EVENTS HORIZON
In 1998 I teamed up with Chuck Sacks of California Skier to put on the Flight Worlds of Hydrofoiling. Chuck controlled the Lake Elsinore inlet channel, which was close to home and had calm water. It was another education in planning and organizing a big event, complete with vendors, sponsors, exhibition acts, and insurance […]
TRIPPIN’ WITH SCHÖRNO
Mike is fond of saying that there never would have been a Sky Ski without Peter Schörno. When the legal battle heated up between Bob and Mike, Peter stepped in and gave Mike all the support he needed to flight the case, and when the legal drama was over he helped get Sky […]
#41 Herb O’Brien & The Joker
Photo: Shonna Klarich, 1994
Spending time with the legendary Heb O’Brien was always a treat, but to be with him while I did a photo shoot for the HO Joker kneeboard was priceless. Herb came down to Mike Mack’s place on the Colorado River to enjoy some quality time on the […]
#46 Helicopter Dock Start on a Slalom Ski
Photo: Art Brewer, 1982
The summer of 1982 was my breakout year as a hot dog water skier. My uncle Mike Murphy popularized the sport in the 1970s with moves like the backwards deepwater start, wake 360 and tumble turn. I wanted to be like Mike, and once I […]
Click for Photos 36-40 (with stories & related links)
Click for Photos 41-45 (with stories & related links)
Click for Photos 46-50 (with stories & related links)
When I first announced that I was giving away my best water ski photos for free personal and commercial use under the Creative Commons 3.0 License, my friends and family thought it was a little nuts. But I figure it’s better to have these images out in the world than collecting dust in a filing […]
While reviewing some random GoPro photos in Spring 2014, I noticed the beautiful pattern in the water as the ski sinks during a landing. So I set out to capture that moment with nice light and colors. After nearly a dozen set on various skis, water conditions, and lighting, I started to figure out a […]
IT’S THE CHEESE
Mike, Ron Stack, and I dominated the early days of inventing new moves on the foil. We came up with nearly all of the first 100 tricks that would be considered the standard moves in the sport.
The overall level of riding skyrocketed again around the turn of the century, and different styles of […]
UNORTHODOXY
My mind was working to come up with another first in skiing that wouldn’t be quite as risky as new moves on the air board. I wanted to do a tandem flip on my Sky Ski. Not two people flipping separately at the same time – two people flipping on the same device. The Sky […]
At the turn of the 20th century small boats called launches were just becoming powerful enough to tow riders. The first craze in towed watersports was a big flat board resembling a large door. The aquaplane was a popular device for decades, often referenced in early newspapers as an offshoot of surfing inspired by Hawaiian […]
