course beginner

[Capt-Rum]

I hope to get the chance to run a course this next weekend and looking for a little advice. I've been slalam skiing for several years, however don't consider myself an expert by any means. I've been skiing a Connely concept for 5 years and love the ski but never been on a course. Where should I start, besides the beer?

[stonelx]

I'm no expert by any means, but I found it very useful when I first started the course to

totall ignore the gates. Just go out to ball 1, and start your course from there.

Once you get a few balls, then by all means, start using the gates if you like.

[Sixball]

Be prepared to be humbled!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Capt-Rum]

OK, how about speed, length, etc.

[zad0030]

OK, how about speed, length, etc.

What do you free ski at?

Like the others said, just pull out to ball 1 and start there. You will be amazed at how fast ball 2 comes up. Once you start getting comfortable and your making some passes go ahead and throw the gates in.

[wienrdog]

Depends on your size, etc... In general, ski at 26 or 28 MPH, 60 ft. It is WAY different than free skiing, but WAY addicting too.

Here's a great site for people starting to ski the course... www.fifteenoff.com It was started by one of our own - M3Fan.

[Gibbo]

Dont be afraid to slow the boat down. I learned the course at 26MPH with a 75 foot rope. Once you get 6 balls then shorten the rope to 65 feet and slowly start to increase boat speed. I thought I was a pretty good skiier until I tried the course, now I am much better but realize how bad I really am! lol

[Woodski]

You might want to try the short course, or the narrow course as a starter. You can run that and shorten the rope to develop the rythm needed for the full course. Once proficient at the short course at a short line length, move to the full course. Ignoring gates when starting will help.

[Brodie]

You might want to try the short course, or the narrow course as a starter. You can run that and shorten the rope to develop the rythm needed for the full course. Once proficient at the short course at a short line length, move to the full course. Ignoring gates when starting will help.

Just shadow the buoys at first, don't try to ski around them, just ski up near them and make your turn short of the buoy. THis will help you establish a rhythm. Slow down as others have said, and just practice getting the timing down.

Edited August 18, 2008 by Brodie

[wedge88]

Recording the whole thing on video and posting it to this site would also help us critique and LAUGH!!! J/K It will definitely humble you but the key is not to get turned away from it. I see a lot of people that go out thinking they will hit 6 buoys then don't get around 2 ball and give up. Once you find a rythm there is no better feeling.

[bobofthenorth]

I am an even more rank amateur. The only thing I have learned so far is that they put those balls out there to tell you where to finish the turn, not where to start it.

And don't let your kid drive you - I thought I was starting to feel a little comfortable at 28 MPH, let my kid drive one morning, 1st pass wasn't bad and each subsequent one was worse than the one before. When I got back in the boat he informed me that he had been bumping the speed 1/2 MPH between each pass because he thought it would help me when I didn't know it was happening. Yeah, thanks a big bunchful - I never noticed a thing!

[jjackkrash]

Start out slower than where you free ski and then adjust downward from there. And try not to get frustrated. The balls come at you pretty quickly. If you have a good attitude going in, you should have a blast.