Windemere is winding down and it looks like the ban is unlikely to be
overturned. Is there any other freshwater skiing to be had in the north - or
anywhere else come to that?

Steve

Mick

Ok, to be perfectly honest, I spend virtually more time falling in the water
than actually skiing on it . I livejust yards from the Mersey and Dee
estuaries and have skiied several times in the sea. There are a few down
sides to this as a beginner.
There is only so many mouthfulls of salt water you can handle in a day.
It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the chewey bits.
It may look like floating drift wood..... (to be fair the water is very much
cleaner now than it has been over the years)
Keeping balance whilst skiing across the wake from a sports boat is one
thing - the wake from the "Sea Cat" is another.
Unless it is a very calm day, there is usually too much wave to ski in the
sea, certainly for a beginner. The sheltered waters are better, but more
flotsam.
It is impossible to swim with skis on. There are often strong undercurrents
which drag you along making it difficult to keep balance and aligned in the
water. Not to mention the additional risks involved.
I find that I get tired faster in the sea than on the lake.
It's kinder on the boat and the wet/dry suit in fresh water
You can end the day skiing in fresh water with a pint and a meal without
stinking out the restaurant.

I find it basically a much more enjoyable experience to ski on fresh water.

Like several of our boating freinds, We often visit Winderere (4-5 weeks a
year) with the boat and the family and we have all noticed that there are
now very much fewer powerboats on the lake than there used to be. (There are
considerably more boats and particularly jetskis here in the sea). Between
the main dealers in Bowness you could virtually always get all the common
engine spares. I needed a drain bung, a trailer tyre, jockey wheel clamp,
oil filter, and anode last week but couldn't get any of them from the usual
places (Aquatics, Shepherds etc..) All saying that they are running down
the spares stock. (I suppose it could have been co-incidence). , The caravan
site owners are landscaping what used to be powerboat and trailer parking
areas. Lakeside businesses tell me that they are considering dredging the
pontoons to take sail boat keels. Other boating things are happening in our
area , Shepherds have now opened an office in Liverpool Marina, Other
caravan site owners in costal areas of Wales are gearing up for power
boaters. A brand new marina in Conwy is under construction and is expecting
some of the Windemere boaters.

We were on the lake the week before Easter and saw only a handfull of
powerboats on the lake all week. Even these last two weekends there was not
as many as we would normally expect.

As far as skiing close to the shore, I don't know why they do it. Yes, I
agree that it's not dong much for PR, I can only assume that its to keep
away from other traffic. (Its very scary to be in the water with other boats
around)

Steve





"Mick" wrote in message
...
"Steve Lomax" wrote:
Windemere is winding down and it looks like the ban is unlikely to be
overturned. Is there any other freshwater skiing to be had in the north -
or
anywhere else come to that?


On a seperate note Steve ..... you mention Windermere winding down
although I
have seen no real sign of this. What is noticeable though is how some ...
not
all obviously ... but some, and the majority appear to be ski school boats
(SkiShack and Low Wood to name a couple) insist on skiing within 20 to 30
yards
from the shore on parts of Windermere. I am talking about the waters
between
Wray and Belle Grange here on the western shore.

You are obviously a skier so perhaps you could shed some light on this as
it
does appear to be a form of own goal and surely does nothing on the public
relations front. Some of these boats seem to delight in getting as close
to
the shore as possible sometimes irrespective of and sometimes it seems
because
there is someone on the shoreline .... either kids playing, someone
fishing etc

There are other boats who do stay a reasonable distance from the shore I
must
add but it only needs one or two to keep close to almost deny the whole
shoreline to any other users.

How do you feel about this?

This isn't a wind up ... I would be most interesed in your thoughts

Regards

--
Mick