OldGuysRule

To complete thager's quip.....Life is a %(#* sandwich! The more bread you have, the less %(#* you have to eat!

Brewski Lake, Indianapolis, In.

The Indianapolis Boat and Sport Show just concluded. This is a "premier" show in the mid-west. No ski boats but one a local sports equipment company (Sun Valley Sports) did have a collection of water skis and soft goods. The local Nautique dealer had a new Paragon Wake/Surf boat on display for a whopping $318,398!!! (Offered a $46,883 discount!!!) I think I've lived too long!

 

If it's warm enough to mow the lawn where ever you live, you should be skiing! 6-8 passes.

Attended the Louisville, Ky boat show yesterday. Absolutely huge production but it lacked any ski boats. It was all BIG boats probably more suitable for the Ohio River and/or Dale Hollow, Norris, or Kentucky/Bartley Lakes.

No Ski Boats at the Cincinnati Boat Show today. A rack of water skis was the only salute to water skiers. How 'bout a ride down the river behind this monster?! I can remember assembling a pontoon boat out of 55 gallon oil drums and some plywood. Times have changed1

 

I was fortunate enough to join Kevin Day and the group for a Polar Bear Water Ski on New Year's Day in St. Louis under the Arch on the Mississippi. Air was a sunny 58 degrees and the water....it was muddy! A large crowd watched 6 or 7 skiers brave the fast flowing river. The event

raised approximately $2,000 for the Missouri Disabled Water Ski Association.

Luke and Neil enjoying their last session of

autumn of 2019.

Water 42 Air an unbelievable 62 today in central Indiana provided for a Christmas water ski session. Happy Holidays to all.

 

Brewski Lake in Indianapolis. Still liquid on 12/17/2019

 

My ski buddy Dan and I went down to Perfect North Snow Ski near Cincinnati for opening day on Friday, November 15th. Decided to water ski a lap around the lake on Saturday.

Water 50 degrees, Air 41 degress. (central Indiana)

 

I don't know the water temperature but the forecast for central Indiana on Monday night is 13 degrees and Tuesday night is 11 degrees. A far cry from today's sunny and 62 degree afternoon. Took advantage of the warm afternoon to remove/clean the buoys and take docks out and Ski Klub of Indy.

 

My ski buddy near Haines City, Florida bought a new bunch of Wallyball buoys. We're seeing small pin holes in units that were installed in January and as recent a couple of months ago. We're amazed at the issues we're having. Small multiple pin holes at the water line. We've used this product for years with much longer life spans and now we're getting only months out of the units. We also noticed that the new batches have wallyball.com imprinted on the buoys. Did something change with the manufacture of the buoys? Anyone else having similar issues?

I'm looking forward to going to Florida in a couple of weeks to ski with friends and end up skiing at a tournament at Ski Fluid in Polk City. I'd like to throw out some unigue phrases and impress my boat drivers with something more original than "hit it!" Any suggestions?

I still have it....got your e-mail.....send me your phone number.

As I pulled my ski buddy up this evening he immediately started carving on his usual 28' off line length at 34 mph. I heard what I thought was the tension strap on the bimini "clicking" from the wind. It was actually the strands of the yellow ski rope loop around the pylon breaking strand by strand until it finally completely broke. The sound resonated through the pylon! Luckily, Bryan was directly behind the boat resulting in a not so serious fall. Frequent use of the same line length loop increased the failure of an old rope. We both vowed to buy new ropes tomorrow. Replace those old ropes!

 

Keep skiing bananaron! Heat wave predicted for us here in Indiana tomorrow. Temps in the low 90's! You can bet we'll be skiing!

We've been having occasional zero off issues with our club boat. (2009 Nautique 196 with 300 hours) Several times this summer the boat accelerates drastically after coming around the east island then slows down below set speed. It always happens at the east end of our lake which has tall trees and it also seems to happen after extended use later in the day. we do have high tension wires over the West (opposite) end of the lake. The solution has been to shut everything completely down and then re-boot. The most recent issue was this past Sunday. On Tuesday, I brought my personal boat to use for the afternoon and evening and the same issue appeared. (2015 Mastercraft - 2 puck system) Same location, same time frame of the day, same symptons. I did the same shut-down routine and everything was fine for the rest of the evening. I'm thinking there has to be some kind of interference with the signals/pucks? Brewski Lake - Indianapolis, Indiana. Anyone have similar issues?

Monday Night Ski League! Not much beer but plenty of fun!

I've participated and sponsored MNSL for years around central Indiana. This summer, Neal Clark, Megan Lambert, and myself have 6 MNSL events scheduled. Every event has been a "full house." I get surprised every event at the hunger to ski the course exhibited by novice skiers. Several of the skiers come to ski their first time on the course. My frustration is the lack of a "feeder club" for novice skiers. In the past, I had two clubs that catered to novice skiers and some of those novice skiers eventually graduated and became members of more "advanced" clubs and eventually became tournament skiers. I lost a feeder club this summer when White River dam collapsed in Indianapolis. There's plenty of interest out there but we need more sites. We need to impress existing clubs to offer a night a month for beginners and novice skiers. Neal and Megan are pictured preparing to pull the next skier at last week's MNSL.

Most fun tournament I ever attended at Boonedocks Lake in Indiana. Host club offered a regular "C" tournament in the afternoon then put out a buffet spread. Night session began at dark. The lighting was perhaps not the best but no-one cared! Nate Smith attended and skied his usual....I think he could do it blindfolded! I did a ski run down the course with roman candles pitting out in my wake. Many of the skiers got re-rides....the kids kept skiing multiple times. Pictured is lake owner Scott Morton preparing to ski behind Neal Clark's promo Mastercraft.

The event didn't end until 1:00 AM!!!! What fun!!!

I was serving as a safety at a recent Nationals when I got involved in a "discussion" with a drone operator. The operator was flying the drone out in front of the jump so the drone was in the field of vision of the jumpers. The jumpers were virtually jumping into the drone! The drone was landed and the jumping event started back up.

BREWSKI!

I thought I lived in Indiana not Oregon! Daily temperature has been tolerable but it rains EVERY DAY! Several local ski lakes are unskiable due to high water. Those that are skiable have 3 minute waits at each end for the waves to dissipate. Supposed to have a tournament at Champion Lakes tomorrow. (Nate Smith's home site) It's raining this evening as I write this and predicted to rain tomorrow. Mother Nature Rules!

Reminds me of my "Bucket List" accomplishment in 2012. Water skied in the morning and snow skied in the afternoon in Southern Indiana on my birthday. I still brag occasionally!

May have to wait for more opportune date in March. Weather forecast for Indiana is snow today followed by single digit temps for a few days. I did get a ski ride in on "fat boy" on Wednesday, February 27th. Had to dodge a few sheets of thin ice drifting around the lake!