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rivermobster

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Water skiing back in the day, in Parker?

I remember getting up Early, so you could catch some glass. You'd be cold as fuck popping out of the water, but then after a few cuts, you'd hardly notice anymore.

I remember taking off down by the reeds, and how the air temp would change as you headed up river! There would be totally hot spots, and then spots that felt cold! I think you noticed it cause you were wet. When your in a boat, the air temp changes are there, but you don't really notice em too much.

I remember trying not to burn my legs on the headers getting in and out of my friends flat. All it took was one millisecond, and you had a nice welt on your leg for awhile.

I remember trying not to puss out, and hold a cut all the way across the wake! lol

I remember trying to hold on through the chop, and still having energy to make cuts through the glass...

Good times.
 

Tom Slick

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I remember partying at Sundance until it closed and then hitching a ride back to the house and continue partying with the bosses wife on the front deck. Next thing you know the boss himself walks out before day break ready to ski. Throws our drunk asses in the boat, his wife included and says who's ready?

I remember floating in the water before sunrise and all you could see were the navigation lights on the boat. But somehow the timing was always right and as soon as you yell "hit it" and pop up the dawns early light appears and you're ripping the best water of the day.

Also remember floating in the water waiting for the boat to circle around when I hear in the distance the sound of thunder. I turn and look down river and all I can see is a huge wall of white spray with a little dark speck in front of it when I realize that that thunder was a blown hydro heading right towards us. All I could think of was for my tow boat to get between me and then. Within seconds that hydro was upon us and they slowed up. The two dudes in the boat reminded me of ZZ-Top as they had long beards and threw the piece sign as they past. Once clear, they stabbed it and disappeared around the bend. They looked like these guys:

Hydro.jpeg
 

Riverbottom

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I remember it was cold but the water was glass yesterday morning. It was windy and cold this morning, and tomorrow I will be first up at 9:00 A.M. should be sunny and very little wind. Next week looks better for skiing.
 

2Driver

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The 80’s: The 4 of us got up at dawn and the first person beach started off the ramp at Moonridge to the dam and dropped at river lodge, next up was river lodge to echo second was echo to river lodge and last was river lodge to dam and back to Moonridge.

Then a big breakfast river front at Moonridge or if we were living, a skiers breakfast at RR.
 
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Carlson-jet

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Pops would always start off up river. I was about 7-8. I used the two/split handles to control the single ski until I popped up.
I remember going from dam to dam before I was told other people get a turn. Bless that old Reinell tri-hull. Curse the rash from the white piece of crap belt flotation device.
 

TrollerDave

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Learning to ski, I think I was about 7-8. The first try forgetting the most important thing-
Let go of the rope. I remember getting drug for a while before I let go.
My dad “I thought I told you to let go if you fell. Why’d didn’t you let go?”
Me “I don’t know”. Good times. 😃
 

mothershipper

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Wow, what a cool thread. My brother (primecut) and i practically grew up at the river. My dads good friend had a house in Big River and we were out there many weekends during the summer throughout the 80's. The most fun was when we would get a bunch of rafts and inner tubes and float from the RR bridge in Parker down to Big River.
 

EarpRider

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Kinda off topic but I was on the water ski team at Wilson High School in Long Beach in the mid 80's, we would ski Marine Stadium in the morning before school .
There would be about 3 or 4 boats in The Stadium each morning and we had a kinda unspoken code that we would take turns so everyone got some glass. Man I miss that kinda of water ski bro code respect.
 

Willie B

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...I remember how bad my inner ear hurt after being out on a whip and falling about 60 miles an hour in front of the Polynesian in 1967...
 

C-Ya

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During the summer of 1973, even tho I was still a kid....... The song “The Streaker” was the number #1 song in the country. Streaking at the river had turned into an epidemic. Naked water skiers everywhere. Men , women, young, old, groups, it was everywhere. Not one to let nostalgia pass me by........ I sporadically skied naked to approx 1984. Boy would I surprise the people in the boat when I would sneakily remove my swimsuit and yell “Hit It”. They had no idea what was about to happen.My nickname was “Tripod”....... if you know what I mean! Lol
 

RodnJen

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After early morning glass I remember a fried egg sandwich cooked by my mom in an electric skillet while camping in a van at Riverland.
 

nowski

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I remember while taking a siesta on the dock (past out) and being woken up by the annoying sound of a jet ski. Acting fast I flagged the guy down and said can you do me a favor?

