Lately I’ve been thinking about all the ways to get towed while water skiing.
Of course we have the standards – boat, personal watercraft, cable, and winch. But with the recent viral video of World Champion barefooter Keith St Onge getting towed by a seaplane, my creative thoughts have moved towards how many different rides there truly are.
So far I have gotten 5 different tows:
1. Man-power when learning to ski in 1969
2. Behind a ski boat – the mainstay
3. Cable skiing in Florida and northern California
4. Personal water craft all over the world
5. Wind power (kiteboarding) – although the rides have been short and sketchy so far
How many do you have?
IN THE FAMILY
Like Father like Son – Teaching my son with “man power” , the same way I learned to ski in 1969
In the mid 1990s my uncle Mike (Murphy) hitched a hydrofoil ride behind Cory Roeseler, one of the earliest pioneers of kitesurfing.
My fascination with various tow methods started while doing research for my free eBook series Adventures in Water Skiing. I went through hundreds of issues of ski magazines from the late 1960s-2000 to build timelines and get documentation for references.
I ran across an article about a guy whose skiing life centered around trying different tow rides. He had already done a snowmobile and car, but his big dream was to get towed by a train. It got me thinking…
In recent years the unique rides found a footing in my brain as I posted photos and videos on facebook (Adventures in Water Skiing) and Instagram (@waterskierslife).
Wakeboarding (including hitting a ramp) Behind a Horse in the Surf
The Classic Redneck Tow – a Backhoe!
Things have really shifted in high gear lately with my recent discovery of Pinterest and the creation of a new board with the same title of this post.
Riding Behind a Blimp, Snowmobile, Helicopter, and more…
<<CLICK>> for Pinterest Board: You Water Skied behind What?
^^^Photos, videos, and short articles.^^^
While I will continue to push the limits of different things to ride ON, I think when the 50 for 50 is all over (summer, 2015) I might have to spent so time exploring different ways to ride BEHIND!
RELATED MEDIA
Adventures in Water Skiing is a series of eBooks recounting the history of water skiing. It includes dozens of classic photos and links to related videos.
Helicopter shot courtesy Chuck Gleason, barefotcentral.com
with
Chris Morrison (Instagram) – (Featured Athlete for Action Horizons Stunts)
and
Keith St Onge (Instagram) – worldbarefootcenter.com
