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Jon has a totally decked out boat for water skiing, bare foot skiing, and probably anything else. There is a bar that attaches to a center post and swings out on the port side of the boat. So with the boat not moving, you jump in the water and grab the bar, laying your your stomach behind it. As the boat starts up, you twist on your side and then your back ... and then rotate around to the front sliding over the water on your tushie. Sounds difficult, but actually kinda intuitive and not that hard ... but only the first step in bare foot skiing! |
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From the above position, you hang loose for a moment ... and when you are ready, you gently push your feet down into the water ... being SURE to keep a positive angle of attack (I.e. don't dig in your toes like I did one time). Jon was going about 35 MPH ... so I just basically was able to then stand up. The first time, I had my feet too far forward ... can you believe I did not lose a contact lens here! |
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Jon did an impromptu demonstration of the correct position. His approach was to have me drive the boat at about 40 MPH ... and then he (from the boat!) just jumped out on the bar and started bare foot skiing. I'm not quite that studly, so I started back in the water, and after a few more falls, I then got the hang of bare foot waterskiing. |
There was a bit more pain when I had my big water ski crash - lotta water on this one! ;-)
