Dusty

@ToddL I can see the method, I guess, but let's say we ski one day a week together, say every Friday... [ Perhaps I misunderstood that 'blanket' yearly coverage is not allowed? ] We need to get USAWS involved, to bless us as a holding a 'sanctioned' practice? Each and every week? For which we get some kind of official insurance coverage? I think it's a good thing I sometimes ski with a doctor, AND have lots of insurance. What are the "official" practices called that used to occur before tournaments? Since they mostly occurred prior the actual start time of the tournament sanction listing, and would be outside the tournament sanction, even though possibly listed in the Regional Guide- USAWS has to know of and approve those too? [ Run-on sentence, my bad :-) ] Seems like a lot of oversight and meddling for the debatable benefit of some kind of last ditch, partial coverage. One lake owner of my acquaintance of mine now requires personal medical insurance for guest skiers, and documentation of the carrier's name right on the waiver form. Seems reasonable to me- making the lake's liability at most secondary, and USAWS coverage in the position it is apparently useful for...

Every ski lake I've been to has more creatures in and around the water than other ponds not being skied on. Can't even think of an exception.

Mr. Bob has said the clubs will come back after they realize the "New Deal" is better, and safer and happier; and the organization can sustain itself while losing entire groups of skiers- hmmm, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" too... (Tournament organizers around here seem a little unsure just what 'sanctioned' practices are too.) Used to be, you applied for a sanction with the tournament application, and received a packet including a "sanction" number. And when the tournament was over, and results were submitted, there was no more 'sanction'. If you aren't holding even a "fun" or grassroots tournament, how is there a "sanction" where USAWS insurance covers anything? Is this a new smoke and mirrors, blue sky campaign? Anyone seen any actual coverage payment(s) or is it just peace of mind we get, along with the warm fuzzy feeling? Oh, and Mr. Bob says my "angst" about the whole MVR deal is misplaced too- and since they run the only game in town I reckon it is... for now... I need more sleep, I think.

@liquid d- True- but the screening criteria clearly show that a suspended license in the last 3 years is a disqualification. The suspensions in my state can occur for several reasons that are NOT traffic- beside child support issues, a minor can receive a suspended license for drug or firearms (hunting law) violations; and gas drive-offs, and other some other issues can also get you suspended. But... 'resistance is futile, we will conform'. Because we will be safer...?

I always find that if adding tip isn't what I want out of the ski, then moving the binding forward or fin back will give me a more aggressive off-side turn.

Certainly can't ski as well as any of you but have watched a lot of great skiers from the boat and video, and once was a coach... In physics I know that Force = Mass x Acceleration. Mass is constant, and 'force' is line tension... Speed is acceleration x time. If you can create more tension (efficiently?) then speed should be greater for any given interval? (Downcourse speed is constant.) I might suggest from observation that the ski seems to accelerate a little when the load is released, maybe because more of the ski surface is freed up and riding higher? Or maybe because they are releasing in aerated water?

@Chef23- I suspect you are a much smoother skier than I, and for sure you ski far better. I have seen some of the heavy , deep shortline skiers use just about every setting, but they seem less prone to 'emergency measures' when using B or C- A big guy deep at the buoy seems to require throttle a bit sooner?... I weigh 195-200 and have come to prefer A3. A1 worked but the throttle stayed on too long for me, and punished (several of) my bad habits...

I can see where some might view the 'initiation' process daunting. I believe it was probably more so before speed control came along. Driving consistently well was far more difficult to achieve. But- I have noted that most every skier, and certainly the best skiers will perform better if they are comfortable with and have confidence in the driver's ability. Many can tell if the boat is not where it belongs, and if the wheel is 'nervous' or lacks smoothnes and rhythm. It is not a skill that every driver has, and it takes time to acquire. Even a momentary lapse, can destroy a great set, or even injure a skier. So 'paying the dues' so to speak still makes sense in a lot of ways. Gaining the trust of tournament skiers as a known quantity is important. The word does get around.

Like @ozski says- B2 will usually work. If you are lighter than average, try the A settings too. If you ski mean and love punishment, then C3+ is for you!!! Post video!

It's fast and loud and the crashes are epic. LIke NASCAR! I don't want to do it, but I'll watch :-) Preferably holding my favorite beverage, and seated in my chair.

@MS- I hear that. We have a minimum yearly process, plus if anything changes w/ regard to driver licensing- we are required to immediately advise the Dept. or face termination. Every two years we have to recertify to access records files concerning driver and criminal histories. Q.- From a commercial airline pilot I had heard that even the 'third party's' license query was creating little red flags and hoops for the pilots to deal with? Whatever was being done was heightening scrutiny for them. Just another unintended consequence I guess...

Re: the PP being 'pulled down' by the big people. If the driver was familiar with it, and the boat was set up correctly, I just didn't see it much if at all. The measured all-buoy times were normally within 0.01 seconds of actual- that doesn't seem much give or take either way. If anything, a big skier who chose an aggressive Kx/Px setting would get hot times until the driver 'caught up' with them.

