How to Water Ski
Water skiing is one of the few water sports that you can do without having to enroll in a school or get professional instruction. Here’s how to water ski.
You can start water skiing on water straightaway, even without prior experience. However, if you are unsure or training a child, you may want to try practicing on land first.
Get on a pair of combo water skis, hold onto the handle, and ask someone to drag you around until you get the hang of it.
While you’re getting dragged around, keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Don’t rely on your heels, as this is a quick trip to a toss in the water.
water ski
Keep your knees bent, with your head up and your weight back. This helps lower your center of gravity, helping you be more balanced.
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with keeping your balance on water skis, it’s time to try out the real thing.
Talk to the captain and the spotter. The captain is the one who drives the towboat, while the spotter is the one who keeps an eye out for you. Make sure that all three of you know what the hand signals for starting, stopping, increasing speed, decreasing speed and danger are.
Don’t be afraid to tell the captain that you are a beginner and would like to limit yourself to a certain speed for your own comfort and ease.
Check the weather conditions of sea, sky and winds. The clearer and calmer the weather, the better and safer for you.
Get on your water skis and signal your towboat to go. Get comfortable with maintaining your balance. Once you think you’re ready to increase your speed, signal your spotter to do so.
Ready yourself and ease yourself into a constant running speed before breaking the boat’s wake. This will reduce the possibility of injury from crossing an unexpectedly large wake.
To do turns, lean gently into the direction of the turn. Maintain your skis at a rough 30 degree angle to the boat’s wake. If you start feeling out of balance, point your skis straight forward and go back to a slower speed eventually. Once you’ve regained your control and balance, you can signal the boat to go faster again.