 years old but everybody says I ski at girlie speed

Kind of kills off the aspirations of amatuers looking to win or set a record, I presume he will score something at 43. But it is cool he is sticking with the sport.

Could only scan it as a picture

He was interviewed in the recent British Waterski magazine and said it there, I can scan the article if you would like to see it

He will be soon and is skiing in the Senior worlds this year..............