Powegian prepares for Catalina Water Ski Race

A Poway man is just a little over a week away from taking part in a water skiing competition whose course stretches for 62 miles along the Pacific Ocean — from Long Beach Harbor to the southern tip of Catalina Island.

The Catalina Water Ski Race, which takes place Saturday, July 17, may not be well-known, but it has a long history and a strong following among water skiers, some who come from as far away as Australia to compete in the event.

The top racers, who can finish the course in less than an hour, reach top speeds of up to 70 mph.

Todd Lackner said that while he has known about the event for a long time — a friend of his family was a competitor for 20-something years — it wasn’t until last year that he decided to compete.

He did it, he said, on a bet from a friend as they watched the race from a boat.

“He pretty much bet me that I couldn’t ski all the way to Catalina,” Lackner said.

Though it started as a bet, things got serious soon enough when his friend went to get his boat fixed up for the race and the company offered to sponsor the endeavor.

Though he had been a water skier as a kid, 43-year-old Lackner, a real estate appraiser, said he had never raced or practiced the sport in the ocean.

“This is nothing like skiing on a lake or river,” Lackner said. “It’s completely different trying to ski with the waves, plus the speeds.”

One difference is the grip of the line. For this competition, racers use what’s called an Australian wrap, in which they wrap the line over themselves and hold it on their backs with one hand, while they control the tightness of the line and make hand signals with the other.

Last September he began to train on land — what he calls “dry training” — running hills and working on his balance by standing on a balancing board while his son, 14-year-old Robert, tries to catch him off balance by throwing medicine balls at him.

“He’s trying to throw me off balance and I have to recover, that’s the trick about water skiing, learning how to correct yourself and staying out of the water.”

His daughter, 16-year-old Rachel, is also on his team. During the race she will be on the boat observing Lackner, keeping track of his hand signals and relaying them to the driver, Todd Barrili, who is also the friend who made the initial bet with Lackner.

He enlisted the help of skiers who had competed in the event in years past. Lackner said they were more than happy to help, offering tips on training and letting him borrow their old equipment.

Eventually, he started to practice on the water, working up to the 62 miles of the race. Four weeks ago, he completed the entire course.

Though at first his goal was to finish, Lackner said recent trial runs — and a third-place finish at his first race in April — have been encouraging, and now he’s vying to be the top skier in his age group, 35-45.

“After I realized that I could make it, it became about more than just trying to finish, but about improving my time.”

Lackner said the biggest time-waster during the race is falling, since it requires the racers to get back into the boat to re-strap their skis, which are about 89 inches long.

“I can’t do it by myself,” he said. “I need to get help and it wastes time.”

During the race, Lackner said, it’s all about staying concentrated and following the course of the boat ahead to determine what’s coming up.

“If the boat goes up I know I’m about to get air, so I have to be ready to react,” Lackner said. “I only have a second.”

For more information about the race, or to watch it online on race day, go to www.catalinaskirace.net.

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Posted by unestidstwern on Jul 8 2010. Filed under Archive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry