Doing it Deep!
Once you've become a proficient barefooter (ie. mastered the step off and can foot down the lake without catching a toe - too much!), it's time to learn the deep water barefoot start.
I mastered this in two seasons (and in MN our seasons are short!). It's much easier than it looks. And it's sometimes easier if you have a driver who's pulled deep barefoot starts before but this isn't absolutely necessary. You and your driver will learn by trial-and-error if nothing else! Click here for some driving tips.
- Make sure you have the right equipment. This can not be over emphasized!
- Start by laying horizontally on the water with your feet stretched in front of you and placed in an upside down "V" over the rope (the rope should be touching at about the balls of your feet).
- The handle should be anchored snug at your hips with your hands about shoulder width apart on the handle.
- When you are comfortable and ready, yell "Hit It!", throw your head back as if you were trying to touch the bottom of the lake with the top of your head, and hang on.
- After you yell "Hit It!" and you begin to feel the pull from the boat, you can almost immediately begin to start sitting up. Of course, the capability of the boat and your driver's technique will have a lot to do with the amount of time this takes but generally it's no more than a few seconds.
- Once you are riding comfortably on your butt, be patient and wait for the boat to come up to your barefoot speed.
- At this point, you can take your feet off the line while simultaneously bending your knees to about 90 degree angles. When your knees are bent to almost 90 degrees, you can gently place your heels on the water (careful not to dig them in!) and the pull from the boat will almost naturally take you from a sitting position to a standing position! Actually, the normal barefoot position isn't standing at all but like sitting in a chair. It's just that you go from sitting on the water to standing (sitting) on your feet!
- Congratulations! You've accomplished the deep water barefoot start!
Don't get frustrated if you don't do it the first day out! Remember, it took me almost two full seasons to get it 99% of the time. Just follow the tips above and you'll get it. Don't give up!
