The 5th annual Herb’s Cup by Radar Skis took place August 4th and 5th on the famed waters of Radar Lake, in Woodinville, WA. The event is held to honor Herb O’Brien, highlighting his competitive spirit, while capturing the camaraderie of the sport. Paying homage to his creative drive, Herb’s Cup utilizes an exciting and unique lightning round format. Each skier leaves the dock armed with six and a half minutes to post their top obtainable score. Skip a pass, spin the boat and shorten on the fly, do whatever it takes to run the most buoys possible. And, as encouragement to make the most of your shot clock, a possible tie would be settled by the most cumulative rounded buoys at your shortest pass.
The list of invited skiers, comprised of previous Herb’s Cup winners, and World Champions, included Overall World Record holder Joel Poland and up-and-comer Jamie Calhoun. Cole Giacopuzzi, Jason McClintock, and K.C. Wilson each very familiar with Radar Lake were hungry to have their name etched on the Cup. Returning Champions, Stephen Neveu and Corey Vaugn rounded out the seven skiers vying for the title.
Starting at 32’ off, Jason McClintock would skip 35’ and head straight through 38’ and 39’ off. Clearing each pass cleanly, Jason would have three shots at 41’ off, finishing with two buoys, and 3rd place. Following Jason’s example, Jamie Calhoun would employ the same strategy. After a hiccup at 38’ off, going down at two-ball, Jamie would opt up to 39’ off, running it on his way to 3 at 41’ off and a second place finish. Defending Champion Corey Vaugn let his experience shine, opting to start at 35’ off, then moving directly to 39’ off on his second pass. With more than four minutes left on his clock, Corey would regain his Herb’s Cup title rounding 3 at 41’ off and accumulating 8 buoys total on the line length.
Vapor
The Vapor reigns supreme when it comes to feel on the water. For 2022, we created a ski that feels truly automatic in the turns. Simply ride the line out to apex, release a hand, turn, and off you go to the other side. The ski can be turned from any position and has led skiers to say there’s no sweet spot, rather an infinite area to make incredibly tight turns. More side-to-side power combined with these automatic turns yields a softer, more flowy overall feel than any ski we’ve produced to date. The balance this ski creates allows a skier to make mistakes yet still move the ski underneath them to maintain speed and direction. This entirely new shape for 2022 will have you running earlier lines than you ever imagined; just rip and repeat.
Shape
The wide spot on the ski has moved forward and width has been added from the middle of the ski through the tip. This gives the ski a more tip to tail taper and more support through the front part of the ski. The increase in taper presents the ski with a slightly more tip-up riding attitude and allows the ski to pull through the turn in a more connected, powerful way. The result is less body movement needed to get tight radius turns. The new ski also has slightly less volume in the tail. By reducing this surface area, the tail of the ski is able to smear outward while also staying planted in the water. Ultimately, the updates in shape help it to ride much closer to the ideal line for any given speed and rope length.
Rocker
The tip rocker on the new Vapor starts just after the wide spot. This relieves tip pressure and increases forgiveness, allowing a skier to have a bigger platform to stand on coming into the turn. This also helps keep the ski keep moving outbound in the transition and makes the ski incredibly more predictable in the turns it creates. Moving back from the wide spot, the rocker lines are all new. These new lines create a ski with increased tail rocker which softens the way the ski rotates or carves through the turn. The result is a feeling of increased angle from a wider place with an instant acceleration.
Concave
The additional concave depth running throughout the bottom of the ski is one of the most noticeable differences in this new shape. This channels more water directionally from tip to tail, resulting in significantly more side-to-side drive and holding power. More drive and hold allow a skier to be faster as they near centerline which results in a more up-course path. Another result from an increased concave is increased pressure on the bevels, allowing the ski to feel extremely connected to the water. This gives a skier the freedom to control the path of the ski with more ease.
Bevels
The front of the ski carries a sharper, more angular bevel design to harness the increased water flow from the new concave design. This gives the skier more ability to feel how the water interacts with the tip of the ski to create sharper, more predictable turns. In the tail of the ski, the bevel is softened, allowing the water to wrap around the bevel easier. The tip of the ski pulls harder through the turn while at the same time, the tail is able to smear while staying planted in the water. This feathered approach makes the turns feel much more natural and less forced.
Thickness
Sidewall height carries constant to provide balance for the increased lift created by adding width. In an effort to keep the ski nimble, sidewall thickness is reduced to produce the connected, tight turning radius of the ski.
Edge Angle
The Vapor width allows the ski to achieve maximum edge angle both in the turn and while cutting. This width sets the precedent in our line as the pinnacle of performance both in the course and while free skiing.
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Reaching a plateau in the middle of your season happens to everyone. How you handle that can make or break you, learn how to bust through with the boys. Also, thanks for making it to Episode 20 of this second season, we’ll be taking a two-week mid-season break and we will be back August 16th!
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Hopefully, you’re able to receive some waterski coaching this season and whether that’s at a ski school, a clinic, or maybe virtually through an app like Givego the boys have some advice on how to get the most out of your coached sets.
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