I know that it's the wrong season of the year to talk about water skiing, but I have an excuse.
Last night I was out to an appreciation dinner. I got talking to one of the guys who had worked in the Arctic and we got telling stories. Northerners are best buds forever!
He was working on a crew unloading a ship in the high Arctic. They had to get the stuff to the beach over the ice. One day a guy fell through a crack in the ice and was submerged. The guy survived but when pulled from the water was absolutely stiff.
This reminded me of one of my cold water experiences. The first time I water skied was above the Arctic circle in Airport Lake. Some of the young police in Inuvik had a boat and water skis. The built a floating dock and they were ready to water ski. Of course, I had to try it. We used the floating dock to get started and then made a few turns around the lake.
Sooner or later you have to stop. When you stop you are going to sink into some very cold water. The top foot of the water is an acceptable temperature but any deeper and it's icy cold.
The photo shows me just landing and although it is a very poor scan job on this photo you can see that I am cold.
So not a very appropriate topic on a cold November day, but I just had to tell you!
This was July if 1965.
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ACK!!!!! Water skiing in the Arctic Circle does NOT sound like my idea of a really fun time. But it sounds like an old friendship and youthful escapades brought back warm memories.
ReplyDeleteYouthful escapades is right.
DeleteI am impressed I could never make it twenty feet off the dock before I went face first in the water...yet our daughter could ski on one ski! :)
ReplyDeleteMy water skiing career was very short.
DeleteFun photos and happy memories. Take care, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun but risky.
DeleteMemories happen when they happen, whatever the season. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteTen young guys and a lot of stupidity takes place.
DeleteBrrr…..I am shivering just looking at the photos! I bet it was thrilling though.
ReplyDeleteIt was not too bad in the top foot but below that it was brutal.
DeleteSounds like a story with beer involved!
ReplyDeleteNo beer in that one. We were with young police.
DeleteI admittedly have never seen the appeal of that activity.
ReplyDeleteMy water skiing history was short.
DeleteThat is really fun! What a great memory.
ReplyDeleteIt may have been fun but it was risky.
DeleteBrrr! Even those pictures look cold, Red. Fun story, though. I used to water ski, but in Texas the water is never all that cold. :-)
ReplyDeleteTruthfully , I didn't really like water skiing.
DeleteWow. Never learned to water ski, but not all that comfortable in non- tropical water. Good for you and a life well lived means stories and memories to share.
ReplyDeleteYoung guys think they're invincible.
DeleteI had no idea people went water-skiing in the Arctic. I thought it would be much to cold for that. Wonderful photos of you there skiing in that cold, cold water.
ReplyDeletePeople in the Arctic can do all sorts of wild things.
DeleteA wonderful memory and a very cold experience. :)
ReplyDeleteI did a lot of boating in the Mackenzie delta.
DeleteThis is a great story and fun photos to go with it. Makes me shiver just thinking of that experience :)
ReplyDeleteIt would kill me today!
DeleteWater skiing in Arctic water takes guts, or maybe just stupidity, but young guys will try just about anything at least once. You have some great memories of life in the far north.
ReplyDeleteI think stupidity sums things up very well.
DeleteOh Gosh! Come to Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks in the summer and try again. That Artic skiing seems colder than the polar bear plunges people do. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me that people have to be adventurous types to go to frontier places so there will be some tales to tell.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fantastic that you have stories like this
Oh my God even looking at you makes me shiver with cold dear Red .
ReplyDeleteI see on tv how people walk on frozen water .each step they take scare me .Because of my unfamiliarity to such experiences I know
Brrrrr! I once went waterskiing in Lake Champlain. That's about as cold as I'll ever want to get.
ReplyDeleteWe do some crazy things when we are young! Sometimes, I wonder how I survived! I would never water ski in cold, cold water, Red! I couldn't ever water ski in warm water either!?!
ReplyDeleteYah, I remember those days, when I was about 14!
ReplyDeleteOh my! That's another sport I've never ever tried. Hmmm... could be because I can't swim. I can't imagine what it must be like to be submerged in such cold water. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteLooking at your Blog Archive I noticed May, June, July, August, and September, you were posting 8 or 9 times each month. October 10 times, and here in November, with many days to go you’ve already posted 9 times. So, I’m wondering what’s caused you to pick up the pace? I’m going to guess it’s your better vision after the cataract surgery. What ever it is, I’m enjoying all your reflections. I got a kick out of your reply to my question about “Mr” Google. 😊 Have a great day Red!
ReplyDeleteSummer was a challenge with cataract surgery slowing things down. I did decide to pick up the pace and a few topics popped up.
DeleteWow, it is something when someone (you!) can say he has water skied above the Arctic Circle! You sure have some great memories to cherish.
ReplyDeleteYou are a braver man than I am!
ReplyDelete