Mission Bay Slalom Course San Diego

[Rick]

I was just at the boat show and stopped by the Discover Boating booth. I asked if anyone knew about the course in Mission Bay. A woman named Kay Goodfellow said that she was President of the club that maintains it. It is the San Diego Missioin Bay Boat and Ski Team. Their web site is www.SDMBBST.net. She says to use the course you must belong to an AWSA sanctioned club and be an AWSA member. She says dues in their club is $45 per year and all the money goes to maintainance of the course.

[skinautique]

RE: Mission Bay Slalom Course San Diego

Looks like a really nice place to ski!

[Gramps]

To use the course all you need is to belong to USA Waterski Association, it is a $25 membership fee.

The SDMBBST wants you to join their organization to use your money to maintain a PUBLIC course, the SDMBBDT thinks it is THEIR course.

Ask any wakeboarder how they are treated by members of the Association. The skiers try to dominate the course they suck up all the weekend passes. I have been at the course in the past and had a ski members dog jump in my boat and urinate. When I approached the dog owner they simply said "It's my turn to make passes, I will be back in 10 minutes" No sorry, No I will clean it up, No I will tie up my dog, NOTHING.

To use the course you need a permit, they give out permits 7 days in advance of the day you attempt to use the course. If you have 4 friends that have access to the course and get all 4 passes the skiers will still attempt to use it in the morning before you get there. They will give you a hard time even though you have a permit and they don't. The skiers also regularly take passes WITHOUT a 3rd in the boat which in the state of California is ILLEGAL, they get all the permits and then put 4 boats in the water and only use 1 to make passes.

The course is nice from sunrise to noon in the summer and almost all day long in the winter. If you are willing to put your boat in the salt the course is the way to go for sure. Just be sure to have your pass and don't take any crap from the ski members.

They will also try to throw out the "I have a wildcard" trump card, they think they have this mystical card that only the ski members know about that lets them use the course even though the city is the group that controls the permits. The city only allows 4 boats per 6 hour session, but the skiers will try to weasal their way onto the course.

If you join the SDMBBST you will be charged $45 and then still have to join USA waterski association. Save the $45 and just help them out when they have a "work party" to maintain the dock.

The dock has picnic benches, places to hang your boards, a BBQ and a nice area to just hang out.

Good luck

[Rick]

Gramps. My understanding is that the permits are issues by the lifeguards at the
Quivera basin main station. I still thought that you have to be a member of a club, any club is that not the case? Its also my understanding that the city does not maintain the course, but its the ski club that does.

[Gramps]

Yes you are correct the lifeguard station at Quivera is where you get permits.

You only need to be a member of USA Waterski Association to obtain a permit, it will save you a few bucks if you join USA.

The city patrols the area the club maintains the dock.

The club does not like anybody from the outside using the course, meaning if you are not a member they don't like you using the course even though the rules at the lifeguard station clearly read, "To obtain a permit you must be a member of USA Water-ski Association" The club wants your $$ to fund their trips to tournaments outside the area.

We were told the same thing, the money would be used to maintain the dock each year........

Yet in 2 years we didn't see any new improvements......no new carpet, no new benches, no new BBQ, no new nothing!!!!!

They use the money to pay for members to travel to tournaments at other clubs outside the area, for entry fees, hotel fees and gas money.

Do yourself a favor and join USA.

Good luck, Gramps

[GS]

Give us a shot.

Gramps,

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences with the Mission Bay ski club. There are 100+ members in the club and they’re not all perfect, so you’re bound to get some skiers that act like they own the place. I’ve been a member for 8 years and I try my best to be inclusive of the non-slalom crowd. We are all out there trying to have fun and need to be respectful of each other. After hearing your story, I can see why you’re turned off. I apologize on behalf of the club, that behavior doesn’t reflect what our club is about!

Regarding the club dues…the $45/year is a bargain. Most of that money goes towards the dock, buoys, magnets, rubbers, the breakwater, the jump ramp. Of course we have some social events too. As for maintenance, this past October, we replaced 9 floats on the dock and the carpet was replaced in summer ’03. The ramp was out all last winter because the side curtain broke. We probably go through 5 buoys and 1 magnet per month. Keep in mind, all of this costs money and all of the labor is totally voluntary by club members. I realize if you’re not using the slalom course or the jump, then this seems like a waste of money to you. That’s cool, I can’t blame you, and you’re entitled to that opinion. If you want the money allocated differently, join the club and you’ll have a vote as to how it gets spent. I think a BBQ is a great idea. We need to get people like yourself involved in order to chart the course the club takes. Otherwise it’ll turn into a group of slalom snobs. I assure you that the a-holes are in the minority—but since they tend to have higher visibility, it skews your perception.

Regarding the tournaments…I’ve been the tournament chairman for the past 2 years. The tournaments we hold on the bay pay for themselves with entry fees and the outside the area tournaments are paid for by USA waterski directly. Our club is involved in a tournament series called NSL. Once a year they have a “Pro-Am challenge” where they invite the top skiers from around the country. There is a travel stipend of $200 and they pay for the hotel, but our clubs kicks in no money—I know this because I attended this event 2 summers ago, and didn’t get a dime. Even the prizes we offer for the end-of-year Grand Prix party are donated by the local ski shops: Wakesports and (formerly) Waterski World, and some from USA Waterski.


