I have been messing about in boats since 1977, and for me boating is about towed sports … for years I enjoyed water-skiing and in particular knee-boarding.
Plus dabbled with Trick skis, wakeboarding, etc.
However I have had several operations on my knee culminating in a serious piece of surgery which meant I could no longer kneel and sit back on my heels .. so knee-boarding was no longer a possibility.
Also it takes only a few minutes water-skiing before the buffeting causes extreme pain & swelling of my knee ………… so I had to find a new toy or boating was going to become a thing of the past.
It started with a casual comment on an on-line forum, and I started looking into the option of getting into Hydrofoiling.
This sport started off with a product known as the ”Air Chair”, and was developed into a high performance piece of kit known as a SkySki.
So what is a SkySki ? - Here is the model I have a Pro SS:
You sit above what is similar to a small surfboard, there is a double locking cross bel that tightens you down onto the seat pad.
Your feet at strapped into fixed bindings on the board, both of these fixings are vital to make sure you and the SkSki become one ………… when you wipe out, if you are not strapped into and onto ths Sky … you can be seriously injured.
The bar travels down form the seat through the board to the bottom bracket, and onto this are fixed the foils.
You hold onto a tow rope – similar to skiing …
The principle is that the SkSki move through the water by the pull form the rope, while foils are parallel to water all is OK .. it cuts through …… if the front foil leading edge lifts slightly them the whole ski is raised upwards out of the water.
If it is tilted downwards the reverse happens.
The issue is this all happens very fast, slight movements by rider are greatly magnified by the length of the drop bar … with resulting very fast changes I n attitude.
When I first considered getting one I was told that learning to ride a Skyski, is like trying to juggle whilst riding a unicycle downhill blindfolded …………. It is harder than that!
SkySki’s are not cheap … there is no stockist in UK, one ‘seller’ will get you one, but pay up front and he orders from US and it will cost you £2000+
I bought mine 2nd hand in Switzerland.
I changed the stock rubber foot loops to Velcro wrap bindings, changed standard lap strap to a high quality CINCH strap, and also fitted seat swivels & then had foils & bars anodized.
Learning has been slow and very difficult, as I had no one to learn from, and also no idea who knew how to drive for a SkySki
The falls are spectacular … get it wrong and the SkySki can rocket out of the water, meaning you can find yourself inverted and 3m or more in the air …. And the water hurts when you come back down.
However there is absolute zero impact on my knee …….I can ride the SkySki for as long as I like with no issue on my knee ………… so it has given me a whole new lease of life behind the boat.
There are some very talented riders out there … who can do amazing tricks, but they are guys who started as teenagers .. not at 50!
I have great fun ………..so if you do fine skiing too hard on your knees there are options ……….
Here is a short video run out in the bay at Mumbles, showing a compilation of some of the falls that day and when it comes together - (it will paly at 1080 if you have good internet connection)
If anybody wants to try a SkySki …. welcome to come and try - it's a blast !
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