I think it's a matter of the rate of initial acceleration, the final speed of the boat, and most importantly the skier laying back and letting the boat pull her up. Standing up (which is instinctive) just makes you fall forward...it puts slack in the rope. Now, I was no expert. I don't even recall how I stopped and got out of the water, being a non-swimmer. But I took a full ride without falling down. And it was my first attempt there, after many years since my past efforts. I've not been since.
When I was younger I love to fish actually I still do. My Father purchased a fishing pole with accessories and crabbing gear for me. Took me to the Cross Bay Bridge in Rockaway to do some fishing, after a few hours we realize the fish didn't like what I was serving so we called it a day. The fishing pole was a two-part system with a separate handle and pole, while packing to leave I unscrewed the handle from the pole and lay the handle on The Bridge where is rolled off and landed about 20 ft down in the water. The other fishermen on the bridge realize what I did, talk about being embarrassed, another fisherman try casting to retrieve it but it was moving too fast. Brand new pole I only got a few hours of use, the good news is my father was able to find a shop with a replacement handle. Just to clarify the bridge did have a fence, but there was a space of about 6 inches on the bottom.
I used to do tons of crabbing when we vacationed in Maryland. Did you have traps, or did you use string, bait and nets?
When I was a kid my dad tried to teach me how to cast with rod and reel. I was the queen of the "backlash" and spent most of the afternoon untangling fishing line.
Both, at that same Bridge we use this high-powered flashlight that we went to Connecticut to purchase and a telescoping net, at high tide at night at shallow ends of the bridge we see the crabs floating in the water and net them.
I hate bait cast reels. I bought a nice one as an adult and never really mastered the thing. I had enough of a time transitioning from spin cast to open-faced.
I used chicken necks tied to strings with really big sinkers on the end. We would pull them in, and the crabs would either still have a grip or they would follow the bait to where we could net them. When you pulled the string taut, you could feel the vibration of the crabs picking at the bait.
Been there done that, can't tell you how many times while freshwater fishing my lure would be hooked in the tree or shrub. I wasn't a very accurate caster, however I could cast pretty far when I get it right, I am a klutz and actually hooked someone on a boat that was fishing fortunately it didn't do any damage.
I never owned a boat so most of my crabing was done from peers or Bridges where I mostly used a net for crabs clinging to the pier, or crab traps. The first time I tried to toss a trap was from a small Pier which was kind of crowded I would tie the trap line to the pier, and try to toss it as far as I could into the water, my first attempt I let go too soon and my arm was perpendicular to the ground so the Trap went straight up maybe 20 feet, I yelled heads up you should have saw the crowd scatter after that I had more room to work. ha ha
My dad would cram himself, my older brother, me and my two younger brothers into a small boat. I have no idea how we all survived with both eyes intact. It was seriously dangerous. I did get snagged in the head once.
OK, who else went to the roller skating rink on Friday or Saturday night??? I had my own leather skates with pompoms on the toes that I carried in a little suitcase. I remember cruising around that giant oval to songs like Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes". Or maybe Manfred Mann... I have often considered buying myself a pair of skates and heading off down the street on them, but I'm afraid I might have to be scraped off the roadway and forced to pay for cleanup.
There was a drive in movie in Merrifield right around the corner from Fairview Park. I think it was called Lee-Hi Drive In. During it's latter stages, they took out the sound boxes and transmitted via FM radio. You could take chaise lounges, your radio and coolers and just kick back on the gravel, get drunk and watch movies. The last movies I saw there were a double feature: A Clockwork Orange and Easy Money (Rodney Dangerfield.) There's a drive in still in operation in Goochland County, not far from where I live now. I've not been.
I remember a drive-in in Pasadena TX that was wiped out by a hurricane in the 70's. Someone had put "Gone With the Wind" on the marquee that was still standing. I wish I had a picture of that.