On Location Tour 2010

After collecting Gar Bradley from the Seattle Tacoma International airport on Wednesday evening, we arrived at Radar Lake around 10.30pm and met up with owner Herb O'Brien - the only great visionary in the sport for the last 40 years.

This picture shows Radar Lake looking like a perfect landscape picture, with a beautiful fluffy cloud reflection in the water.


Sue Pickrell getting ready for her set behind our new boat with Gar Bradley driving!


The view looking down on the Woodinville woodland and mountain ranges surrounding the Radar Lake property.


Fantastic skiing by Sidney Buchins on the bar, she skied amazingly and will soon be behind the boat!

Location:Radar Lake, Seattle Washington

On Location Tour 2010

In the fall last year I got a phone call from a guy who told me that he was given my name and he was looking for some slalom lessons, I though his accent was a trip and I gave him directions out to my site in Orlando. Well Matt & Carolyn Nistler pulled up at my place and we had a blast. I found it very entertaining when Matt had this what seemed to be a "get er done" attitude to everything he did or touched, I was guessing this is how it was done in Montana. I now know this is how it is definitely done, it's the Montana way. I imagine Life to be tough out on the farm growing up in Montana, you would soon have to adopt the "get er done" attitude to everything!

When Matt and Carolyn were in Orlando, we talked about coming out to Bozeman for some clinics, Matt was all over it and did an amazing job of pulling together a great bunch of local skiers for the four days of clinics. We had a full range of performance on the water and we even had four skiers learn the slalom course for the first time ever in their lives.

I was blown away when arrived on site Friday morning to see another welcoming banner printed especially for the Tour and our clinics, this means a great deal to us and of course shows us that you are all very excited to learn more. Carolyn had even put a larger one out by the main entrance to the property and if our GPS had not taken us the back way in to the property we would had also seen this one on our arrival!


Matt & Carolyn Nistler, you have a beautiful place, congratulations Carolyn for learning to run this course this week. You are rippin now!


Matt Nistler was not messing when he decided to build his piece of paradise at the foot hills of Big Sky ski mountain in Montana, what an amazing setting for a water ski lake


When the sun is coming up in the morning, and the horizon looks like is a blazing fire on the end of the lake, you know it's going to be a beautiful day on the water!

On Location Tour 2010

Just had four amazing clinics in Montana, now on I90 heading to Seattle Washington. I will fill in the detail on Montana shortly, just want to show you the On Location Tour complete Rig with the new MasterCraft Pro Star 197 . The new boat Rocks!

The crew from Ron's Lake eat at the hoe down by the lake, this is a daily event that we could really get used to. Thanks for the great food and company guys!





The locals discussing the day!


We had three Canadian Olympic Athletes at the clinic, two downhill skiers and one in curling!!
Cary Mullen had only been skiing the course for two weeks and could make it at 34 mph at 22off (16meters).

The ski crew out at Ron's Lake having a hoe down dinner by the Lakeside, this was the deal each night after skiing where all the real training was had!
Cheers Matt!



Ron and Karin's Log Cabin by their lake


Cary Mullen Canadian Olympic downhill skier having a great time with the challenge of learning to slalom in the course. We had two Olympic skiers and an Olympic curler skiing on my clinic Tour at Ron's Lake

After an amazing drive through the mountains passes, we were only 20 minutes out from arriving at Ron's Lake and the Throttle went out again on the RV. I was pretty sure what the issue was and decided to go ahead a drive the coach (with the Radar ski rope again) to the site and would work on her there, I had heard so much about Ron's lake and just wanted to get there as soon as possible!

Ron Smith's Lake near Invermere British Columbia, a piece of paradise!


Ron Smith looking to take to one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen for water skiing!


The Beautiful backdrop of the Rocky Mountain surrounding the Ron's Lake


Matt Klukus getting ready to Give Er on Ron's Lake, Matt has come a long way with his skiing in the few years I have known him.

On Location Tour 2010

We head west Wednesday morning on our four hour drive through the Rockies with the RV, I have to tell you I was very excited to say the least!

Heading in to the Rockies


At the foothills of the Rockies


Canyon walls hanging over the roads

Location:Invermere British Columbia

On Location Tour 2010

We arrived at Harry and Kristina Kluklus's house in Calgary in time for an amazing dinner cooked by Harry Kristina and son Matt. We had a beautifully roasted pork loin and roasted peaches with melted feta cheese in them, they were divine!

Following a few glasses of vino and a great catch up over dinner, we retired in order to rise early and be able to go see the Body World Exhibit at the Science Museum showing all the cadaver bodies and the amazing make up of the Human body.


The X Lady showing the intricacy of all the organs, bone and muscle structure.


A very worthwhile exhibit to go and see, you will be amazed and learn a great deal about the human body.

