Hi Todd, Wyangala Dam and the Abercrombie River…yep, know them well along with all the salt water lakes up the east coast and all the northern rivers, as well as the Hawkesbury/Nepean system. If there was water there we would ski it and if a boat wasn’t available then we would use a car. Desperados, yep. Also have skied in the Georges River and Port Hacking River. Got horror shark stories and photos which take the gloss of it sometimes. At least you don’t get them in the fresh water
Now to add to my previous comment, many years ago a group of us were talking about ‘what do you actually do when you deep water start and beach start?’ so we used to deliberately go and watch one another and see exactly what movements each one of us made and how it all came together AND there is a formula that works for newbies that will fast track their progress. There are 4 main considerations that need to be looked at and these are:- The power of the boat being used to tow the skier, The skill of the driver. The choreography of the skier and finally the timing. The first 2 of these cannot be controlled by the skier but the last 2 can be. So beginning with the deep water start the skier needs to be in water at least chest deep and the skier allows the ski to float to the surface and the tip needs to be out of the water. Front leg is bent, elbows locked into the sides. Now, I am right foot forward so I will use how I do it, With the left hand you grab the top part of the bar with the main part of your hand under the bar and fingers over the top. Then position the bar at 45 degrees downwards so that the middle of the bar is around your navel then grab the right side of the bar with your right hand with the main part of the hand over the top of the bar and fingers wrapped around the front of the bar. It is an ‘over/under’ grip. Make sure the bar is held into your body and not with your arms extended. You DO NOT want to have to pull any more water weight than you have to. DO NOT grab the bar with both hands facing in the same direction either over or under the bar. You will lose control if you do. Next lean forward onto the ski and the foot that will be the back foot is forced out as far as you can get it with the toes pointed away from the direction you will go in. Now comes the positioning of the rope. There are 2 ways you can do this but I only recommend one of them. The non preferred is to place the ski in the ‘vee’ formed by the ropes holding the bar to the ski rope. Some say this will centralise the ski but it has a disadvantage that if your take off is not dead straight then one side of the ‘vee’ with flick the ski tip and throw you in the water. I place the rope in line with the middle of my body (to the left of the ski) and I NEVER miss starts. Obviously, if you are left foot forward then reverse these instructions. Maybe long winded but it works.
Now, the beach start choreography…. this needs to be practised on the beach before the learner even gets into the water so it can be fine tuned. Get this position right and beach starts happen really fast. You don’t even need a bar for the practice session and neither do you need a ski initially because it is body position we are looking at. So, with a short length of stick (a cut down broom stick or dowel) we can begin. Stand on both feet with both feet facing in the direction that the boat is going to go. DO NOT have then at angles. Next, lift the leg that would hold the ski so that the upper part of the leg is parallel to the ground and the lower part of the leg is hanging just off vertical. You will need to deliberately push your hips forward to balance. Move the bent knee into the middle of your body and twist the foot so that it would be facing in the direction of the movement you expect to go in. Your body should be in balance. Next, drop your arms straight down at your sides and then bend them at 90 degrees at the elbows. Lock the elbows into your sides. Grab the bar and do the exact same grip as you did with the deep water start. Make sure the middle of the bar is at navel level and an over/under grip. Make sure your hips are in front of your shoulders and NEVER let them deviate once you have completed the start. When the start is completed and you are planing then look down your body and it should be a straight line. Lock the back knee into the front leg if you don’t have a rear boot fitting on your ski. Practice and it will happen fast for you. I cannot ski now but I still get in that position and still have the muscle memory to do it….just that my body will no longer let me.

I love this. Good advice! Personally I never really got on with the ‘trailing the foot’ approach to deepies, but I can certainly understand how people might find benefit in the additional stability. But you’re right, if you can do that style of deep water start, it will make beachies easier to learn. I think I might have skied on Lake Macquarie at some stage myself, having grown up in cold Canberra. Wyangala Dam was our main stomping ground back then, but Lake Macquarie is certainly a beautiful spot.