Home > Fit City > Archives > water skiing category
water skiing
May 7, 2012
Water skiing season has arrived
I’ve stuck my toes in Lake Austin and yes, water skiing season has officially arrived.
To get the smoothest water, something we slalom skiers can become a wee bit obsessive about (just ask my husband, who calls me the Smooth Water Princess), it’s best to jump in the lake just as the sun breaks over the horizon.
That means that from here on out, Chris and I will be zipping over to Walsh Boat Landing next to Hula Hut for a quick pre-work ski run at least one morning a week.
Lucky for me, I shoot out of bed like a jack-in-the-box at exactly 5:20 a.m. every day, and we can easily launch the boat by 6 a.m. We ski for an hour and a half, pop the boat back onto the trailer and voila. Chris drags the boat home, I grab my bike out of the back of the truck and pedal to work. I’m at my desk by 8:15 a.m.
Not many cities where you can do that.
For me, water skiing makes the summer heat bearable. A morning spent on the lake, followed by a couple of potato and egg breakfast tacos from Maudie’s, tops my list of “Best Ways to Survive June, July, August and September in the ATX.”
Don’t have a boat of your own? Check out the ski school offered every Tuesday evening at the Frameswitch ski lakes east of Hutto.
The lessons are offered on a first-come first-served basis, starting at 5 p.m. and continuing until it gets dark. All you have to do is show up at the dock.
Bring any gear you have, including skis, gloves or vests. Cost is $35 for beginners or $25 for advanced skiers. Capitol Area Water Ski Club members get a discount.
For more information and directions to the lakes, go here. To leave a message on the ski school message line call 512-410-5837.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: water skiing
October 5, 2010
Last water ski run of the season
The thermometer at my house read 50 degrees at 6:45 a.m. this morning when my husband Chris and I loaded our water skis into the boat and headed to Lake Austin.
But I learned long ago that an early morning water ski run is the best way to start the work day. Besides, our friend Ryan Whaley, who works in public relations for Breckenridge Ski Area, was in town. Ryan skis as well on water as he does on snow, and he does it in Colorado. We figured he’d think our water was balmy by comparison.
By 7 a.m. we were motoring in our Ski Nautique toward the Pennybacker Bridge, where the water turned glassy. No other ski boats out!
We made Ryan hop in first, to test the water temperatures. He didn’t scream or seize up, so we figured it was good.
Upstream from the bridge, a layer of fog and mist hovered just over the surface river. Ryan skied right through it.
Chris took a turn next, whizzing across the water and yelping at every turn.
He didn’t freeze either, so when he got back in the boat I jumped in.
Not bad. The water was warmer than the air, and a short wetsuit keep me from going numb.
It felt so good to zip back and forth as the sun came up. Glorious!
And now I’m ready to start the day.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: water skiing
August 28, 2009
Water ski, then work
A couple of mornings a week, I zip across the surface of Lake Austin on a water ski.
It’s a habit I picked up five years ago. When I turned 40, I decided to learn how to run a slalom course. A friend, a former state champion water skier, spent the summer teaching me how to zigzag through the series of buoys on a single ski. You have to be aggressive and fearless, but by the end of that summer, I finally did it.
I liked it so much that my husband and I bought a used Ski Nautique and now take it to Lake Austin most Tuesday and Sunday mornings.
Starting a workday by jumping into the water and whizzing down the river behind a boat is bliss. I’ve had a black swan flap just overhead, I’ve watched blue herons fishing on docks, I’ve seen big fish leap out of the water. Between sets, we stop the boat and soak up the early morning beauty.
We ski for an hour or an hour and a half, put the boat back on the trailer and head to work. I’m at my desk by 8:30 or 9 a.m.
This week, we took out Ryan Whaley, a media relations representative for Breckenridge Ski Resort. He’s used to skiing on snow. Or in a very cold reservoir in Colorado, where he likes to water ski. But he was in Austin to meet with journalists, and we offered to show him how we ski in Austin.
When he jumped in to Lake Austin, a smile spread across his face. “It’s like a hottub!” he hollered.
He’s used to lakes with water temperatures in the low 60s, and Lake Austin’s been really warm lately. Whaley’s good, too. He grew up water skiing, and has competed in his home state of Ohio. Watching him scream across the wake behind the boat was like watching a sharp knife slice through butter. At high speeds, of course.
