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KB

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Everything posted by KB

  1. Great Post TW. Glad to see you still love it. I get the point on BD vs Pro scores. My club is all guys that have been skiing 34 forever. I was the only 36 guy. When I slowed down I went up a pass and they all said "when did you get so good" "Guys, I was skiing 36!". So even some skiers (probably not those on this forum) forget how much harder 36 is. The general public will have no idea. That brings up the whole separate debate on BD speed. Whether its 34, 35, or 36 I will still appreciate a chance to compete with the best +35 guys in a "Masters" type division. KB
  2. Horton, sorry, I thought you knew CC vs Matt but was confused by your post, and did not mean to patronize. All, maybe the Dawgs should all ski Open/36. Maybe it is sad the entry fees comprise the purse. The Pro skiers are definitely the most impressive athletes in the sport, but how does the Big Dawg hurt? I can see arguments that it may or may not help, but how would it hurt? I am not insisting it doesnt, I just need it explained to me because I dont get it, and sorry if I missed it somewhere above.
  3. CC Brown = Chris Brown and is not Marcus's brother. Matt Brown is Marcus's brother, and does ski the Big Dawg, one of the top contenders at those events. I could ski open and get my butt kicked. I have a better chance to compete with the Big Dawgs. I choose the latter but it is a tough choice. If there was no Big Dawg, I would still ski MM. As long as there is a Big Dawg, I am going. I dont know if its good or bad for the sport overall, but it works for me. Am I being selfish? If it is bad for the sport, should I boycott? KB
  4. We had a similar pond and ran a floating course in the middle anchored at each end. Even with a lot of tension to keep it straight, it would float up and down ~2' based on water level and this covered our operating range. We chose to anchor our turn buoys with a bit of bungee. Floating arms can work, but we wanted simple precision around buoy location and find the floating arms sag and drift if you don't manage them properly. With anchors and bungee we had only a few inches of "auto adjust" when the water level changed, and when needed we just adjusted the 6 turn balls manually in a few minutes. We played with systems that adjusted more but didn't get anything working well enough so just went manual. KB
  5. Exactly what Richard said. Plus, many of the great drivers give you quality feedback on how the skier feels without looking. This can be more valuable than visual coaching depending on the coach/driver options. KB
  6. I have skied Johns Lake, and you dog leg both ends and the set up is quick. Going to the left hand turn out of the course, the boat is turning to miss shore before you leave the exit gates. Come back from that end and you get whipped out for your gate set up. Also, its not a typical 8 buoy set up, its partially overlapped so if you are really early or late you hit the boat guides for the other course. They still run 6 buoys each way. All this said, its a fun place to ski with great hosts. I set up a straight in 8 buoy course (also NJ) at 1550' and it was as short as it could be. Ok for 34mph, to short for 36mph even dropping the hammer on an Infinity (one of the fastest out of the hole IMO). We tried spinning in as OB said rollers are not worth it. KB
  7. Rasor, no worries. Another point that supports yours, I bet several of the Big Dawg skiers train just as hard as some of the pros. Watertime, gym, crosstraining, etc. The skiers that stand out to me are those that dont. I dont know this is true, but I heard Ben doesnt ski much, hardly cross trains, and does ski with the best of them.
  8. I am pretty sure ALL of the Big Dawg skiers have day jobs. At best those jobs are related to skiing (Seth/Todd) but its still a full time job. Others have flexible jobs that allow them to ski...a lot. But, as dawg said, they dont make a living off skiing so I would not consider them professional.
  9. Heard she was ok, no injury reported, staying in the hospital for a bit to be 100% sure. KB
  10. Rob has only shared one of his skiing secrets with me, always ski over or in front of the right hand gate ball. Whether you go over or in front of it (early) depends on who is in the tower, how good their eyes are, if they face into a glare, how many Coronas they drank, etc. He teaches this matters more than improving technique, and is easier to achieve. KB
  11. I have skied it the last 4 years and its a blast. My favorite tournament of the year. There is a decent sized crew working really hard to keep the webcast going. I had the pleasure of doing the boat video the last 2 years and thats a lot of fun too. I look forward to the playback so I can see which of my shots were used! KB
  12. The site report I got yesterday "the tide is receding slowly, and the head tail is stiff"
  13. Toughest conditions I have ever skied in practice or tournament. Felt more like a variable swell than rollers. It was fun talking with the guys about any possible "strategy" prior, and how not much of it mattered after the fact. Chet said coming off the water "words cold not describe or prepare you for those conditions, you just had to experience it". Greg skied like a warrior and deserved the win. Many of us made the best of it and enjoyed it regardless. Maybe easy for me to say now having at least run my first 2 passes! Also, I was enjoyed the fact that it was so different. So many rides are nearly the same, and thats part of what we depend on, but the change was refreshing and threw a new mix into the competition. KB
  14. I am in MI before Nats, hoping to ski that Sat. Mt friends in Lawton are probably unavailable, so hoping I can bum a ride somewhere. I have never been to Placid Waters so that would be sweet if anyone is available? Staying in Kzoo. Thanks in advance, KB
  15. Those are your best bets. Not many courses in NJ. I have friends that ski in Englishtown, but the others are closer and nicer. I dont have any contacts or numbers for Twin/Johns KB
  16. I ordered a doubler and a 300mm lens to be sure. When I get it all up and running I will try to circle back here with results. Thanks for the help KB
  17. I didn't mean for that to sound dismissive. Just questioning is 300mm enough or not? I could add a doubler, just looking to simplify if possible. KB
  18. Thats exactly what Will has. cctv camera + doubler + 205mm lens. He has it zoomed about 1/2 so effective ~300mm. This is the set up used for Nates 41 pass posted here, and is enough zoom for Wilber. I am considering a 300mm lens for $50 used to avoid one piece in the doubler.
  19. Thanks Splasheye. I was under the impression 120mm wasn't enough, and focal length needed to be closer to 300mm? Do you run the same set up as recommended above and it works well for end course? KB
  20. I would like to set up an end course camera at my lake. What are you guys using? Will Bush was talking about an SLR lens + "C" mount adapter + simple digital camera all housed in a weather proof body. I may do that, but wondering if anyone had success with other things? I wondered if I could take my Sony digital camcorder, bolt on their 1.7x lens and see if that gets enough zoom. Anyone tried that? Also, I would be ok with a set up that is used periodically, not necessarily left out 365 days/yr. Just tournaments and when I wanted to check on my driving KB
  21. Made more sense for jumping without cruise than it does for slalom today "drive it like you stole it". These days, mainly ski with drivers I know and its just "ok" or "yep". In tournaments, "I'll take it all"...which I say just before the last beep. KB
  22. I was kidding, he definitely can swerve, and more importantly he knows how to have fun. For some those things are mutually exclusive!
  23. Thanks Bud Man and 9400. John, sorry if I risked steering the thread away from your intent. I also try to understand why things work. I am sometimes jealous of good skiers that don’t think much, just rip, and may not understand why its working so well. I guess that’s fine when its working, or until you want to coach someone else. More often it might be the other way around where skiers work on some detail without A) knowing how its supposed to work or B) if that should be their top priority. Ex: I know a guy that falls at two ball a lot and thinks it because he doesn’t counter enough at 2 ball. IMO, the real problem is his start/gate needs some work. I work to be open minded, try stuff, understand what happened, and figure out if its good or not. I learn a little more every year and I learn a lot more when I ski with good coaches. When I get as old as Ham, I will stop trying to learn, move to Tennessee, and party with the Nasty Boys! KB
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