See that boat over there? Can you ride up to him and tell him I'll give him $20 bucks for a ski ride.

Guys in boat rides up and say lets go, great let me grab my (Kidder Red line) ski and then proceeded to tear up the water.

Guys say that was pretty good want to go out again first thing tomorrow morning? Of course I said, thinking these guys probably won't show but regardless I got my fix.

Next morning it's 6:00 am girl wakes me up (head is still ringing from partying all night long) and says there's some guys in a boat out by the dock wanting to take you for a ski ride, are you kidding me? I jump off the couch, grab my ski, vest and another $20 bucks. I hop in the boat, hand the guy my 20 and he says keep it this one's on us...
 

lebel409

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I remember camping under the cabanas at the Bluewater...only shade anywhere. The boat (16'Rayson outboard) sat on the beach all night, too hot to sleep in the camper, so we'd be outside on the sand waiting for a breeze. We always skied upriver in case the boat crapped out.

Parker was the goto in the '60's, then Needles for about 5 years, then down to Blythe until dad sold the boat. When he finally got a new one in the late '70s (18' Cheetah jet 455) we moved from Blythe to Black Meadows.
 

rivermobster

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I was at Badnochs one morning, watching some guy Shred heading north towards us...

He makes his last cut just before the docks, lets go of the rope, and skis perfectly up to the dock. He gets outa the water, and it's a kid I went to grammar school with! lol

Such an awesome surprise!
 

ltbaney1

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I remember getting lessons from Mike Mack when i was a kid. sitting in the water with him, he tells me all you have to do this time is hang on to the rope ill lift you. he sure as shit grabbed my vest and had me standing before i knew it. great few hours learning to ski with him. I havent been on a ski in about 10 years, starting to get the itch to see if i still can.
 

Tom Slick

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I remember getting lessons from Mike Mack when i was a kid. sitting in the water with him, he tells me all you have to do this time is hang on to the rope ill lift you. he sure as shit grabbed my vest and had me standing before i knew it. great few hours learning to ski with him. I havent been on a ski in about 10 years, starting to get the itch to see if i still can.
It’s like riding a bike. Just make sure you stretch before and after 😂
 

coolchange

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Lay there thinking it’s almost light. Then hear a boat and think “ m effer “. Start the truck to drop the flat and first head to pop up got
“ get up let’s go”. Drop boat , gf takes trailer back, she takes driver seat, spotter drops in and gone. Everyone skis then down to Badenochs where we group up then the day is on, probably up to the dam for morning float.
Could have been anyone’s combination of boat / skiers but that’s how it started.
Depending maybe get in some barefooting or a speed ski run to Bluewater and back to Riverland depending on who’s boat got out first.
 

RVRKID

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I remember in the 70's when I was a super young and it was time for a nap, parents would load me in the boat and my Dad would ski dam to dam so I could take a nap. I still think that's why when I've been drunk the big blocks well put me to sleep on the way to the sand bar. LOL
I also remember sitting out on the dock at Sunset at all the boats would come out and drag each other.
Then my Dad would dock start(I never learned that) thought that was cool or watching him or my brother skiing coming up river drop off on a little whip and ski past the dock and the current would push them back to sit on the dock.
At night sitting on the dock fishing listening to Kenny Rogers Lucille over and over at the bar next door(don't remember the name) it was in between us and Buckskin Fire.
There is a ton more...
 

Sleek-Jet

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I grew up going to Powell...

... but...

The sun woke us up about 0700 every day. My brothers and I would pile in the boat with dad and head out to ski before breakfast. Nice thing about Powell that early was the miles of glass water. Water was nearly air temp that time of day, but it'd be cold after you first got up and then dried out quickly. We'd ski for an hour-and-a-half, taking turns between me, my two brothers and my dad (I'd drive).

Then back to the MH for breakfast before making lunch and loading up the boat to go find a nice side canyon for the day.
 

Water Romper

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Learned to ski at Puddingstone Lake (San Dimas, CA) but had friends who lived at the Blue Water trailer park, by the bridge and train track. We would head to Parker about once a month from So Cal, in summer to stay for 3-4 days. this is 1977-79 Because I didn't ski much, I would try and cram as much skiing in two days, I could hardly walk afterword's, every muscle in my body was sore, we would go to the Blue water casino that was in a little strip mall at the time to try and play some slots before we git kicked out. I remember the heat, HOT as heck and the slowwwww pace and total relaxing environment. We would go shooting off Shay rd. look in caves/mines and just explore. Never any problems, everyone including strangers were really nice.
 

nowski

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Didn't everyone learn to ski behind a flat?