That’s him in the shot above, cruising beneath the Pennybacker Bridge as the sun comes up. That’s me getting ready for a run, below. And my husband Chris, handling boat duties until it’s his turn in the water.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: water skiing
July 20, 2009
UT wakeboard winners
My column today included a bit on local wakeboarder Billy Garcia, who recently won the master’s division at the Wakeboard National Championships in Oklahoma. After it ran, I heard from some other local wakeboarders, who weren’t recognized back in April, when they competed at a national wakeboard competition for college students.
We’ve got a vibrant wakeboarding scene in Austin, where we’ve got access to lots of fresh, clear water. I’m out on Lake Austin a couple of mornings a week myself, practicing slalom skiing. I love to watch the boarders, who leap and flip like they’re on a trampoline.
So here’s the catch-up info:
University of Texas student Hank Carter (that’s him, above) won the overall individual championship of the 2009 The Collegiate National Wakeboard Championships in Mission Bay, Calif., with a routine that included 540 spins, Tootsie Rolls, Whirlybirds and backside180s. (If you don’t know what that means, it’s a lot of spinning, twirling and soaring, while attached to a short, wide board that’s pulled behind a speedboat.)
The University of Texas team placed second in the competition, behind a team from Florida. They beat their rival, the top-seeded team from Texas A&M University. (Hey! That’s my alma mater!)
In all, 16 teams of seven riders competed for the team title. Each team had to qualify for the four days of elimination competition. The competition was part of the ALT games, which includes less traditional sports like snowboarding and beach volleyball.
Congrats to the UT boarders!
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: water skiing
June 15, 2009
Trailering a ski boat
My husband and I pulled our boat out of the marina this year, hoping to save more than $400 a month in fees by trailering it instead. We drive it to the lake whenever we want to ski, which is at least once or twice a week now that it’s hot.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure how this was going to work. It meant I’d have to perfect my boat driving skills enough to get the Ski Nautique on and off the trailer quickly, while my husband backed down the launch ramp at Walsh Landing near Hula Hut. I had visions of mis-judging the distance, gunning the boat and sending it screeching up a concrete incline, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
I’m happy to report that has never happened.
It took a few weeks to perfect the maneuver, but I’m finally confident getting the boat on the trailer. (Getting it off is no prob.) The other day, I even managed to trailer the boat during a stiff south wind (if the wind is blowing hard, you’ve got to adjust as you come into the trailer, or you’ll miss.)
It’s really empowering! And considering we don’t have to drive as far to the marina, the whole process saves time! I can still water ski on Lake Austin and get to work by 8:30 a.m.
I haven’t seen many other women trailering boats, and I think it’s because they’re intimidated. For some reason, husbands usually handle boat duty. Chris and I make a good team. I drop him at the dock, he fetches the truck and backs it into the water. He waves his arms around to guide me, I line up the boat and steer it where it needs to go.
I like it. I first learned to drive the boat in open water. Eventually I learned how to pull my husband behind the boat on his water ski. (OK, there was that little incident two years ago when Chris broke his ankle while skiing, but it had nothing to do with my boat-driving skills, I swear.) Next up was picking someone up at the dock. Trailering was the trickiest skill, saved for last.
It’s not as tough as I thought. Just take it slow.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: water skiing
November 7, 2008
Barefoot skiers race up Lake Austin
Water skiing is challenging enough. Riding a thin piece of wood down the lake at a high rate of speed, slicing in and out of the wake, is crazy good fun.
You’ll notice the guy in the above photo doesn’t have a ski. Some water skiers prefer to do their skiing without the board.
I wrote about a group of Austin barefoot water skiers a few years ago, spending a morning on a boat while they contorted and skidded and twirled, sans ski, on the smooth water behind the boat.
You can get a glimpse of those crazies (oops!) this weekend, when they take to Lake Austin for the Austin Barefoot Ski Club’s annual Dam to Dam Barefoot Race.
They’ll be going really fast. You have to, to keep a skier on the surface of the water without a ski.
The race, which runs from the Hula Hut restaurant near Tom Miller Dam to the Apache Shores Community Park just below Mansfield Dam, starts at 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.
A pre-race party will be held at Johnny Fin’s at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and an awards ceremony and barbecue lunch at the Steiner Ranch Lake Club will follow the race on Saturday.
For more information, go to www.barefootaustin.org or email Blake Ehlers at Blakefoot@aol.com.
Permalink | | Categories: water skiing
