Any of you water ski?

[Farmer Dave]

Bought a boat last fall thinking it should be fun to pull the kids in a tube. But, as it's not in my nature to watch, I asked for and got water skies for my upcoming b-day. I've done this about three times in my life, and I was much younger.

Any advice on a few exercises I should be doing before hitting the water? Or should I just tell the wife to gun it and kiss my ass goodbye as I swallow the lake?

[SatCam]

Sure I'll come over and try your water ski. Thought you'd never ask!

[nate1000]

1. Let the boat pull you up.
2. Bend your knees and keep the ski (s) in front of you.
3. If slaloming - bend the forward knee and push forward on your back leg to ride the ski out of the water. Be ready to eat some water until you pop up.
4. When you go outside of the wake- don't fuck around, just get over it quick- that water rolls and will push your ski right under.
5. Once you fall- LET GO! or you will skip like a rock.
6. If tandem skiing remember to let go when your partner falls, of you will have to be pulled back together. (but watch their tow rope- I let go once just before I felt my sister's rope wrap around my ankle- there was about a half second of horror before the rope went taught and I was ripped out of my skis by the ankle.)

[A.J.]

Waterski? One of our Polish board members?

[toolshed]

You will suck at it for a while, and then all of a sudden you will "get it." Then it'll be pretty easy. It will make your quadriceps tired and sore, as well as your forearms and shoulders. If you want to train for it, squats and pull-ups (or lat pull-downs) will help if you haven't worked out in a while.

Aside from that, learn quickly and then graduate to a wake board. Those are much more fun.