Suummmerr timmmeee, and the skiing is easy...well, if not easy, at least a ton of fun. With summer and skiing, Life's Better Wet!!!
The big houseboat trip happened last week. It is always a great trip, but how does a trip like that go down.
Roster:
Joel Kinman – VP of RipNsix, construction project manager (HI)
Melissa Bouton – Founder of RipNsix, nurse practitioner, competitive skier (WA)
Alec Smidt – Founder of RipNsix, entrepreneur, competitive skier (CA)
Matt Allen – Computer security specialist (CA)
Brittany Allen – Sign language interpreter (CA)
Ron Wood – Owner of commercial construction company, competitive skier (CA)
Miguel Cruz – Teacher (CA)
Courtney Hoffman – Student of the world and traveler (Australia)
Dylan Wood – Student, son of Ron (CA)
Sarah Ranstrom – Owner of fitness company, owner of dog walking company (TX)
Regina Visser – Microbiologist (OK)
Dustin Jinks – Real estate entrepreneur (CA)
Rodney Neph – Direct marketer, competitive skier (CA)
Forrest Jinks – President of RipNsix, real estate entrepreneur, competitive skier (CA)
Kaila Neph – College student, daughter of Rodney (CA)
LaRon ? – College student, boyfriend of Kaila (WS)
Rian Johnson – Aeronautical engineer and pilot (OR)
Tim France – Project manager (CA)
And it starts…
7/25/08
9:30 p.m. – I pick up Joel at the San Francisco airport. Most of the group meets near Santa Rosa, Ca to kick of the annual disco bowling marathon
10:00 p.m. – We pick up Melissa at the Oakland airport. We head north to Santa Rosa to join the festivities
11:30 p.m. – The bowlers are tired and the games are winding down so the party heads to Dennys
1:30 a.m. – We finally head to bed spread out all over my house
7/26/08
9:00 a.m. – Most of the crowd is up and starting to put together supplies for the trip. That includes trips to the storage unit, Costco and several grocery stores
4:00 p.m. – The vehicles are starting to get packed for the trip.
6:00 p.m. – The vehicles head out towards the lake, with a planned stop over in Red Bluff for the evening at some family of Dylan and Ron Wood.
7/27/08
7:00 a.m. – The crew is out of the showers and on the road. The trip includes stops for two meals, a couple stops at grocery stores (ice melts quickly in the sun) and a stop of church.
2:00 p.m. – We arrive at the lake and start the process of getting the boat and getting it loaded. Despite being road weary from all the travels energy starts to return as the excitement rises about the upcoming week. This despite the fact that the raging fires in Northern California have resulted in terribly smoky air at the lake.
2:45 p.m. – We realize that our boat is a heap of junk with rotting floors and faulty electric
3:00 p.m. – My boat won’t start and I am floating in the lake while the houseboat turns the corner and chugs north. After all kinds of inspections and tests it is determined my problem is that the safety switch got pulled, probably by getting caught on something that was packed in the boat for the ride to the lake.
6:00 p.m. – Four of us start dropping the ski course in the lake, this process is supposed to only take ½ hour or so.
7:30 p.m. – Still dropping the course into the lake
8:15 p.m. – Having finally gotten the course laid out we head back to the houseboat for dinner and for the safety briefing by Dylan, the resident clown.
7/28/08
6:00 a.m. – Rodney, usually not much a morning person, is raring to go. Melissa and I join him for the inaugural ski run of the trip.
7:00 a.m. – Most of the boat is awake and waiting for their turn. The rest of the boat is awake and wishing everyone else would go back to bed.
3:00 p.m. – More skiing, wakeboarding and games
8:00 p.m. – Alec and Rian use their responsibility of cooking and theme night to relive for us the trip they took to eastern Africa the previous December. Dinner included rice and some chicken bones. Luckily we packed lots of snacks
7/29/08
7:30 a.m. – A few of the die hards trickle down to the ski boats for early runs. The rest of the boat continues to sleep
2:00 p.m. – More skiing, wakeboarding and games. Matt shows up how not to use the slide
8:00 p.m. – Matt, Britney, Rian and Ron head into the dock. Matt and Britney are gone for the week with other responsibilities. Ron has to spend Wed at his offices and Rian has agreed to fly him there so he can get back sooner.
