Water-Skiing Safety

Water-Skiing — the Safe Way is
the Only way

Establish good hand signals with the boat crew. Skiers often try to communicate by yelling instructions to the boat, but they can't be heard because of the wind and engine noise.

Signals such as thumbs up or down to increase or decrease the speed or one hand on your head to signal you're done are more effective.

When a skier stops or falls, the boat should always approach the skier from the right side so that the driver always has sight of the skier in the water.

If the boat passes to the left of the skier it may run over or hit him with the boat.

The golden rule of all rules-Do not drink and boat. Water-skiing is about having safe, relaxing fun. It's very dangerous when you add alcohol to the mix, and it against the law.

Learn more about water-skiing

A great resource for anyone interested in learning to water-ski or find out more about the sport is USA Water-Ski (www.USAwaterski.org).

If you want to meet others skiers or get into competition skiing, the site has links to ski clubs around the country. Most clubs are very affordable and offer you the chance to meet and ski with fellow skiers devoted to the safe, fun sport of water-skiing.

The author of this article is an employee of Foremost Insurance Company — the provider of this site — and an avid water-skier.

All of us who have boats and like to water-ski look forward the end of the dark ages of winter.

While boating and water-skiing are mostly about fun, they are also about safety.

We frequently see news stories about an accident or foolish act that caused someone to be injured or die boating or water-skiing. Often, the accidents and foolish acts stem from bad safety decisions.

Seven water-skiing safety tips

1.	Use United States Coast Guard approved (USCGA) flotation devices. To be safe and avoid citations, have enough on the boat for every passenger. The U.S. Coast Guard Regulations require any child under 13 years of age to wear a PFD. Younger children and those who cannot swim should wear them at all times. Skiers should also wear them at all times while in the water.
2.	Know your surroundings before you start skiing. Common boat paths, shallow areas, and areas that may have debris in the water should be avoided. If you have ever skied into a patch of cat-tails, you know how painful that can be.
3.	Always have a lookout in the boat. You don't want to look back from driving the boat to see how your buddy is skiing and find him or her nowhere to be seen.
4.	Use skis that are right for you. If you are not a pro-skier, don't use a pro-skier ski. Likewise if you are a very good skier, don't go out on your daughter's mini-ski just to say, "I can ski on anything." You usually end up being the one everyone is laughing at when you try to show off.

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