PBD

I couldn't get the video to work correctly. It only played in reverse.

Do you have a wing on your ski? If so try taking it off.

I know that Gail Heinrich (sp?) at Ironwood Ranch does a number of memberships that give you access to 2 lakes. The water is a bit funky but from my perspective its the best value in the area. see @rico 's post for their facebook page. I'm not sure if the other lakes offer memberships. I believe you need to own a lot for most of the other sites, but I could be wrong. If you're headed toward Barstow, Great Lakes used to have memberships that didn't require owning a lot. http://www.skithegreat.com/

You're probably 2 hours (or 120 or so miles) each way away from the courses in Bakersfield or Barstow so that cuts the drive in half.

paging @sdnah2oskier I think he skis in Mission Bay

You might try one of these although they are for wake boards they should be able to hold a ski: http://www.skylonsports.com/wakeboard-racks.html Google is your friend.

You probably don't want to do it from either the top or the eyelet. Unless you are really just hanging behind the boat, the forces generated by slalom will put more stress on the pole or the eyelet attachment than I would feel comfortable with. Also I wouldn't want to adjust to a pull coming from such a high point on the boat. It would be difficult to get in a strong pulling position with your hands at your waist when the pull is coming from a point high above your head.

+1 Allstate

Attach the plug to your boats keys when not in. Or unhook the kill switch and wrap the cord around the plug.

I know that Rossi's tip about picking up the ball in front of the boat is one of the major keys I focus on in the course. It really seems to help me find my strongest position coming around the ball.

@ms what is a cold weather swim suit. I couldn't find one on the Aqua Sphere website.

Don't be afraid of the wake. Work on finding your strong body position and hold it through both wakes. Right now you make a cut to the wake and let your body position deteriorate as you approach the wakes. If you look at the video your hips drop back and you break at the waist as you get to the wake. There are a lot of guys who have the mantra, do all the work directly behind the boat. You're doing most of your work from the turn in to the white water. Try and connect the turn to your pull through the wakes. I didn't watch the entire video but it appears you turn and then you pull, these should flow together. (a straight boat path will help this a lot)

One thing that should help is having patience in the turn. Don't rush to grab the handle, let the ski finish the turn and then load the line. I've found that if you let the ski finish you naturally have better, stronger body position. A long time ago someone made the comment, let the rope come over the bindings before you hook up.

Be warned, if you are used to skiing with a wing particularly if you have much angle in it, the ski will be much faster. I'm a 34 MPH guy and I got rid of the wing years and years ago after using one for a long time. I had to sleep on my back for about a week after I took it off, as my shoulders were so sore from the massive out the fronts I took I couldn't lay on my side. Take it easy the first set or two without the wing on.

@sunvalleylaw I can't speak for the other boats and I don't run on big water a lot, but between my SNOB and my neighbor's 205 you shouldn't have any problems with driving an open bow in rough conditions. PROVIDING you pay attention. You can swamp any open bow, just like you can swamp a closed bow if you drive like a nimrod.

I've yet to come across a knot that can't be undone with a marlin spike.

One of my keys while I'm in the course is to pick up the next ball in front of the boat. (as you're rounding one look at 2) It keeps your head up and sets your body up for a smooth hookup in a strong position. A year or so ago, I got lessons from Trent and he advised me to keep my head looking down course. I don't seem to have as much luck with this as I do with picking up the ball.

I do a bit of sailing, try and hit the gym occasionally, and kill little animals with my gun.

I bought a case of them from Wiley's a couple of years ago. Down to the last 2 pairs. You're right the workmanship on those gloves was real shoddy.

What Shane said. It is really obvious at the 2,4,6 balls, You put quite a pull on the handle just before you hook up.

I had a flock of pelicans fly in front of the boat while I was pulling a buddy. Two of the dumb things actually hit the side of the boat. My fear was one of them might tumble into the boat after hitting it. I really didn't want to mess with an angry bird with a long sharp beak. After my buddy dropped we went back to where the flock had landed and all the birds were able to fly away so they are apparently pretty tough.

I'm a lot more likely to stop using a site that doesn't support my browser than to switch browsers. It looks like the the new post feature is working with FireFox again. Someone must have put 10 grand in the tip jar.

I'm using Firefox and the "new post" indicator that had a yellow highlight doesn't seem to be working any more. It used to be you could see what threads were updated. Now they seem to be in chronological order from the time they were posted but there isn't anything to indicate if I have already read the thread.

Most days light sweatshirt underneath with vest on top. If it is warm enough not to need the sweatshirt I'll usually opt go with a wetsuit.

@horton, Do you know happened to Thompson's up in Oildale. My kids loved that place but it got sold about the time they were done with that stage of their lives. Do they still have the summer camp up there?