7/30/08
9:00 a.m. – With two die hard skiers off the boat (Ron and Matt), and couple days of skiing already under our belt, getting started in the morning is harder than normal. Luckily it doesn’t matter because today turns out to be one of the flattest days we have seen in years. Tired muscles don’t get much of a break.
2:30 p.m. – The water is still perfectly flat, but everyone is sleeping, completely worn out. Rod already ran the first 32 off of the trip.
5:00 p.m. – Rod and Miguel bring In and Out to Lake Trinity complete with the official uniforms and some terrific burgers
8:00 p.m. – Rod returns from a trip to the dock with Rian and Ron. They join us in the dining room area for some awful karaoke.
8:15 p.m. – Joel jumps up and streaks for the back of the boat. FIIRRRREEEE. We all follow and quickly jump to action to put it out. Thankfully Joel was on the ball and got to the fire before it got out of control. Another 2 – 3 minutes and the whole houseboat may have gone up in flames. One of the tiki torches that were set up on the top deck melted down and the flame fell to the top of the houseboat. From there the wind blew it over the top to the side of the houseboat where we were storing a fishing float tube, life vests, wetsuits, and ski bags. There is damage to the boat but nothing major. The float tube and two ski bags are history.
7/31/08
7:00 a.m. – The skiing for enthusiasm has returned and people are up early to take advantage of the morning water.
4:00 p.m. – The crew is just sitting around the boat playing games, looking out the window and hoping the water flattens out. Today is pretty clear from the smoke after yesterday when it was so bad visibility wasn’t much more than 100 feet. Lucky for Ron and Rod that they had the excuse of poor visibility for getting lost last night and spending the night with an adoptive houseboat. The other houseboat was much nicer than ours and Ron and Rod claim it was hard for them to leave this morning. I don’t believe it. No houseboat can have as much fun as us.
7:00 p.m. – One of the ski boats leaves for the second beginner barefoot session. We forgot the boom this year, meaning these crazies are learning to barefoot straight from a deep water start. The first session was largely successful with Alec, Miguel and Courtney all learning to plane on their butts and get outside the wake. Today is the day to try and get to their feet. Miguel looks comfortable on the water and has a couple good attempts, the last one getting his feet in the water, but a little to hard. This results in a extremely short session on his feet followed by a rather strong collision between his face and the water. He manages to climb back into the boat. Alec also looks good and manages to get up and stay up for long enough that a picture catches him on his feet…so maybe…1/2 a second.
The face plant follows and he joins Miguel in the boat. Courtney follows, the only girl game enough to try this insanity. She is looking great, especially once the water glasses over. She pulls out to the driver’s right and tries to stand up on her left foot before taking her right foot off the rope. This results in a horrible looking crash. She needs help getting back in the boat and after the short houseboat ride back to the houseboat is counted out for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, it turns out to be only a severally strained neck.
8/1/08
8:00 a.m. – It is another late start and Dustin, who only showed up the previous evening, is raring to go. When enough people finally wake up for a boat ride he is up and out of there on the skis.
2:30 p.m. – One boat, full of wakeboarders, has been gone since around 9 without food and not much drink. The water is not great so that leaves a few of us water skiers to have run of the houseboat. Its gets a good cleaning, well over due. Once that is done we nap and read, a little jealous of the fun the other boat is having.
8:30 p.m. – The boat and generator have been running for hours. The lights are dim and we can’t get the refrigerators to work. Maybe we should have let this thing burn.
8/2/08
7:00 a.m. – Rod, Ron, Dylan, Kaila, LaRon, and Miguel are leaving for home this afternoon and Rod and Ron want to get some skiing in. The water cooperates and everyone that wants to (Courtney is still out and is soon joined by Sarah) gets a good run in.
12:30 p.m. – We hold the annual awards ceremony. Normally this is held the last evening on the boat, but since we have so many people leaving we decide to do it early. Dylan, after years of getting picked on in the awards, works with Joel to put the awards together. They do a great job and everyone leaves the ceremony with laughter.
3:30 p.m. – Sarah’s home made pot stickers come off the skillet. They are quite possibly the best pot stickers I have ever had.