On Location Tour 2010

We arrived at Spruce View Lake near sun-set when the water was like a pane of glass. A beautiful ex gravel quarry that has been shaped into a ski mecca and skied for the past 10 years.

I met Brian and Nola Idland, the owners of the site for around 6 years. After catching up with then again down in Orlando, when at the 'Ski for Kiwi' event at Champions Lake, we agreed that we would make Spruce lake a stop on the Tour this season.

It was such a pleasure driving into the site and seeing Brian after all I have heard about this place, it really does live up to it's reputation.

Day break at Spruce View.



The fantastic little club house at Spruce View Lake, with WiFi Internet services and a live web cam for the members to be able to log on whilst at work to see if Brian is on site and what the weather is doing out at the lake.


Our group of students for the day at Spruce View

On Location Tour 2010

Waking up to a beautiful morning and glass calm water at Spruce View Lake in Alberta Canada.

On Location Tour 2010

We are heading up through Regina Canada, the roads are very straight, the farmland is extremely flat and it is positively wet and windy. The good news is Logan is making egg sandwiches for breakfast!

On Location Tour 2010

I have just been sent a training update from student and good friend Rick in Connecticut, he tells me he is working hard on the drills that I gave him for his balance training. I think that he has evolved the drill somewhat and started improvising!
I like his creativity though, I bet this was once written on his school report card!

Pleased to see you in the proper training outfit Rick !


Student of the Week

Following a great day on the waters of Crystal Lake Mike invited the Group, Logan and myself up to his house overlooking the lake, for some huge T Bone Steaks on the BBQ. The On Location Tour will definitely be stopping back in Faribault if we are invited to return!

Rob & Mike homes over looking Crystal Lake, they found this beautiful hidden lake shortly after Google Earth was launched!

On Location Tour 2010

Here is a great story for the On Location Tour Coach. After having problems with the electronic cruise control system driving from Milwaukee to Minnesota which meant driving the coach with my Radar ski line tied to the throttle and holding the ski line down the length of the coach at 35 off. We had made arrangements to meet a King Cruise Control technician at a truck stop in Faribault Minnesota, we arrived there around 8.00am and left the tech to it whilst Logan and I grabbed some breakfast. After breakfast we were working on our computers with a little Wi-Fi and a small group of people approached our table. I was on the phone and the group stopped and ask Logan where we were headed, Logan looked a little confused and asked the group why they were so interested.

It turns out they were a group of local skiers and they had spotted the On Location Tour Coach parked in the lot outside. We soon got into conversation and were asked if we could spare any time out of our schedule to go and coach the group at their little private lake that just happened to be near by. We had a spare day in the schedule and immediately agreed to go skiing for the afternoon. Within 20 minutes of meeting this group, our plans for the day changed and we were heading to another new ski lake. The beautiful little hidden away lake called Crystal Lake is where we spent the afternoon and evening skiing the slalom course.

Chris right and Mike left enjoying their slice of hidden paradise!

US Nationals Wilmington Illinois

We decided that we should back track a few hours with The On Location Tour coach and spend a few days at the US National Championships in Wilmington Illinois - it's been an interesting time already in the RV as we had a few issues with the speed control when driving the coach up from Orlando. When I came to move the coach on the Saturday, it would go in gear but we had no throttle. Heritage Coaches arranged for a tech to come out and fix the issue, the problem was with the wiring in the cruise control 'drive by wire' module.

It seemed the problem was fixed for the time being, but half way to the Nationals, Logan lost throttle again whilst in road works. Rather than wasting time waiting for a tech to come out to where we had broken down, we hooked my Radar slalom line around the throttle linkage - and with the engine cover part-open, I stretched the rope down the full length of the 40' coach and by pulling the rope, could use it as a hand throttle and still drive the coach. The cruise control was interesting, I just sat on the ski rope to hold the speed steady. When I needed to slow down or brake, I just had to 'lift a cheek' and the throttle would spring back making the speed drop pretty quickly. We ended up driving 150 miles on the 12 meter line (35 feet off the full length line) pretty funny really.

After talking with Steve Bowler at King Cruise Controls, he talked me through the wiring and we rewired a new power feed to the system so we are back up and running for the time being! The joys of being on the road in a coach!

Back to the Nationals and after being on site in Wilmington, it occurred to me that I had been to this site before but back 8 years ago when it had first been dug. It was just two holes dug in the middle of farm land back then, a great deal of dirt and dust as the Malibu Open event was pretty blown out, we ran the slalom but jumping was canceled.

It was amazing to see the transformation of this site, it was not recognizable at first because of all the housing in the surrounding area as well as around the two lake development. It is beautiful now and a fantastic venue for the National Championships with over 800 competitors spread over seven days of competition.

