THE LATEST RIVIERA THRILL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20930, 8 January 1938, Page 17

THE LATEST RIVIERA THRILL

SKI ING ON WATER IN THE TRAIL OF A SPEEDBOAT A fast motor boat, a -spare two hundred odd francs, and water-skis, and you can enjoy the best water sport so far invented. Six years ago young George Ducros had an idea. He divided a surf-riding board into two, and made a small notch to hold his feet. That was the beginning of water skl-ing. Improvements were soon evolved, and the first pair of water skis were made. Each year they seem to get shorter and lighter, though now it would seem that the peak of perfection has been attained.

I began last year at Antibes, during the last days of my holiday, and I was not so hot about it, believe me! writes the celebrated Russian dancer, Anton Dolin, in describing this latest Riviera sport. It took me a couple of days before I could get up. The chief thing to remember is never to pull the boat, but to let the boat pull you. If you can bear this in mind you will rise out of the water and, providing you’ve got a certain amount of balance, you can stay “risen.” Once you achieve this, then the fun begins. To cross the waves made by your boat, do so at a right angle; otherwise you get caught in the wash and over you go. I have been asked about the danger when you fall. To be honest, I was nervous at first, but apart from some bad bruises, once on my chest and twice on my legs, I have been lucky. But accidents do happen. The professional at Juan-les-Pins dislocated his knee doing a jump. But, on the whole, water skl-ing is not a dangerous sport and it carries a great thrill.

I have not attempted a jump and don’t intend to, but being a dancer has its advantages. Line and grace, which mean a lot in dancing, play their part on skis.

Getting rid of one ski is tricky till you know how. As though you were slipping a bolt, you slip your foot on and off the ski. There, again, all you need is balance and, at the beginning, a little “heroism.” Think about falling and you’ll fall; but reverse that trend of thought, and ten to one you’ll stay up.

Once having got rid of your one ski, you’ve nothing left to do but to go on till you’re tired or you choose to fall. The smartest thing to do when you’ve had enough is to throw the rope before you, open out your arms and, once the motion has slacked, you descend slowly, and we hope gracefully, into the water. It looks good, and it’s the way to end—“showing off.” Another way, and not difficult to achieve, is to let the boat pull you to your beach. After practice you can judge your time and distance so as to arrive alone, and unaided by motor power, right into harbour or to your landing stage.

At Monte Carlo, from where I’m writing, we use (or I and my friends do), skis with a small keel at the near end. I contend that for one-foot skiing it’s a help and in no way impedes the speed. For jumping, the ski is flat underneath, and an extra rubber band covers the foot over the instep to prevent the ski falling off in mid-air. The whole thing looks alarming, though normally the ski will never leave your foot, unless you be unlucky and fall. In this case, your foot—or feet—just slide out like shaving cream off a table. Apart from George Ducros, who, as I said, started all this extravagance which has made the enthusiasts spend hundreds of francs per week on motor boats (and as he didn’t think of patenting the idea, made nothing out of it himself), Maurice Schirrer is, in ’my opinion, the strongest of the onefoot ski-ers on the Cote. He rises up on one foot or ski, and he goes like a young devil. Fearless, and looking like a Greek god, he jumps the waves, bends at all angles by the yachts between the islands at Cannes, often within a couple of inches (no exag-

geration!), and provides a show that often draws applause from the hungry ones who watch from the restaurant where, incidentally, one eats the best lobster with a sauce . . . Sorry, I’m going off my subject, but even writing about water skl-ing makes me feel hungry!

Of course it’s an expensive pastime, chiefly owing to the fact that a really good, reliable and fast motor boat is necessary. Without this, water skiing is no fun. In fact, it’s no sport at all. From the water ski-lng point of view, Monte Carlo has, by the way, been the cheapest place on the Cote this year. At the beginning of the season you could get a boat for 150 francs an hour; latex' it went up to 200. Still, in comparison with Cannes at 240 and the Cap at 250, it was at Monte Carlo where you couid ski the cheapest —and, I think, the best. The only exception is, of course, between the islands at Cannes, where the calmness of the water is so perfect.