5:00 p.m. – We kick off the first annual demolition derby, otherwise known as beginner trick ski tournament. The scoring is done based on the number of wake crossing that can be done within the length of the ski course plus bonus points awarded for anyone who can hold on around the corner. The caveat? Normal tricking speed is low 20s. Competition speed – 34 mph. Mass carnage
7:00 p.m. – Melissa and I are trying to cook a stir fry dinner without power and dwindling light. The food is edible at best. The generator and batteries still aren’t working and without any light we end up heading to bed relatively early. Instead of having the great send off we are used to it is hard to have our last night end this way.
8/3/08
5:30 a.m. – Melissa, Alec and I are up early to bring the course in so we can head the houseboat back towards the marina.
10:00 a.m. – We get the houseboat back to the marina (Trinity Alps) on time and get it unloaded. Then the fun begins. First is the conversation of the fire. Fully aware that the fire is entirely our fault, we were shocked to hear the cost of replacement. With several houseboaters having construction backgrounds there is disagreement with Trinity Alps over the cost of repairs. Dustin offers to drive back up and fix the damage and pocket the difference of what the Marina wants to charge. They quickly back pedal, knocking $250 off what we are charged. Next they try to charge us for fact the generator and batteries didn’t work. This doesn’t fly very far since we called in with complaints during the week and also have well over a 50 years of combined houseboating experience between the crew without incident. After much posturing, arguing, and threats, it is all over and we leave for home. The trip, despite the fire and it being a little more subdued than normal was great fun up until the disputes with Trinity Alps marina. Being boat people to the core and doing a houseboat trip every year for years and years, it didn’t take to much effort to decide we wouldn’t be returning to Trinity Alps next year (this was our first year with them).
We don’t know where we will go yet, but we do know we will be there; skiing, cooking, playing games, etc. It is to much fun to miss.
Last week I received art for a tournament shirt we are doing here at RipNsix. The back of the shirt was designed so that four different slalom skiers strutted their stuff inside of a thick blue oval. In past years I skied in that tournament and know some members of the club pretty well. As such, I paid close attention to the skiers to see if I could tell who the skiers in the graphics might be. Three of them I immediately recognized. The fourth seemed familiar but I couldn’t quite place who it was. I went back to the person who sent me the file and requested the photo originals. The picture of the skier I couldn’t figure out was high quality and was one of those pictures that immediately makes a person wish they were on the water instead of looking at pictures. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the person in the picture was me.
It was a picture I had never seen before but all of sudden I felt pretty good about my skiing. Sure, it was my opening run in the tournament and it is a lot easier to look good on the longer line lengths. Sure, my head is fixed directly on the buoy instead of down the course. Sure, my front leg is a little straighter than it should be and I am a little farther back on the ski that I should be. Sure, the picture shows I may not be that great of a skier, but it is still a great picture that captures the spirit of being on the lake. And if you really look close you can see the RipNsix sticker on my ski. Can it get any better?
If you are anything like me, pictures like this get the juices flowing, and well they should. We are waterskiers, and life is good when we are waterskiing. So let’s get out there and do it, for the love. Don’t forget to show your love and share the love. You can do that by wearing your favorite RipNsix apparel, which of course you can find exclusively in our shopping area at www.ripnsix.com/buystuff
Love life, ski, and remember, Life’s Better Wet!!!
Gas prices are sky rocketing, home prices are falling, and we as consumers are looking to spend less money. But we can’t give up our habit, can we? Here are some tips to help you fight the gas pump blues and still be able to get in your time on the lake.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Chicken Little seems to have taken over the American press and all we hear about every day is how poor the economy is doing and how everything is going down, down, down. Add in soaring gas prices and many people are feeling the pinch in their leisure dollars. How is that affecting the waterskiing world? I know I haven’t made it to the lake as much this year as I have in previous springs. Conversely the group I barefoot with seems to be hitting it even harder this year, their time on the lake being a healthy reprieve from the stresses of life. RipNsix would love to hear from you about how the economy is affecting your enjoyment of your favorite past time. Include any ideas of money saving tips that we can pass along to others.
A money saving tip from RipNsix is to use promo code ‘recession buster’ in the shopping cart promo code field to save 20% on your entire order (for a limited time only). Click here to check out the great apparel in the shopping cart.
