How many sets did it take until first sucessfull pass (all six)?

[gsm_peter]

I hope this poll (with Poll: 'When did you start..') will support beginers to get a grip of: How hard can it be?

Yepp, it is difficult to remeber. Please take a walk down memory lane and make a best guess?

In this poll a set is 6 passes.

 

[thager]

Ran my first pass but have no idea how fast or if course was accurate. Had no speedometer. Was pretty easy to pull a 16 foot outboard with a 65hp Merc around with rope attached to the transom. Inboards of any kind were rare as hens teeth then so not a fair comparison to what kids see now.

[Horton]

Missed my option. Was so young I can't remember

[thager]

@Horton That's the Kilo Kai talking!

[Than_Bogan]

I am also "so young I can't remember." I do know it was on 2 skis behind a 40 hp whaler!

[bogboy]

A rough guess for me would be about 50 or more sets, as this happened over about 4 years, as I was mostly free skiing, and not in the course a lot.

[klindy]

You mean this year? :)

[Marco]

Ran my first complete pass on my 3rd day in Ski Paradise, so probably set 5 or 6. Not sure how fast (slow) the boat was going, and it wasn't pretty.

[ToddL]

I slalomed almost daily all summer long for about 4 years before I learned there was a slalom course in my area. I had a subscription to Water Ski Magazine (80's) and read every "how to" article. So, during my first set on the course, I actually got all 6 on about the 4th pass. I was being coached at an informal ski school by the lake owner's son, so that factored into the success. Now, I am a Level 1 instructor and coach and drive at that same ski school.

[6balls]

2 hands, no release 30 mph 15 off

[TylerR]

I was a little kid, but my dad and uncle day it took me about 4 days in a row to get it

[aswinter05]

It was one month ago. 26mph.

[Chef23]

No idea. I was 8.

[Skoot1123]

Somewhere between 14 and 19 times through the course. It wasn't pretty, but I made it. I think it was 30 or 32 mph and 15 off.

[Ryguy]

Still working on it 9 years. Finally dug a lake on my property so I can practice more. That's why I want the Jim Michaels Official Tournament Course. Help me train and maybe win a tournament !

[MrJones]

19 years old. 26 mph. Long line. Ran the first pass I ever tried. I had read some of my cousin's water ski magazines and an instructional book by Joel McClintock, so I had been working on smooth turns and trying to cut through the wakes at the public lake. Won first place in the Beginner division and was hooked.

[Zman]

Too long ago to remember, and was not counting anyway. It was milk jugs in the Ohio river and certainly not accurate either. 18 foot open bow 4 cylinder Mercruiser I/O.

[skidawg]

Don't remember for myself, but we had a guest at our lake last week who ran 15 off 28 mph first try, very impressive!

[eddie_roberts_jr]

1st attempt. The old course with the long entry gates behind an outboard on Lake Chelan.

[PatM]

Probably around my 10th attempt. In a novice tourney @30mph. I was around 18years old. Stoked from there out. Skied for many years open water before that, so I think it was more of a timing thing at that point.

[PatM]

@Ryguy If you have a private site you won't need the Jim Michael's course. You will be running your first pass and many more in no time. Be patient and the lines will fall. Us folk on public lakes struggle with all the other issues that you won't have.

[Joeprunc]

Still can't connect the dots for 6 straight passes. Did get 5-6 on both Friday and Saturday, so I feel like I'm getting closer.

[xrated]

Never done it. Thinking about seeing if @MS can get me through all 6 this summer.

[gsm_peter]

Thank you all for adding your history.

I am impressed that so many learned so quick.

And also that there was so many First Attempt-Pros out there.

It is really fun to read.

 

 

It is about time I add my history since I started the Poll =0)

 

Did some summer house skiing as kid starting at age eight 1966. Unfortunately one a few minutes per year in really bumpy water.

Then skiied a few sets every third year until I was type 30 when I had a 10 years break.

At 40 I bought my first SL ski (Connely Mid -S, Big Daddy) and then skiied a few sets per year.

 

2010 I went out to the local club and asked if they could train me to manage the corse.

Bought my Radar Theory and started training.

- 2010: 12 Sets

- 2011: 31 Sets

- 2012: 52 Sets and in end summer I managed my first pass at 26. Managed to repete it 10 times during the autoum.

 

- 2013: has 24 sets now. Ski 26-28 (43,44,45,46 Km/h) and are starting to make 3 sucessfull passes in each set.

 

Please keep on telling your stories!

[LeSkiAvantTout]

never made it round, in partial mitigation my club has no course so only very occasionally get to try. might make a concerted effort one of these days, maybe try somewhere with warm flat water (which rules out England). Because I can deep water start 100% of time (on a D3 not wide-body) and swing back and forth across the wake most people (no-one else I know slaloms) think I'm a decent waterskier, if I hadn't found this forum I might have shared that misconception

[bogboy]

@gsm-peter, thanks for sharing, and starting this thread. My history is pretty similar to yours. I wish I had some sort of good coaching, and more incentive as a kid. But, better late than never. We just have to ski every day or so for the next 20 years, and stay in shape and have fun.

[bogboy]

Btw, I am almost 100 percent now at 26mph, about50 percent at 28mph, and I made my first full pass at 30mph last week. It's never too late.

[swc5150]

It wasn't pretty but it didn't too long to conquer -15 and about 30mph.

[A_B]

I really don't remember how many sets, but it wasn't that many, and believe it or not, it was with dual handles. My cousin's husband, Ron Anderson, convinced me later to switch to a single handle. On the great Ottawa River, using milk jugs. I drove over to ski as a guest, after them seeing pictures of me slalom skiing on the river. They asked if I wanted to go through a ski course, and I thought they were talking about a class for skiing. Little did I know.

[6balls]

@skibrain love the EP history. We ran FX200, comp, GX3?? and then Stilletto when we were aggressive free skiers just having family fun...adjustable binders w/toe loops so all could use 'em!

[crashman]

For me it seemed like a struggle- I don't find it easy to unlearn 25 years of bad habits. I tinkered with the course off and on for a season a handful of times behind a v drive and finally rounded #6 after getting more serious and skiing behind good ski boats.

[bogboy]

Just an observation, and just like anything else, is that if someone practices a goal infrequently, it's going to take a long time, vs. a frequent and more intensive approach. I wonder if any of the ski schools have a longer length deal, like an involved instructed 4 sets per day for 30 days, for someone who really is on a mission to learn the course. It can probably be arranged also?

 

[Deanoski]

first time I tried the coarse I was 20 years old ran 32mph -15 back to back then tried 34 did not run it. I have been skiing my whole life since I was 7yrs old grew up on a lk so we skied all the time but ever tried the coarse until I was 20.

[Razorskier1]

My first completed pass was probably 28mph, long line, with two hands on the handle OVERHAND -- I was already probably 30 years old and it was the first time I'd ever seen a course.