Edbrazil

After the Men Slalom prelims, a prediction by one of them is still holding. That is, he predicted that no one would run 39 off.

Regina has regularly posted distances of 170 and more. 178 at this year's Masters, which is a site with busy water. But, quite a feat to ski well after all the delay.

Nice to see that Jacinta is back to kicking butt. In the prelims, 18 feet ahead of 2nd place.

Half way through Women Jump Series 1, a big delay of some 40 minutes; right before Regina is to ski. Anybody know why? And then, 2 women get to reride their sets, delaying Regina even more.

I used sharpie permanent markers a lot to mark ropes. Never saw any problem.

Eden is a class operation; would be a great deal for a retired couple. Especially if they had a boat driver rating or plenty of experience driving.

After more Slalom today (Women 5, 4, &3 series), it's still looking like minus one full pass conditions.

@Kelvin link works. Sure looks brrrr there, with what the dock starters are wearing.

A skier that I know, and who skied in Series 3 of Men slalom, thinks that no man will run 39, even the event winner.

I talked with one Men slalomer who skied already. In Series 3. He thinks that no one will run a full 39, even the winner in Men. Also talked to one of the appointed judges, who says that the backwash-absorbing devices do work somewhat. And brrr, it looks like the temperature will not climb above 70F.

Well, maybe 1972 Nationals. Ramp doesn't look high/steep enough for it to be 6 feet?? Note the US Team bathing suit. Kempton, Suyderhoud? Grimditch and Bob LaPoint fought it out in Boys Jump, with Wayne setting a National Record of 134' in a strong tail wind. Later tied by Chris Redmond in 1973, but not exceeded until 1975.

Could be worse. The year 2008 Malibu Open was held in Pontiac, MI, in conjunction with some powerboat races. This was at the site of a public beach. Every night, geese would occupy the beach, and leave goose poop all over it. Next morning, the beach would get "cleaned up". This was done by runnning a tractor back and forth to plow the sand around, and cover up the goose poop. Can't have been a very healthy place to hang out and swim. We called it Goose Poop Beach.

@horton How are you numbering the lakes? Lake 1 is the closest one to the airport. Lake 3 is the farthest one away. Lake 3 was the site of the Year 2000 U. S. Open. I was there; I supervised the re-set of the jump course (backed up 40 feet), and was also the Technical Controller Maybe you're thinking of the 2002 Malibu Open, organized by the Pro Tour people, and held on Lake 1. Where there were 3 World Records in jumping set. And where we turned the ramp around to face in the opposite direction. At skiers request, to take advantage of prevailing winds.l

If this is a floater course properly installed, the gate buoys should be square to the course centerline, thanks to the "diamond" on the cable. So, you could have a current pushing the PVC arm (even a 1/2 mile current), and/or PVC that just has a curve in it. I can agree that a bit of skew in the gates (bottom-anchored courses) can make the skier buoy look like it is off by FEET. A skew of 2 inches between the gate buoys makes for a perfect skier buoy look like it is about one foot off. I have examples. Not EZ to get the gate buoys in perfect alignment longitudinally. And, there is a HUGE tolerance on that dimension. See the AWSA Rules and the diagram in the back of it: Page 100.

Bell Acqua Lake 3 was the site for the Year 2000 US Open. I remember that Jamie Beauchesne won the Mens slalom. Tight site for Open-level jumping, but I recall it had adequate room for slalom. FYI: At that event, Toni Neville set a World Record in Jumping for a bonus of $25,000. Scot Ellis had his longest jump ever, missing a World Record and $50,000. bonus by about a foot.

Back in the late 1960s, I skied on the Connecticut River just above Wilder Dam. Each year, later and later: mid-late October, Thanksgiving, and finally into December. Keeping track of the water temperature, until it got into the high 30s. Finally, one year, came down to the site, and the river had iced over...oops. Since the launch ramp was about 8 miles upstream, I thought we were screwed. Fortunately, the ice broke up a couple of days later. Still at the cove with the launch ramp, I had to play icebraker with the boat. Last time we ever skied that late again.

@MNshortliner In the mid to late 1970s. I stupor-vised changing Jack Horton's SL course over from foot to metric in February, 1974. The metric course is also about 5 feet shorter overall (259m vs. 855ft).

Of course, you can always phone or Email Mike Suyderhoud, who makes the Accufloat. I have used these courses a lot, starting about 1973. Some developments since then. I have a few of my own ideas that I've used successfully.

This was my thought. Never tried it out. The idea is to make the wave break. The round cross-section would be PVC pipe, maybe 6 or 8 inches, capped off and maybe foam- filled. Need some experimenting just how far to sink it. At least 1/2 way, maybe just fully sunk. The Collegiate Nationals some 15 years ago at the ASU site had vertical walls to deal with. Would not be difficult to try on a small length of shoreline.

Let's hear from people whose site is in the zone of totality, as to how it went.

@Chef23 Wow. When I was making Ultra Handles in the early 1970s, I felt that I was pushing the limit when I charged $25. for a strung-up and tested handle. And, it couldn't be lost by falling overboard, since it floated.

$130 for a handle assembly?!

And, there is always Okeeheelee in West Palm Beach. It is a public site, although you need to get a sticker if you have a boat you want to use. No official ski school training, but there should be plenty of people to ski with if you contribute some $$ for their boat and gas. The place can get a bit quiet during Winter months, but the water can stay above 70.

@skialex Learned about cutting ends at an angle when I was doing experiments on an Instron testing machine. And, trying to get the line to break in a mid-area that was not in a double-thick area. Circa 1966. Some time later, I saw Kris LaPoint doing it, and explaining that he and his brother were only getting about a dozen sets out of a towline!! Back in the days of the 8-strand polypro line.

I fail to see why some consider this to be Off Topic. Talking about water ski sites that are near or in the zone of totality next Monday.