Let’s not let the economy get us down. Lets keep Rippin and having a great time on the water. After all, Life’s better wet!!!
In its ongoing effort to give you the best water-ski site on the web we have upgrade our multimedia page to make it easier to upload, download and enjoy the water-skiing videos you love. All you have to do is sign in, upload your video and then send the link to your friends. They will be able to view, comment and rank your video right on the site. Go ahead, show off your mad skills, and if you do it wearing great RipNsix apparel…all the better.
Spring is here and summer is around the corner. If you are anything like us, you have skipped right past spring fever and instead have been dreaming about warm days taking a ski pass (or four) on the lake. Those day dreams make is hard to get work done, which is bad, because here at RipNsix we have a lot of work to do.
Let’s start with the water skiing apparel. We just finished refilling our inventory from a hectic Christmas season and have added a new shirt to the mix that will debut in the shopping cart area of our website next week. It isn’t a new design, but a twist on a popular ski design that turned out great. We hope to follow that up with at least one more brand spanking new design by the time summer rolls around. If you have any ideas drop an email to info@ripnsix.com and we might just use your design.
Then there are our plans for the website. The biggest change is a complete make over on our multi media page (coming soon). We want to make it easier for you to see great water skiing and bare footing videos and upload your own great water skiing or bare footing videos. Forget YouTube, think RipNsix Tube.
Additionally we plan on helping you with your search for the paraphernalia you need to make your skiing experience even better by finding and reporting on products that might be of interest to you. Check back often to the water skiing main page to read about our latest discovery. Our expectation is that we will start those product overviews in March and continue them through the summer.
The biggest item we are working on is in response to requests from several of you. We have heard over and over that we should be carrying water skiing equipment in addition to the apparel. We agree!!! And we are working on it. The process is more complex than one might think and we want to make sure we get it right. If you have ever purchased from us you know that customer service is of the utmost important to RipNsix. We feel our customer service is the best in the water skiing industry and we want to make sure we can offer that same great service when we start supplying water skiing equipment. Great prices and the best service. That is the right kind of combination.
Don’t forget that we can supply your team or club with the best in custom designed apparel at prices that are pretty hard to beat. Shoot, our prices are so good that you can get shirts made for your skiing buddies and start your own club. Drop us a line at info@ripnsix.com
Keep thinking summer and check back often to see how we are doing on the projects we have planned. Don’t forget, Life’s better Wet!!!!
A Bad Water Sport Poem
As the weather gets cooler
And even some snowflakes fly
Summer runs away
And this makes us cry
How many more sets
Before summer bids final adieu?
Ice may soon cover the lakes,
Then what will we do?
In southern cali they say
it is the best time of year
No wind and warm water
No need for winter gear
But up in Canada
Some boats were shut down long ago
And throughout much of the US
We are wondering how much time we have to go
Should we book a trip to Florida
Or maybe Acapulco this time?
Either way will be better
Than this lame ski rhyme
Keep on skiing
As long as you can
It is all about the fun
Not about the tan
The polar bear club
Will come soon enough
Until then stay on the water
(people will think you are tough)
I have to end this
The sun just peaked through
I have my RipNsix shirt on
And some skiing to do.
Oar Skiing (or skiing what???)
Rumors abound regarding old timers that can ski on an oar. As a cocky 24 year old I figured if the old timers could do it, so could I, so on a bad water day I jumped in, oar on feet. I was in great shape and at that point had never seen anything I couldn’t get out of the water on. After two broken oars, a roll of duct tape and thirty minutes of me not getting past my belly button out of the water I had to admit that I didn’t have the technique. But I still believed it could be done. Since that time I have still heard the rumors but not enough to go try again, and then I discovered my problem. While taking a couple slalom sets with long time member of the California water skiing scene he mentioned a friend of his that used to ski on an oar. Immediately I jumped at the opportunity to ask questions, and soon discovered my biggest hurdle in not being able to get out of the water and on plane. I was trying to do a deep water start with two feet on the oar (and why not, that is how I got up on everything else), while the correct, or at least a correct method, involved the use of a ski which would be dropped. Finally the secret to oar skiing…which I share with you now. I doubt that many of RipNsix’s faithful readers will ever attempt this maneuver, instead shaking their heads and clucking there tongues. And who can blame them? What fun is there is skiing an oar anyway? But some of you out there may be a little like me. The curiosity will get to you and you will try it. Why? Because the oar is there, so ski it. Step by Step Directions:
The best part of skiing on an oar is that if the boat doesn’t notice you fall, you can remove the oar from your foot and paddle yourself into shore. I guess you could also swim, but that is so cliché.
Unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of my experience but next time I feel the need to go oar skiing I will make sure a camera is handy, and I will get the pictures posted right here on RipNsix, right next to the picture of the Loch Ness Monster.
No oars were harmed in the research or writing of this article, but some fantastic RipNsix apparel was worn. More information about the great designs and quality of RipNsix apparel can be found here.
Summer Ski and Wakeboard Apparel GiveAway
Our first prize winner is Kristel is 14 years old from Long Island, New York and has been wakeboarding for 2
years. When it comes to wakeboarding she enjoys learning new tricks and is looking forward to competing and hopefully meeting some pros. As the first name drawn in our Kick of the Summer drawing Kristel wins the SKI ringer in heather and navy, the “I do my own stunts” t-shirt in ash, a RipNsix beannie, and a khaki adjustable RipNsix hat. Click on any of the links to see what she won. Thanks for playing Kristel and keep on rippin’.
The next RipNsix winner is Cory Shapielak of Mount Olive, Alabama. Cory is 16 has been wakeboarding for four years and is already doing well in competition. He enjoys boarding and practicing (he is currently working on improving his flips and rolls) behind the families Team Edition Super Air Nautique on Smith Lake in Alabama. He loves the ride and the adrenaline rush that comes with it. Cory must be doing something right because he placed fourth in his division at the 2006 INT Championships held at Smith Lake. Keep the adrenaline rolling, Cory and do it wearing your winnings; 1st is the popular RipNsix logo design hooded sweatshirt in charcoal. That sweatshirt will be accompanied by the RipNsix flex fit cap in California Blue. Wakeboarding in Alabama is probably warm enough that Cory won’t need the sweatshirt for a couple months but it will help keep him warm for those fall and winter sets.
The last winner is Nathan Veldkamp from Santa Rosa, California. Nate main focus is on snowboarding but whe
n the snow melts at his favorite hill Kirkwood, he jumps into waterskiing and wakeboarding with both feet. He doesn’t claim to be a pro on the water but has a great time and is getting better each time he goes out, which is all that matters. Nate, thanks for reminding us that waterskiing and wakeboarding is all about having fun and getting better. For being winner in our contest we are going to send you the RipNsix “Danger” t-shirt and the Wakeboarder logo design t-shirt. We are not sure that wearing the RipNsix clothing makes you any better, but it sure lets everyone know what you love to do during the hot summer months.
Summer is here!!!
Summer is here and there are all kinds of good reasons to get on the lake, and maybe even some excuses to get on the lake now. Most of us may have called in sick to enjoy a day on the lake and few of us feel guilty about it. It is easy to be sick of work where there is a waterski pass out there calling your name. Here are a couple other excuses you might be able to use: 1. Gas prices have dropped over the last couple weeks, you need to get on the water before gas prices go back up and it becomes more expensive. 2. Many parts of the country are dealing with a low rain fall year. Lakes levels are way down. You need to get out and ski while there is enough water. 3. You just got a new waterski t-shirt from RipNsix.com and you need to see how it looks when you wear it on the boat (shameless marketing – click here to go to the shopping cart). 4. You can feel it, there is a new PB right around the corner (isn’t there always a new PB just around the corner?). 5. Who cares about excuses, let’s just get on the water.
While you taking great advantage of your excuses and documenting it all with pictures, videos and stories, remember that here at RipNsix we love pictures, videos and stories too. Send them to us and we will get them up for the world to see.
Remember, Life’s Better Wet!!!!
Paradise Found Ski Tournament
Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara celebrated Cinco de Mayo weekend and kicked off their summer by co-hosting the 10th Annual Paradise Found collegiate water ski tournament at Ironwood Ski Ranch in Arvin, CA. Drawing over 125 A-team skiers from teams all over California, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington, Paradise Found was one of the larger tournaments the Western collegiate Water Ski Association has ever seen. Being that it was the last chance for skiers to qualify for this year’s All-Stars up in Washington, everyone brought out their A-Game.
