I recently was on Maui, hoping to shoot epic Jaws. The swell didn’t exactly cooperate, but that hardly stopped Chuck Patterson, who decided he’d go water skiing — in 15-foot plus surf. I caught up with the man to see why:
So, I guess the obvious place to start is, what the hell? What are you doing? Skiiing at Jaws?
After three sessions on the custom wave skis in Northern California last year I felt that the best wave to really test the skis and how far we could push the limits, would have to be Peahi, better known as Jaws, the king of all big waves. Kind of like the Alaska of Extreme skiing. Like big mountain snow skiing, wave skiing really works best on bigger waves, where you can really do long carving drops and have a large wave face to work with that helps the skis keep their speed in the pocket. I have spent about 15 years tow surfing at Jaws and using   … Pictures & more
Barrie Beehag Ski Race, which was previously postponed, was just announced by the Moama Water Sports Club in conjunction with Victorian Water Skiing Association and Ski Racing Victoria that it will be held on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th February at Lake Cooper.Â
Venue is Fully Catered, with Canteen, Licensed Bar & Camping Facilities (With Pool) also available.Â
The event will be races of approx 60km. This is  … More
Wonder Lake Show Ski Team prefabircated pyramids at the 2006 Waterski Show Nationals
You think you’re cooler than me? Well you probably are…but you’re definitely not cooler than Mike Wilson. He raised the bar with his unprecedented ropeswing triple backflip into the Truckee River. In case you missed it, the release point on this particular rope swing was 60 feet high, and Mike was over land for a majority of the jump…until he somehow torpedoed into the narrow “window of opportunity” section of the river. Wilson stomped, stomped, and stomped some more…to which you would think he would go home and rest. Not the case. Wilson’s a Beast! Instead of patting himself on the back while claiming illest rope swing/extremist in the western hemisphere, Mike Wilson lost sleep, weight and sanity thinking about how he was going to one-up himself. The creative wheels started turning and the hit was on…Wilson concocted a quadruple back flip off a 99 foot rope swing into the royal blue depths of Lake Tahoe. With the unique combination of childlike eagerness and calculated focus, Mike crafted a pulley system conducive to rocking a quadruple back flip. A four-day shoot session started with a California sunrise and Subway sandwiches…hand-delivered by Wilson’s Mom!
The events that took place between Sunrise, Day 1 and Sunset, Day 4 were out of control. The Shreddy Times Crew scoured the lake/cliffs to get, the, shots. Large crowds gathered on the cliffs, boats and waterbound onlookers pulled up to enjoy the “Great Show”, a term coined by Wilson’s fan and father. Mike Wilson trajected himself into the record books with a MASSIVE 99 Foot rope swing quadruple back flip. Summer 2010, Lake Tahoe. Enough Said.