Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Water Skiing Advice


nemalibu

Recommended Posts

I am an open water slalom skier (no access to a course and extremely poor eyesight). I believe that I am a decent skier but I continue to try improve. So far I have sought advice from better skiers when I can and have watched the Andy Mapple video quite a few times.

At this point: I ski 32 off at either 32 or 34 MPH, I am 5' 7" and 165 lbs, a couple of years ago I switched from a 66 cm Kidder Redline to a 67 cm Connelly F1X. I like the ski but it took some getting used to (very responsive and very stiff compared with my Redline).

In watching the best skiers I can find it seems to me that they can execute their turns in such a way that the rope stays completely taught at all times. In my case I often generate some small amount of slack in the rope near the end of the turn. Interestingly, this does not seem to occur when I am out on a breezy day and skiing into the wind.

Any advice on what I should do to improve would be appreciated.

Link to comment
I am an open water slalom skier (no access to a course and extremely poor eyesight). I believe that I am a decent skier but I continue to try improve. So far I have sought advice from better skiers when I can and have watched the Andy Mapple video quite a few times.

At this point: I ski 32 off at either 32 or 34 MPH, I am 5' 7" and 165 lbs, a couple of years ago I switched from a 66 cm Kidder Redline to a 67 cm Connelly F1X. I like the ski but it took some getting used to (very responsive and very stiff compared with my Redline).

In watching the best skiers I can find it seems to me that they can execute their turns in such a way that the rope stays completely taught at all times. In my case I often generate some small amount of slack in the rope near the end of the turn. Interestingly, this does not seem to occur when I am out on a breezy day and skiing into the wind.

Any advice on what I should do to improve would be appreciated.

You are probably having timing issues more than anything else. When you watch the skiers who you think are good watch when they intitiate their edge change, right behind the boat or up to the second wake ( for 32 off). The second thing they do to control the slack is to keep their elbows and hands as close to their bodies as possible while they continue to ski outbound.

Good luck!

Link to comment
In watching the best skiers I can find it seems to me that they can execute their turns in such a way that the rope stays completely taught at all times. In my case I often generate some small amount of slack in the rope near the end of the turn. Interestingly, this does not seem to occur when I am out on a breezy day and skiing into the wind.

This is generally the case, because the headwind helps to decelerate at the turn. It is easier to run a pass with a headwind, than a tail wind. It sounds like you might be pulling too far past the wake, creating too much tension on the line, then when you rise to initiate your turn(glide), all the tension comes off the rope and creates slack. Make sure to keep your elbows tucked in at all times except for the turn.

Link to comment
It is easier to run a pass with a headwind, than a tail wind. It sounds like you might be pulling too far past the wake,

Yup, that's what I was thinking. Very common for open water.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...