Buckethead 2016

TRBenj wrote: . Pirate Steve gets a pass.

Sorry TRBenj I didn't read the whole post until after I posted that.
Thanks for the pass,

i'll keep an eye on this thread! really interested on participating on this kind of event...

phatsat67 wrote: . I think Timmy didn't want to finish poorly with a boat that fast.

Fun seeing you guys blow by the Corvette boat after the start.

It's looking like Sebago is not going to freeze this year. Dave will probably be training before the end of March. Heck, he rarely will even drink a beer with me. I hope one of you guys are bringing a barefoot boat to WL as I want to be able to use ours.

There's a lot of enthusiasm about this years race. Is it going to turn into a reunion?

Still sounds good Larry but its pretty quiet inside the boat now. Hopefully this year we will be able to ski closer to the top speed we would like to.

Hollywood wrote: "I've done the math. Faster is better."

not what she said

but longer....ie fewer transitions

Toertel wrote: Hollywood wrote: "I've done the math. Faster is better." not what she said but longer....ie fewer transitions

Not sure who you're quoting but HW Is right. The experts have concluded that faster is better, not length of the runs. They have done the math.

fast & long or long & fast?

There is real math involved with transition amount vs ski speed vs length of run.

Sebastian, Joe, Paul and the girls were parked at the perfect spot to witness some of this in practice.

Hot Shots was in first blazing a head. The got the turn around first and started come back with Top Gun close behind, who turned around second and remained on their heels. However, Hot Shot, being the first boat, ran into some rough water from Wolfpack transitioning still going up river. Hot Shot skier fell, but Top Gun skier managed to ski through all the mess and take the lead. I'm not sure if they stayed ahead, or if upon their skier going down Hot Shot regained the lead, but you can easily see how the next Top Gun skier would then regain the lead after Hot Shot went down again. We kind of did the same thing with pfelgner's team, went back and forth a few times until we continued to ski past 2 of their transitions and was able to keep in front.

Hammer down.

Hw/Tim, didnt we count 12 different runs? We most closely resemble scenario two as an average speed but maybe slightly off on the time on feet.

So losing time on feet but adding 45 mph average would put us at the hour mark which is really damn fast considering the fastest was 54 min ish.

Tim deleted a bunch of his post but last month Scott and I managed to get down to a 35 second feet to feet transition with no boom or assistance into the boat. It's in the video. 6:25-7:00. I'll say as a driver you don't need to wait until the ass is on the floor to go. As the picked up skier your job is to gain control of the boat, once that is established it's time to go and make your way over the transom and in the boat. This could be the difference between making it past another boat before they throw rollers or not.

Having the previous skier safely on board before taking off again is critical. We'll need to discuss how we define and communicate that. Certainly some time to be gained here for sure if we can get it efficient and safe.

Zach, we transitioned 24 times, not 12 (4 runs each). Our moving average was just under 30mph with the fuel stop included (almost exactly 30mph with it subtracted).

Ahhh Samsonite, I was way off.

Yeah, Our transitions can gain us a little bit but they were surprisingly dialed and quick considering we practiced for 30 minutes?

Hammer down
Train faster

Butt ride king. There was no way I was planting in a roller and botching a start after HW yelling at me in practice

There is just so much that is right about that picture.

I have thought about putting a spreadsheet together like Joe's, but I suspect it will tell me what i already know. Have you ever been passed on the highway by someone going significantly faster, only to catch up with them at the toll booth, pass them due to ez-pass (while they pay cash) only to have them pass you again several miles down the road? They need to be traveling significantly faster than you to make up for their slow tollbooth experience. Over a stretch of road that has a bunch of toll booths, I know I can get through it more quickly, even if I'm not traveling as fast between them.

Speed is great but I suspect the biggest improvements to be made are in transitions. Both the speed of each and minimizing how many you have. The latter requires longer runs. Despite what the "expert" told us, speed is the lowest priority... He was either sandbagging as a competitor or can't do math.

The average transition time certainly makes a difference - but boy so does speed. If you go with 1 minute on average for the transition a team making 10 minute runs at 42 mph does beat a time making 2 minute runs at 50 by 3 mins.   For that changeover and those speeds the 42 mph team has to average 5.5 mins on your feet per run (some faster some slower) and to just squeak by the 50 mph team if they average 2 mins on their feet.

A 42 mph team with 35 second transitions and 15 minute average runs, no falls finishes in 56.1 minutes

A 50 mph team with 1 minute transitions and 4 minute average runs will finish in 54.9 mins, and has time for a fall in there to still beat the guys cruising at 42. If they can keep their transitions to 35 seconds they could be done in 50 mins and finish their first beer by the time they see the 42mph team. OR if they keep the transitions to 35 seconds they can finish in 54 mins by averaging 2 minutes on their feet. --- which to me seems like speed always wins

Ha. You may get your wish for more motor whether my wallet likes it or not!

I may need to take a closer look at that spreadsheet... I've been thinking of run length in terms of distance instead of time, which may be erroneous. All the more reason to start training early it sounds like.