Leading off with women’s slalom, Anna Neely of Sac State came in first as the only girl to break into 35’off. ASU’s girls squad was right behind her filling in the rest of the top 5 with Nina Daley, Danielle Sligar, Jodi Barrett, and Tiffany Stevenson. On the men’s side of the slalom rope Ryan Selsor (SAC) came through with 3@38, nearly a full pass ahead of a three way tie for second. Justin Pingatore and Matt Nantze of Sac State shared this honor with Brian Kinney of Chico with scores of 4@35.
Saturday afternoon concluded with women’s jump and once again the ASU girls set the bar high. Nina and Jodi launched themselves ahead of the rest with leaps of 72’ and 68’ respectively. A huge surprise, however, came from Cal Poly’s own Erin Gainous who finished third with a personal best of 49 feet. This was far enough to move Erin from 1st alternate to the 10th spot on the All-Stars roster. Laura O’Dell finished close behind in fourth with a jump of 48 feet.
Sunday proved to be just as exciting and in a rare deviation of collegiate format, the guys led off with tricks. As he has a habit of doing here in the Western Region, Brian Kinney pretty much dominated with a solid run of 4260 points. ASU freshman Skip Wintter followed behind Kinney with a score of 2980, just ahead of Ryan Selsor who finished with 1870 points. 1870 was also the score of the women’s tricks leader Danielle Sligar who beat out second place Nina Daley with 1090. Third place was a tie between Jodi Barrett and UCSD’s Ashleigh Grant. Closing out the weekend’s competition with men’s jump, Brian Kinney landed first with 158’, Skip Wintter second with 139’, and my man Justin Pingatore of Sac State in third with a jump of 127’.
Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara would like to thank everyone who helped out with the weekend, making it such a success. Special thanks to AJ Hubner, Jon Fadhl, Phil Adams, Bill Barrett, Rob Vieirra, Darren Hall, Kelly Bryan, Ashleigh Grant, and of course the Heinriches for giving us a place to ski!
Private Water-ski Lakes
I have long dreamed of having my own water-ski lake. Or at least a house on a private lake. As a full time real estate developer I knew that eventually I could get it done but I also had premonition of how difficult it could be to get approved and finished. Being from California and doing most of my business within the state I understand how difficult development of any kind can be, especially dealing with water run off and grading. Horror stories abound. One fellow I know has been working on a lake and subdivision outside Middletown in Northern California. Five years later, still no lake. A second fellow, outside of Sacramento, started his lake after receiving all the necessary permits. His neighbors didn’t like it and had friends at the County Supervisor level. The county retroactively cancelled his permits. At the time the permits were cancelled the lake had been dug and was beginning to be filled. A lawsuit followed from the neighbor to block the filling of the lake. A full twelve years and a couple hundred thousand dollars in legal cost later the Supreme Court ruled in favor of our fellow water enthusiast and he was allowed to continue.
Some states pose little problem for those that want to dig a lake. Last summer WaterSki magazine ran an article which mentioned a lake in Arkansas which was dug in a short amount of time and for less than one hundred thousand dollars. In Florida and the upper Midwest, entire communities built around water ski lakes are being planned and built. Those of us in more regulated states are jealous indeed.
But even in the states that fall under the rule of the People’s Republic of Bureaucracy, all is not lost. Even in California lakes can be built relatively quickly and for a decent price. The key is the zoning allowances. In many counties in California (and many more out of California) grading permits are not required for work done within Agricultural Zonings. The Ag zoning may hinder a person’s ability to put in a water ski community but isn’t a problem for someone who wants to build their own lake and estate type house. Ag zonings usually run at either 20 or 40 acre minimums but are sometimes less, all the way down to 5 acre minimums. A lake was recently completed in Glenn County (about 1 hour north of Sacramento) in which no permits were obtained and total cost, including the 70 acres of land, the dirt work, and two boat docks, was less than $400,000. The builder, who did all of the work himself, says the key to a successful water-ski lake building experience is to be on good terms with your neighbors. People as a general rule are suspicious of change and that suspicion can overshadow truth and create the ill will that will make the lake building experience a nightmare. Check with your local planning department for more information or email us here at info@RipNsix.com.
Life’s better wet.