View from the south end of the lakes


View from the North end of the lakes


Future world champion rocking in his Jodi's Ski Skool cap

On Location Tour 2010

Following an amazing two days of water ski competition at Veterans Park in Milwaukee, the On Location Tour Bus headed over to Stillwaters Lake in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin - the 12 year old beautiful man-made water ski development with only 7 homeowner lots.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Paul Backland, Mark Rangard, Brian Porter & Tom Murrey, home owners out at Stillwaters who offered the use of their beautiful ski site for the Milwaukee On Location Clinic stop. We needed a last minute site change and they all stepped up to the plate and opened their site for us, so a huge thank you for that.

I had a group of skiers already set up from the area who normally ski out on a public waterway but this was not going to give good enough conditions at the weekend. Having access to Stillwaters saved the day.

Beautiful Stillwaters


Cully, Rocket, Pat, Mark, Tim & Bill all did a great job of skiing in the Clinic and it was a pleasure to also get to work with some of the home owners. Paul's kids, Ryan & Kelly and also Tom and Mike too, great skiing guy's and keep working on the tips I have given you. Looking forward to returning to Stillwaters in 2011.

On Location Tour 2010

What an amazing event, the 2010 Malibu Open will go down as one of the largest U.S. gatherings of water ski fans in a very long time. The Midwest is notorious for it's many lakes and water skiers, Wisconsin is even more notorious for it's many ski shows and show skiers, with the traditional acts such as pyramids, barefooting, swivel ski, freestyle jumping and big one & two ski aerial tricks on the ski ramp.

The 2010 Malibu Open was a reminder of the Waterski Pro Tour in it's hey-day in the late 80's and early 90's, could this be the re-birth of the amazing days on the water with the great water ski names of yesteryear - Andy Mapple, Bob & Kris Lapoint, Carl Roberg, Deena Mapple, Dammy and Camile Duvall and the likes.

The sport has come along way in terms of water ski technology and equipment and the scores that are now put out on a daily basis blow your mind. 20 years ago you would never had thought they would have ever been possible. The great names of today - Will Asher, Jamie Bauchesne, Chris Parrish, April Coble Eller, Freddy Kreuger, Ryan Dodd & Damien Sharman are all getting huge scores on a daily basis. They have pushed this great sport to new heights and levels with buoys run on shorter line lengths and jumps landing further down the lake each season. The Pro Athletes of today are truly dedicated to their sport, looking for every edge possible to be the best and push the limits of this amazing sport. Having more great events on sites like Veterans Park in Down Town Milwaukee year after year will only help lift this great sport back up to the hey-day and where it really belongs. Let keep on looking for downtown sites to get the world watching and involved in water skiing once again!

The 10,000 strong Milwaukee water ski fans at the Malibu Open


The Saturday Night finals under lights in Milwaukee, what an amazing time by the lake.


Men's Night Jump winners, Ryan Dodd, Zack Wardon and Damien Sharmen. Congratulations to Will Asher and April Coble Eller for taking the Men's & Women's slalom Titles

Location:Malibu Open Milwaukee Wisconsin

On Location Tour

A great first days competition at the 2010 Malibu Open in Down town Milwaukee Wisconsin, the Veterans Park is an amazing setting for the worlds best skiers to show Milwaukee their stuff on the water.

Veterans Park, Down town Milwaukee


The On first event for the On Location Tour bus freshly delivered by Heritage Coaches in Oakland Florida. I would also like to thank Bill Kiley and Connecticut Underwriters for their huge support and sponsorship, without these guy's, this Tour Bus would not have happened!

Jodi's Ski Skool Pro Shop

On Location Tour 2010

The On Location Tour drove 4 hours from Columbus Indiana to Essex Rec Ski Club in South Wilmington. My good friend Tadd Fries pulled together a group of local skiers from this long time three event tournament ski Club.

There are a fair few of these ex coal pits in the area that were mined in the 60's and 70's which now make great narrow ski lakes. Essex Rec had 60 trailer lots along the shoreline some of which have been developed with lake front homes.

The beautiful waters of Essex Rec Ski Club


Logan, Scott, Tadd & Chuck all taking it easy out at Essex Rec


Looking back up the channel of Essex Rec

On Location Tour 2010

It took 6 hours to drive to Columbus Indiana from Grand Rapids MI. I have been to Sawmill before but not for the past 6 years. Philippa & Rick Shedd's two older kids have now flown the coup to go to College but are currently traveling the world on school vacation. Nicolas is now 11 and really skiing great, he has just returned from the Junior National Championship in the UK and took the titles in both Slalom and Overall.

Rick and his Buddies set out 13 years ago to build their own lake after many years of big lake early morning skiing. I have to tell you that Sawmill is one of the most beautiful man-made natural looking lakes I have ever seen anywhere in the world and I have seen a great number of ski lakes over the years!




View straight down the course


Nicolas train ahead of the US National Championship coming up later this week.


Nicolas, Philippa and Rick hanging out in paradise!