SafetyWhen you are water skiing you should be wearing a Coast Guard approved life jacket for buoyancy, it is also state law that a skiier should wear a life vest. If you do fall try to regain composure as soon as possible and raise your hands above your head and wave them. This will alert others boats behind you of a down skiier. Also other boats should let you past first if both boats need to turn, you and other boats should stay at least 150 ft away from each other when pulling a skiier. It is also state law that a boat is required to stay a minimum of 100 feet away from the shoreline.
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Commands and hand signalsWhen you are water skiing the people in the boat cannot hear you so there are common hand signals to communicate with the people in the boat. The skiier and the spotter should always review the signals prior to take off. It is the spotter's responsibility to communicate the skiiers's wishes to the driver. The skiier uses one hand to hold onto the handle and the free hand to signal. The following is a list of the most common signals.
Thumbs up: if you want to go faster then you would make the thumbs up signs and move it up and down. Thumbs down: If you want to go slower then make a thumbs down sign and move it up and down. If you put up your pointer finger it means that you are dropping a ski and will began to slalom skiing. If you want to stop then take your hand and instead of having it in fist make your hand flat and wave it in front of your neck, or if you want to stop on your own then simply let go of the handle you will gild over the water and slowly sink in. |