Monday, December 22nd. Winter solstice. The shortest day of the year. Arguably this is the worst day of the year for a water-skier in the northern hemisphere. It’s cold, it’s dark and it will be at least 2 months before any appreciable attempt is made to return to the water.

     Even water-ski haven Florida isn’t immune to winter’s wrath as just this past week it had low temperatures and freeze warnings.  Christmas offers a ray of sunshine as many of us skiers will be opening boxes and presents filled with much needed and desired ski equipment. But that also brings with it a feeling of blue. We have to look at it, admire it, dream of what we will do with it, and then put it away knowing we won’t be using it anytime soon.

     Each of us has a way of coping with the wintertime blues. Winter doesn’t bother some people at all, while others are starved for outdoor activity. I am in the latter group.  Luckily the mountains are only an hour away and are already filled with snow. And while sliding down a frozen hill on skis is a wonderful adrenaline rush, it pales in comparison to playing tug of war with a 300 hp boat, chasing buoys, and soaking up the warm sunshine.  Hitting the slopes at dawn, feeling my legs burn and racing my friends to the bottom is the best I can do to ward off the wintertime blues. But it still doesn’t satisfy the urge to hit the water. 

     A day does not go by without my thinking of waterskiing. Call it an obsession if you will, but there are worse things to obsess about.  Everyday I glean over the water-ski websites and forums. Seeking out what others have to say, starting topics of discussion, joining debates, and really just enjoying the camaraderie that we water-skiers have. We are passionate about our sport, no doubt about that. 

     I also count the days until Moomba. And while I won’t be able to attend, for me it marks the beginning of the new season. Websites will fill with new pictures, forum chatter picks up, boats start coming out of storage and anticipation fills the warming air. We will replace the course buoys and check the ramp condition. We’ll go to the big lakes for open water conditioning. We’ll see if all that time spent in the gym has paid off and we will try all that new equipment that we stored away.

     But alas, that is still several months away, back to reality. The temperature this morning was 21 degrees, the expected high today is 45 degrees.
More snow is forecast later this week for the mountains while we will only get a very cold rain. Winter is just beginning.

     Winter can be a cruel time of year for water-skiers. It can be the longest, coldest and bluest time of a skier’s year.  And unfortunately, there is but one cure for the wintertime blues and spring is a long way off.  The writer who said “anticipation makes the event that much sweeter” must have been a water-skier. It definitely applies.

 
Gordon Slingerland

Gordon is a regular contributor and can be found carving buoys in his spare time.

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