@MS- same here on the coaching rating- That 'check' is definitely not $12.50 and the files that need to be checked are NCIC. They are chock full of ambiguities, mis-identification, false positives and issues due identity theft. My Department ensures its employees pass far more rigorous checks. I could provide any number of certified, affidavited documents showing a clear record, AND retaining my privacy. Does that matter to USAWS? Nope. Resistance is futile... I am also intrigued by the draconian attitude that if someone gets late on child support payments due a court or clerical error, and a driver's license is suspended, there goes the driver rating for three years? Even if it was due a clerical error? That's a gift that just keeps on giving isn't it? It is not even a driving offense, but SURPRISE! They gotcha! (If you think that stuff never happens you have never witnessed 'family' court in action.)

Sounds good. Can I buy it elsewhere or only through OS?

I am not sure just what backwater that fatality occurred at but with a fatality, in most jurisdictions, the police get involved, and are mandated to investigate the death. There would have been a mandatory BAC (blood alcohol content) test of the driver (and probably during autopsy of the skier) in most every state. Having a past DUI should have been a non sequitor and irrelevant if the due diligence by the chief driver, the local investigator(s), the medical examiner, and the defense team lawyers had been up to par. I am on record as opposed to the MVR checks for various reasons. One for sure is that an open container violation is not necessarily a driving offense. The states vary in codifying it as illegal and how and where it's enforced. AWSA has had a very commendable safety record. USAWS has thrown AWSA drivers in with drivers from every discipline, and somehow sold the benefits of "sanctioned practice" (whatever that is...)insurance and requirements into the mix, WITHOUT insuring the structure is in place and available to EVERY club needing to meet the new 'trained driver' requirements to remain insured. Worse yet, as I recall, somehow there was little (or no) warning to the membership to be affected, by any USAWS official. Perhaps it was anticipated there would be some "angst" about it and it should be a done deal when the matter was shared with the membership? Sure saved defending the measure ahead of its implementation didn't it? Now let me present an alternate to the path that was taken- How about USAWS agreeing to stop providing insurance to the discipline(s) with documented safety issues? But of course, as long as the lion's share of the active membership is 3-event, paying the bills, they couldn't very well do that. So 3-event got pulled down along with the others. I really don't care if the 'failed' percentage is less than 2%. What still annoys me is USAWS still telling me that the lipstick they put on this pig is only for the benefit of the membership, and makes us all so much safer. The "resistance is futile" philosophy doesn't cut it for me. And FYI- It ain't about the $12.50. The ONLY reason I will comply with it is that the group I ski with will need me to remain a rated (senior) driver, to use the lake we ski on. I think the membership deserves better from its officials than the cavalier contempt it demonstrated when this all started. It also deserves an apology and maybe perhaps USAWS could quit telling me what a great deal they arranged for me. I get quite enough of that from other politicians.

I can agree the boats probably did not have the necessary torque compared to these days, but most of the good hand drivers of my acquaintance were not really driving off the speedos, except to set up the boats maybe. They did respond too slowly- We used the tachs- and did add throttle to maintain constant rpms under load- sort of an early version of PP Classic ?...

Have used both Aquaseal, and a rubber contact type cement (Pliobond maybe?)- some products have a "hot" solvent in them that attacks the (latex?), more or less making even more holes in the seals...

Ah- I had some Genetics once- but the sole came off the left one and the zipper broke on the right one... :-) Congrats John!

What works for me will not work for everyone, but while cardio has its rewards- weight loss hasn't been one of them- (3.5 hours of treadmill = maybe a pound?) Circuit work w/ low to med. weight and high reps with the large muscle groups like legs, chest, back, and shoulders has worked. Crossfit and kettlebell routines burn a bunch of calories and adds muscle which burns more. Doesn't add bulk- which makes me heavier. Makes me hungry but if I eat the same or a little less, the weight falls away.

Of all the lakes here in NW, the grass carp are working best at weed control. Dye helps on top of them. At least around here, mosquitos are unable to live/breed in water over 18" deep. If there are viable fish species in that 18+ inches, you get an even better 'suppression' of the bugs. Could be other problems like snakes, alligators, turtles and muskrats though...

@Goodeskier- Only skied behind one SG w/ ZBox- didn't feel exactly the same as ZO but was doable. Ddidn't mean to imply "fighting the boat" was the way to go- but I have found that the best route to any success with ZO for me was to recognize that I needed to 'fool' ZO into giving me throttle where I wanted it- in the 'work zone' behind the boat- and avoid the throttle-up where I didn't. A coach called it "skiing smart"- but those two words together don't really describe my skiing at all :-)

@BobC17 says- "1. This document has not created any new requirements"... My supicious nature leads me to think "not yet"...- and to doubt agendas from outside groups like USOC being generally very beneficial to the membership at large. Are there benefits to USAWS I am unaware of beyond those increased prize monies? What does appear to happen frequently is USOC says jump and NGB's get to bouncing around right away, maybe wasting time and energy better saved for other matters.

For @andjules- W/ PP Classic 100 rpms is pretty close to 1 mph. Adjust from there. For @ozski- my ski buddies use Kx "-" and Px "20-40" for a 'simulation' of ZO on classic PP, (with a working switch of course.) (You want a lot of throttle at the wrong time to cure bad habits and learn to ski ZO efficiently...) If the boat engine is making noise like a jump pass you are just about there... :-)

+1 What @Bruce_Butterfield said...

I recall one of my coaches asserting that you can only tune a ski optimally for 3 or so passes. Andy is probably the original author of that premise...