A littel bit of watersports history.....

[Bill_AirJunky]

I've posted on TMC a few times about some of the waterski & wakeboard history I have heard/read about over the years. I get a kick out of reading about how it was done back in the old days. Yesterday I ran across this little tidbit in the small town paper that was in my mailbox.

In the top right corner it talks about one of the local beauty pageant winner being into "free boarding" & describes it as surfing behind a boat. And doing it as early as 1923! At that point waterskiing was only 1 yr old!

I had to Google free boarding & found it also listed as "planking" or "aquaplaning". Looks like their essentially standing on a piece of plywood with a rope handle. I've seen pics at Wileys Ski Shop of them doing this back in the 50s & 60s too.

Early wake surfing? Pretty funny though.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Bill_AirJunky

[REHinH20]

Glad those suits haven't come back like many of the older old fads!

[REHinH20]

Interested me enough to google "aquaplaning" I found this...appears you can do tricks!

[braindamage]

I remember riding a board like you describe when I was a kid. It had a hole in the front had 2-ropes tied to it...one that was connected to the boat and the other to a handle that you held onto. I don't think I have any pictures...if I did they are probably "slides"...which won't mean anything to anyone under 40. It was a big board and you went maybe 15mph tops

We also used to do "aquaplaning"...which is riding a plane-like device that you could steer using flaps on the front with your hands and the rear with your feet. You would wear swim goggles and could skim across the top of the water or go under and do barrel rolls. 5mph was the speed for this.

[LS-One]

The lady on the right has a "I'm a bad girl, I could get you in so much trouble and you would enjoy every minute" look about her.

Edit: I wonder how much the five gold coins are worth today?

Edited January 31, 2014 by LS-One

[jk13]

I remember riding a board like you describe when I was a kid. It had a hole in the front had 2-ropes tied to it...one that was connected to the boat and the other to a handle that you held onto. I don't think I have any pictures...if I did they are probably "slides"...which won't mean anything to anyone under 40. It was a big board and you went maybe 15mph tops

We still have one hanging on the boat house wall. Literally a piece of plywood with a round nose painted red and white, and five door shims on the bottom for tracking fins and a rubber mat on the back half to stand on. 5mph max or dangerous porpoising bucking bronco time.

The lady on the right has a "I'm a bad girl, I could get you in so much trouble and you would enjoy every minute" look about her.

It's the knee socks and Mary Janes. They get me every time.

Edited January 31, 2014 by jk13

[justgary]

I wonder how much the five gold coins are worth today?

If they were new then, they'd be 1922 St. Gaudens, so about $1,600 each, or about $8000 today. Much more than that if she never removed them from the box and they are still mint state. Muuuuch more for high mint state and San Francisco Mint.