Conference vicki::boats

    Musta decided to stay longer when he heard it was near zero degrees
    up here!  Smart man, but still scum!  :-)
    
    ...Roger...

    
    Naaah, he's back, we exchanged mail this morning.  He just wants
    everyone to *think* he's still down there enjoying the sun and
    warm temps!    :*)
    
    Welcome back Rick!  Too bad you didn't bring back some of that
    warm weather with you. 8^(  Did you learn anything at ski school?
    
    Rick W.   (39_days_til_launch_and_counting)

    
    
    	Here I am in Orlando on my laptop running over
    Ma Bell's lines. Isn't technology wonderful? Just
    a second I have to put on more suntan lotion... A 
    little to the left, Camille! Ah that's it....!
    
    	Well, I can pretend can't I?  Florida was wonderful,
    driving back into the storm from NY to here wasn't.....
    
    	I may have seen the Fbb at the Correct Craft factory...
    
    
    More news soon...
    
    Rick

    What a dreamer... Little does he realize Camille was in BOSTON this
    weekend at the boat show. (And the rest of the time she lives in NY,
    or anywhere she wants since she's married to a millionaire.)  Besides,
    you don't even OWN a laptop computer.   :^)
    
    Anyway, welcome back to the arctic circle...
    
    Doug (who one-year-ago TODAY was winging down to FLA with Don, Roger,
    and Jim in Don's Beechcraft...I'll have to break out the photos..) 

And at this exact moment one year ago we were on the phone to BI from the West
Palm Beach Hilton getting the BI folks to come pick us up and bring us to the
school so we could do some "warm-up" stick skiing.  Ah, the sweet memories...

...Roger...

    This isolated topic might as well go here as elsewhwere.  As it
    has something to do with water skiing, and Florida.
    
    I have been selling a video tape for the last five years that
    introduces people to the Lake amphibian airplane.  In yesterday's
    mail, I get a request for more information about the tape.
    
    The envelope looked like it had been through the war, ragged and
    dog eared, held together with scotch tape.  Had some cutsie stamps
    on the outside.
    
    Inside was a hand written request for info on the tape, on the back
    side is a reprint of an article about the author that was dated 1975,
    it had some clips about this guy who was then in his forties had
    been on a slalom ski at over 100 mph, and done a marathon ski of 
    2400 miles (twenty four hundred miles?), and had been instrumental
    in developing backwards barefooting.  Had a ski school in FL, and did
    para sailing, and other misc crazy things.
    
    I had to run out on an errand, set it asside and did not write
    down his name, will try to remember to jot it down tonight.  Anybody
    come to mind based on the above description?
    
    Don

    It wouldn't have been "Banana" George Blair, would it?  He would have
    been in his late 40's in the 1970's.  If so, he can certainly afford
    a new Lake Renegade (certainly on my wish list) as he's a
    multi-millionaire.  
    Doug
    P.S.: Did you append the video of Rick and I skiing behind the plane
    onto your demo?  Narration could say, "...and it doubles as a
    ski-boat!"
    

    Oh yeh, one of George Blair's claim to fame is that he has skiied
    (barefooted?) on every continent.
    (probably deserves a note of his own...)
    
    DW

RE: Doug...

I doubt it was Banana George, since he's somewhere around 73 (or 4 or 5) now and
would've been in his late 50's about the time of the letter.  Does he have a
school in Florida?  I didn't think he did, but maybe...

RE: Don...

Hmm, good one.  I'll have to cruise through the ski school catalog to see if I
can make an educated guess.

...Roger...

	I remember reading a history of barefooting article in a
	WaterSki issue last summer.  I think the guy who barefooted
	backwards first was Randy Rabe.

	-rm.

    "Suppose you had a chance to watch a water show where the producer
    promised to present in one arena the world's highest water ski kite
    flier, the first "human waterski", the holder of the longest ski-athon
    of over 2400 miles, a skier who had broken the 100-mile-an hour mark,
    the first man to ski behind a horse, a pioneer of backwards barefoot
    skiing, and a skier behind helicopters, motorcycles, airplanes and
    airboats?  But in the sixties you might have found yourself watching a
    one man show, for Larry De Graff can lay claim to all of these
    accomplishments."... - Gulfshore Life November 1976

    A few pictures of him footing behind a helicopter, hanging from a kite,
    footing off a shortline with a girl in his arms.

    Guess I will give him a call.  Wonder what kinds of things he might do
    with a Lake amphib - go for the no wake option?  He should be in his
    mid to late fifties, might not be up for a 70+ mph tumble.

    Don

    Yeh, but Roger's in pretty good shape. :^)  :^)
    

Thanks Doug, but I might need your lycra suit for 70mph!  :-)

...Roger...

    Just chatted with him, sound like he might have taken a few too many
    tumbles like in "Hot Rockin' Feet".

    He says he is not that active anymore, only footed twice so far this
    year.

    He said after he skied 104 MPH, he was going for 120 when he fell
    off at 94 MPH.  I asked him how it felt to hit the water at 94, he
    said, "Like you don't want to it again, that is when I retired from
    speed skiing."

    He said he had done the "no wake option" behind a Cub on floats and
    a helicopter.

    Guess he finds flying a little easier on the body these days.
    
    Don