View Full Version : Ski racing in Mission Bay??
GT500 MC
10-17-2011, 09:49 AM
I had the family in SoCal for vacation the past few days and as we were sitting atop one of the venues at SeaWorld San Diego I happened to look out at one of the coves in Mission Bay. There were three boats (all OB's, approx. 20-22 feet, I think) racing in an oval approximately half-mile long, and all three were carrying what appeared to be skiiers behind them. They looked like they were going at least 40-50 mph, did at least 5 laps, and were on ropes at least 125-150 feet long. This was a long ways away so I may be off in some of my calculations but it sure looked odd to see. There was also a jump around the corner of the bay but didn't see anyone using this.
Does any TT member out there (maybe Sodar??) from SoCal know what this is? A racing school maybe? It was actually more fascinating to watch then the show at SeaWorld.
Sodar
10-17-2011, 04:03 PM
It was the US Open Water Ski Racing National Championships. Not a racing school, but a sanctioned race. Depending on which race you saw, 40-50mph is on the low end. The big boys go double that speed. Since you saw all outboards, I am betting you were watching the grass roots or F2 race. I have several friends who were down there racing.
http://www.nwsra.net/
thatsmrmastercraft
10-17-2011, 04:06 PM
Those guys are insane.
scott023
10-17-2011, 04:08 PM
That's craaazy. Holy crap.
GT500 MC
10-17-2011, 04:08 PM
Like I said, it was really hard to tell the mph from where I was sitting but it looked crazy. If I would have known it was the Nationals, I probably would have skipped out of SeaWorld a bit early to take some of it in. It looked like the Ironman of skiing.
thatsmrmastercraft
10-17-2011, 04:11 PM
Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
scott023
10-17-2011, 04:12 PM
Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's what I was holy craping. :eek:
GT500 MC
10-17-2011, 04:14 PM
That's what I was holy craping. :eek:
That's exactly what it looked like. They kept going around the buoys at full speed and they were all basically side-by-side lap after lap. No one fell--thank god.
Sodar
10-17-2011, 04:16 PM
This is why I laugh at all the d-bags on here who complain when a boat gets within 300 yards of them. :rolleyes:
thatsmrmastercraft
10-17-2011, 04:26 PM
Doesn't look like it would take a lot to turn you into fish food if you fell.:confused:
Sodar
10-17-2011, 04:30 PM
Good drivers. No one follows directly behind the skier. It works. I don't know that I have ever heard of an accident where a skier has been ran over, but I will have to ask my buddy who has been part of this sport for longer than I have been alive.
CantRepeat
10-17-2011, 04:31 PM
This is why I laugh at all the d-bags on here who complain when a boat gets within 300 yards of them. :rolleyes:
I could see where you would trust guys like Tassarski and Nixon coming that close to you but the average Joe? :D
They do it behind 46 foot Fountains all the way to Catalina Island and back, 62 miles in less then an hour!
Catalina 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8LQKXLLujw)
Sodar
10-17-2011, 04:34 PM
1. Fountain does not make a 46'
2. 42' is max in Catalina Race.
3. Average Joe? HeII no!
CantRepeat
10-17-2011, 04:38 PM
Good drivers. No one follows directly behind the skier. It works. I don't know that I have ever heard of an accident where a skier has been ran over, but I will have to ask my buddy who has been part of this sport for longer than I have been alive.
The only death I have heard of was Kurt Booke at Havasu but that was from a high speed fall not getting ran over.
And I could not agree more, great drivers.
GT500 MC
10-17-2011, 04:39 PM
That video is crazy. Basically a roller coaster ride on a slalom ski. My hat's off to those skiiers. And spotters...
scott023
10-17-2011, 04:41 PM
This is why I laugh at all the d-bags on here who complain when a boat gets within 300 yards of them. :rolleyes:
No kidding. I've learned something today.
CantRepeat
10-17-2011, 04:42 PM
1. Fountain does not make a 46'
2. 42' is max in Catalina Race.
3. Average Joe? HeII no!
haha, I've never owned a fountain. The boat I'm riding on, Shameless, is a 38' and I think at the time that was the limit 2000 year race.
Sodar
10-17-2011, 04:45 PM
The only death I have heard of was Kurt Booke at Havasu but that was from a high speed fall not getting ran over.
And I could not agree more, great drivers.