Rick,

Hope you give us a chance. It’s true, to use the area, you must have a USA waterski affiliation. This is for insurance reasons, not by our club’s rule. If you use the course, the dock, the jump, etc… Then we do hope you join the club for an additional $45/yr.

Keep in mind, the club is run BY it’s members, FOR it’s members. Get involved and then you’ll have no one to blame but yourself : )

Geoff Schmid

[Gramps]

RE: Give us a shot.

Geoff, It is unfortunate since I actually know a few long standing members of the club.

The old saying goes "A few bad apples spoil the bunch" is true and unfortunate in this case.

The same people seem to be the majority of who use the course day in and day out. It was just a battle to use the course when we had as much right to use it as the club members do.

It is THE clubs choice to maintain the course and dock and it is appreciated, but it shouldn't be to the point that others are badgered, harrassed and basically abused to the point of confrontation.

The wakeboarders have no problem pitching in manhours and labor to help maintain the course and dock, some of us are certified divers and more than willing to help out when needed.

Dean Cherry and I spoke at length about the issues I have written about above. Unfortunately it was never resolved.

The course is PUBLIC, the permits are controlled by the CITY, if we abide by the rules we have as much right to the course, dock and all the surrounding areas as everyone else.

While waiting at the lifeguard tower for permits we were given a hard time by some of the "regulars" that use the course.

We had a BBQ planned for a Sunday and they took the BBQ home on a Saturday for no apparent reason than to keep us from using it. They showed up knowing we had all 4 passes, they made passes making us wait when they didn't have a permit, then when leaving they decided to do a few donuts at the end of the course sending rollers down the course making us again wait, pretty petty in my opinion.

So yes I am turned off by the club and what it stands for, yes I am still in disgust over having a dog running lose urinate in my boat with no remorse from the owner, yes I don't like being interogated for my permit when I answer "yes I have a permit" you can spin it however you want but some of the skiers in your so called club are giving it a bad reputation in the San Diego area with local wakeboarders.

Yes I do know there are two sides of every story and the skiers may have had a bad experience with other local wakeboarders. I know out of courtesy you should drop on the dockside of the course so as not to beat up the dock and other boats that are tied up.

I think most of the members know me or have heard of me and know that I try to set a good example for the rest of the wakeboarding community. I also think that our sport is growing leaps and bounds and water is hard to come by so over the long haul we will all be sharing the same precious waterways and need to get along.

Aki Savage

[MARK-S]

RE: Give us a shot.

Without the club there would be no dock, no course, no BBQ. Join the club and get over it. Put your money where your mouth is. I had a course on a small lake in Minn. I would come out there and there would be no balls left. We would put it back together and 2 days laterit would be trashed. It takes time and money to maintain this thing. I was kicked off the lake because of wakeboarders. They would roll back and forth along the course sending huge roller at the shoreline, which upset the land owner due to dock and shoreline probs. Now I cant ski there, but they can board all they want. If they would have run n-s and not E-W with the course, we would both still be there. I never had problems with the boarders, they always took turns with us, they just upset the landowners with rollers.

[Gramps]

RE: Give us a shot.

Mark, "get over what?"

The course is a deginated wakeboard/waterski area with the city of San Diego, if the club does not exist the course still does. No buoys no problem I don't use them anyways, no BBQ no problem we simply BBQ from the beach, no dock....no problem again we just use the beach.

If you had no problems with the boarders why were YOU kicked off the lake and they allowed to still ride?

Join the darkside.........water-skiing is a fading uptight sport......

[skiinxs]

RE: Give us a shot.

Help me out here, If you don't care about the bouys, that must mean that you don't use the course. If you don't use the course, why are you concerned about getting permits to use the course? Is that the only water around to ski or board? (I am not familiar with the area, if that is the only water I understand why you want to use it)

[Rick]

RE: Give us a shot.

I beleive that boarders and skiers can coexist. The problem that presents itself is that the best water is ususlly where there is a course. The biggest problem I have as a skier is that there is only 2 courses in all of San Diego. I need a course to ski. If you are a boarder I respect your need for clean water. Just remember that you like to make big wakes for wakeboarding. In slalom ANY wake can cause serious problems. When we drive we always make sure that all rollers go down the course. If the boarders would also try to do this it would allow us to ski more quickly instead of waiting for the rollers to subside. I agree that a permit to ride on a city course is open to everyone. However without the buoys we might as well barefoot!

[Gramps]

RE: Give us a shot.

Since the course is a permitted area they only allow ONE boat at a time to be up and running.

You can take 6 passes as a skier down and back being 2 and 4 as a wakeboarder, so the water never has rollers for both user groups.

[TwinTip]

RE: Give us a shot.

I have seen skiers create huge rollers so this should not be a problem between boarders or skiers. At the end of the day, anyone can create rollers which can be just as disturbing to a boarder as they are to a skier. As long as both, skiers and boarders, are conscious about not damaging property (in this case, the docks, docked boats, and ski course), this problem should be an easy one to fix. If the shoreline could be damaged due to larger wakes, this is a different issue to consider.