😁 :p
Actually I learned how to ski behind a Tahiti with the insanely powered 140hp I/O. If you can get up on a ski with that you can get up behind any boat.

I honed my skiing talents up at Bass Lake during the summer of 78 and skied everyday, best summer ever. My buddy Mike worked the gas dock at the Forks, Pat and Randy's grand parents owned McDougall's. We had our gas, beer, snacks and a morning routine that started about 7:00am every morning, all before the lake opened up at 8:00am...
 

RogerThat99

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Didn't everyone learn to ski behind a flat?

[emoji16] :p
I learned to ski behind a flat on the Sacramento River. Our flat at the time had neutral. LOL.

My Parents were both avid skiers, and we boated and skied pretty much every weekend from Early March into October every year. We lived about 20 minutes from the ramp on the river. When I was about 8, we moved out by Folsom Lake and just lived a couple miles from the ramp.

My Dad was self employed, and so was our neighbor (who's kids were my best friends), so we went out early morning mid week a couple times a week. After a few times of the Neighbor going with us, the Neighbor bought a brand new Spectra 20 Jet with a 460. I have so many great memories of those mid week outings.

My Sister learned to ski on two skis when she was 5, and moved to a single ski that same Summer.

I was a late bloomer, who was perfectly content pulling my plastic boats on a string in the water, or pulling in along side the boat when we were idling. LOL

I think I was about 6 when I learned on 2 skis, and probably skied on them for a year and learned on a single when I was 7.

The coolest thing I remember was when we were leaving a dock or a beach and my Dad was going to ski, my Mom would jump behind the wheel and my Dad would start off the dock or the beach. They had the timing down.

My Dad was very patient, and good at teaching kids to get up on a single ski or double skis. So everyone who wasn't patient, would have my Dad teach their kids. I can't tell you how many kids he taught to ski over the years.

All good memories. I admit, I am a little disappointed I didn't get to take my kids out on the water every weekend, when they were growing up.

Sent From Tapatalk
 
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Shlbyntro

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I'm was born in 89 so I missed the early heyday. My family started going to the river when I was about 5 with our neighbor 2 doors down who was a fireman and had a small single wide in Moonridge2. We loved it so much that my family ultimately ended up buying a place just a few doors down from their place in Moonridge in 98. It didn't take too long for us to acquire some "toys," a waverunner1, jetski 1100stx(bought this one from the LA boatshow) and a 24ft Partybarge with a 115merc (the ugly grey, orange, yellow ones with the tassels on the hardtop shade cover. Our neighbor had an old 70s or maybe early 80s yellow/woodgrain Campbell daycruiser jet that he inherited from his dad at the time.

As soon as we got out to the river (generally about 1am Thursday night/Friday morning). Vehicles were unloaded, backed up to the trailers and all the toys got put on charge. About 7am about half the kids, myself included, and the dads woke up and launched the toys from Havasu Springs and would go find a beach to save with a couple chairs and we would pull a waverunner or seadoo way up on shore and leave it there. We then proceeded to fuck around on the water skiing, kneeboarding, and later wakeboarding until about 11 and would head back to the Springs to pickup the other boat and all the other people who were finally up and then everybody cruised over to our beach on the partybarge. Where the adults drank, us kids just played around, and thered be the occasional ski outings throughout the day. Saturday, kids and dads were up again and did the same thing in the morning minus saving the beach . And we'd go pickup the stragglers around 11 and everyone would head up to London Bridge Channel on the Pontoon, the Campbell would get left behind at the marina. Sundays we all got up kinda late and would launch on the strip and we'd all go down to Roadrunner for breakfast and then we hung out at our cabanas until about 2 when we went back and cleaned the toys at the river places up and headed home. As the years went on, one of their daughters and my sister started having some issues and everybody started coming to the river less. I ultimately became the only one who used my families place as a teenager. And only the dad from the other family came out most the time.....

Great lost memories and some of the happiest times of my life. It most definitely influenced who I am today



I did fly home for one of my good childhood friends weddings just a couple years ago to be one of his groomsmen, he and his family had just recently bought a place on the water on the Parker Strip. His dad accused me of being the cause of that.
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nowski

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How about some of those old wood logs (weighed a ton) we skied on back in the day. Maharaja and Connelly are some of the big names that I remember...

Ski belt vs ski vest which did you prefer? I personally preferred the belt...
 
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