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 Endurance Racing 101
The Rapid Transition Technique
by John Skobrak |
So you got together a strong group of skiers, been training all year to ski long, hard, and fast and you think you’re ready to enter the
world of Barefoot Endurance Racing. Do you think you’re ready to enter into the
Barefoot Racing Cup Series? If you haven’t been training to change out skiers with the Rapid Transition Technique
developed in 2004 by Team Ski-Pro East you’ll be way behind the power curve.
In endurance racing, the competition has become so tough, every second counts.
Races are won and lost by the time wasted changing out skiers. This is similar in concept to pit stops in NASCAR. For every second lost in transition, the other teams are advancing their position, either ahead of you or behind you. In just 20 seconds, a quarter mile lead has wasted away to falling behind.
Once mastered, the Rapid Transition Technique will allow you to change out skiers so quickly that other boats in a race may not even notice that you have done one.
The basics for this maneuver were conceived by Chuck Gleason and Stuart Singer
of Team Barefoot Central in 2002 after watching a Learning Channel episode showing Navy Seals performing recovery operations from Zodiac Boats.
The Navy Seals used a hook to retrieve the operative from the water while the boat was under power. The parallel to this in Barefoot Endurance Racing is a short boom with a
small handle hanging off the end of the boom. As the boat approaches the downed skier, the skier can grab the handle and the crew can haul him into the boat over the side while the boat is still moving. This alone takes seconds off the time it takes to change out skiers, formally known as a “Transition”. To add to the excitement, Chuck and Stewart determined that if the new skier enters the water at the right moment before the downed skier is landed, the new skier can be ready for a deep water start as soon as the handle is in grasp.
Team Barefoot Central's technique was soon being adopted by all the top
teams.
The limiting issue for a skier being ready to deep water start in a racing environment is having positive control of the handle and lined up with the boat when the driver powers up. With a one rope/handle system, the skier is often scrambling for the handle long after the old skier is in the boat. Teams have tried to use systems with 2 ropes, so that the new skier entering the water is ready for takeoff, but unfortunately, rope handling is very difficult with a full boat load. Either the rope going out gets tangled up or the rope coming in ends up like a plate of spaghetti on the floor of the boat and is effectively useless for the next skier. This is where Team Ski-Pro East
got the idea for the rapid transition technique.
Peter Fleck, having a strong show skiing background realized that one rope with 2 handles (one on each end) was the right answer; all we had to do was come up with a way to make it work under racing conditions. The answer was very simple from an engineering standpoint: a ring. That’s right, a ring! The tow rope with a handle on each end is passed through a ring attached to the pylon. The skier on the water and the skier in the boat each have a handle in hand attached to the same rope. When the skier on the water drops, the new skier enters the water with his handle and is ready to deep water start before the slack is out of the rope. The weight of the skier in the water pulls the other handle into the boat while the boat is moving.
After a few days of trial and error with ropes, rings, and driving the Rapid Transition Technique was perfected. We found that we needed a stop at each end of the rope to prevent the handle from being jammed into the ring that the rope passes through. Simple solution again: 2 more rings. Pass the tow rope through one ring and attach another ring to each end of the rope. The rings won’t pass through each other when the rope tightens up. No handle jamming, no rope fretting, no worries! Five dollars will buy you the rings from a local hardware store and a cup of coffee for the trip home.
One last tip before you take this to the water. Please! , from a safety standpoint, do not attach the ring directly to the center pylon of the boat next to the driver. Put it at the end of an extension that places the entry point of the handle behind the boat crew. A handle flying into the boat at 5mph can give you a good thump. Ask Chuck Gleason and Mrs. Buoniauto about their black eyes from getting hit in the face by an INCOMING handle!
I’ve included a presentation that outlines this technique from driving and timing standpoint, along with a video that illustrates the technique. Under perfect conditions a planned transition can be performed feet to feet in less than 25 seconds. Rough water and skier falls add time and it only goes downhill from here.
Enjoy, and we'll see you at the starting line!
John Skobrak
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The Rapid
Transition Technique |
Click
Here to see Video of Transition
2.6 Meg Windows
Media Video
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