A set (assuming 6 or 8 passes) should be considered a set and period. If the skier falls during a pass, they should be picked up and finish the pass (going the same direction obviously). After the determined number of passes has been reached, the next person or boat in line should come up. A chalk board could be used to keep track of the skier, not the boat. Once a skier/boarder has completed their set, they return to the board and put their name down at the bottom of the list. Assuming there are two skiers on the boat and they happen to share a boat (I don't know if you guys need an observer), one of them will have to get ready after the first skier is done with their set. During this time, the next boat could come up for the next set.

Since only one boat is allowed at a given time, it should not matter what discipline is being practiced, slalom or boarding.

How many permits are being given per day? Think of golf or tennis where you have to reserve tee or court time. Think of assigning hours to each permit, once you are past your time, you are out of the course regardless of who has seniority or is the better skier. If there is not another boat in line, you stay and politely leave when the next boat comes in.

One of the advantages of being part of a club is that there are bylaws and members that don't follow them can be kicked out. If the current bylaws don't work for everyone, ask for them to be changed so that there is no controversy between boarders and skiers. Go to the club meetings and raise this issue with the board, see what they have to say.

[MARK-S]

RE: Give us a shot.

Gramps, As your name implies, I am to old to WB. I have tried, but my body cant take the pounding. Looks fun though. Anyway, To a lake owner, waterskiing is wakeboarding and WB is WS. That make sense. The only thing a city in Minn can do is restrick permits for courses. They would have to make the lake a No wake zone to shut down the boarders. The people on the lake still need to pull their tubes and stuff like that, so the lake land owners only want the skiers off. (200 acre lake with 5 houses on it, One guy is on city concil). The people that WB also ski AWSA and we are friends. We didnt know about the problems, until it was to late to make the change. And we/they would have to protect the permit. We work together, unlike what you are not willing to do on the bay. Just because the dog wized in your boat, you have an attitude. Shake it off. Work together, and it will be better for everybody. Dont let the powers at be ruin it for all involved.

[Gramps]

RE: Give us a shot.

Twin Tip, The city gives out 10 permits a day, 4 primary and 2 back up from sunrise to noon and 4 primary and 2 back up from noon to sunset. The back up permit holders can show up and if a primary permit holder does not show up then they can put their boat in the water. If the primary shows up later then the back up holder must leave.

Only 1 boat up and running at one time, boats rotate turns however it is worked out between the 4 course users.

Skiers get 6 passes down and back is 2 passes so 3 times down and back.

Wakeboarders get 4 passes so 2 passes down and back.

You are required to drop at the end closest to the dock so you don't beat up the dock and boats.

There is a breakwater at the far end of the course so you can leave the area make your turn and re-enter without throwing rollers down the course.

If you fall you must continue in the direction you were traveling once you are picked up.

You have 1 minute to get up and running once a boat has finished thier pass, if it is a wakeboard boat then the skiers can take a few more minutes if needed, it's pretty much no stress and is worked out between users of the course.

Mark-S The nickname GRAMPS is because I am the oldest person in the group that I hang with, I am over 40 and the pounding from wakeboarding isn't bad if your in half decent shape.

QUOTE.... We work together, unlike what you are not willing to do on the bay. Just because the dog wized in your boat, you have an attitude.

I am more than willing to work it out and to co-exist it's not just the taking a leak in my boat that upset me.

How would you like to have a strange dog deficate on the dock and have the owner just leave it there until the day is done. So everyone has to avoid this pile of dog crap all day long instead of the owner just picking it up.

How would you like a strange dog jumping in and out of your boat for 2 hours even after you have asked the owner to please keep their dog out of your boat.

Yes having a dog take a leak on my boat upsets me, it would upset you too if it happened to you. Urine smell is not easy to get out of carpet or vinyl.

How would you like to simply show up with your pass only to be interogated all day on "why you are there" "this is a ski course not a wakeboard course"

Waiting to pick up a permit on a first come first served basis, get there first and then harassed for it.

Show up to the course with 4 other wakeboard boats and see skiers up and running at dawn, have to wait at the entrance so you don't mess up their run KNOWING THEY DON'T HAVE A PERMIT, idle down the course and then wait again while another skier takes a pass only to have them throw double ups down at the far end as they leave since they can't stay, thrashing the water for 10 minutes.

When I have been there with a few wakeboard boats and a few ski boats we NEVER bother the skiers we just show up, ride and have fun.

What part of getting along are we missing? We don't make a mess, we don't cause trouble, we leave the dock cleaner than when we arrived and we empty the trash.

THE CITY GIVES OUT THE PERMITS not the club, the club has NOTHING TO DO WITH WHO CAN GET A PERMIT OR WHO CAN USE THE AREA.

If I had a permit and wanted to tube for 6 hours then I have every right to tube if I want to and vise versa.

It's called giving people respect even if they do a different water discipline than someone else.

As far as moving on don't worry I have.......I have MY OWN piece of the PIE so to speak in a very USER RIDER freindly place just check my personal pictures.

I'm done sparring ride hard.....live long.