Yeah... Karl Brooks died behind the Herbst Skater out at Mead. Just a freak accident that screwed up the Herbst boys pretty bad. I guess it was like losing a brother to them. Sad deal.
Sodar
10-17-2011, 04:48 PM
haha, I've never owned a fountain. The boat I'm riding on, Shameless, is a 38' and I think at the time that was the limit 2000 year race.
Yup. I think they raised the limit in around '03 to 42'...
I remember the year that they did, it was a big deal because the beaks on the 42' Fountains were still over 42'. It is foggy now, but I remember some politics surrounding it... as always.
CantRepeat
10-17-2011, 04:53 PM
Yup. I think they raised the limit in around '03 to 42'...
I remember the year that they did, it was a big deal because the beaks on the 42' Fountains were still over 42'. It is foggy now, but I remember some politics surrounding it... as always.
I remember that too. In fact, not sure what the reasoning behind it was, but guys were cutting like 6 or 8 inches off the nose of the 42s so they would be under the limit. Buddy of mine that was the Race director at the time was telling guys were cutting up 250k boats just so they could race.
CantRepeat
10-17-2011, 05:01 PM
Yeah... Karl Brooks died behind the Herbst Skater out at Mead. Just a freak accident that screwed up the Herbst boys pretty bad. I guess it was like losing a brother to them. Sad deal.
Extremely sad. I happen to be there and strangely enough I was at the Blue Water race when the boat he was the observer in busted the strut and he went flying out the front as the boat did a hard right turn into the weeds. Ron Tassarski drove an $80k Hallett on to the dirt to go check on the other boat.
I could have sworn the skiers name was Kurt Booke.
Wait I just did a search and see the name of Karl Brooks. Sadly there is more then one death of a speed skier.
Edit
Kirk Book was the skiers name and it was the summer of 94.
/Edit
ahhudgins
10-17-2011, 05:32 PM
That video is crazy. Basically a roller coaster ride on a slalom ski. My hat's off to those skiiers. And spotters...
Just watching the video made me nervous. It's all fun and games until someone loses a limb!
I was waiting to see when they were going to start cutting back and forth across the wakes??!! ;)
CantRepeat
10-17-2011, 08:00 PM
Believe it of not, I still have the video from 94.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiK6HVVPF9w
When the folks in the boat need to wear a helmet, call me a sissy but I'm probably not going to be skiing that day.
This sport makes most X-games events look like kindergarten recess.
This is why I laugh at all the d-bags on here who complain when a boat gets within 300 yards of them. :rolleyes:
.............:D
CantRepeat
10-19-2011, 02:07 PM
Sodar, what year did you ski the Catalina Race?
scott023
10-19-2011, 03:06 PM
Sodar, what year did you ski the Catalina Race?
huh? Where did I miss that factoid?
GT500 MC
10-19-2011, 03:09 PM
huh? Where did I miss that factoid?
Yeah, me too...Anyone skiing in that race has instant "steel cajones" in my book...
scott023
10-19-2011, 03:14 PM
Yeah, me too...Anyone skiing in that race has instant "steel cajones" in my book...
Cameron is a stand up guy, no doubt, but I've never read that he skiied in that race. :confused:
CantRepeat
10-19-2011, 05:08 PM
Cameron is a stand up guy, no doubt, but I've never read that he skiied in that race. :confused:
We were talking about it in PMs a while back (my email address is catalinaskirace). I was the navigator(***** boy) on Shameless in the 2000 race. I think he said stock boat class but I don't recall the year.
We got lucky, Andy Anderson was our skier in intermediate mens and we got a 3rd place. I still have the dinner plate trophy from it.
http://www.catalinaskirace.net/results/2000results.pdf
scott023
10-19-2011, 05:10 PM
Cool. I don't recall him mentioning that to our group. Will have to wait for the story I guess.
CantRepeat
10-20-2011, 06:12 AM
Cool. I don't recall him mentioning that to our group. Will have to wait for the story I guess.
There was a Cameron in the 2007 intermediate Mens division but I don't know if that was him or not. :confused:
CoreyWakeboard
10-21-2011, 11:57 AM
As a frequent wakeboarder on MB, we have a speed skier that "practices" on the bay regularly. The fact that they buzz around and come too close to another vessel is a safety concern under regular conditions. At their speeds, you might not recognize they are overtaking your vessel. A vessel going that fast needs to have a competent driver.
On a selfish note, they really screw up the smooth water. We hate them almost as much as jet skiers!