Hard water and extreme speed

There's a distinct chop twisting menacingly across Lake Rotorua.

The fresh early morning wind is gusting from the south while crews and skiers are getting ready to take part in the New Zealand Water Ski racing championships on Lake Rotorua.

Sleek and powerful speed boats are being guided down the ramp, rumbling into the murky and uninviting waters at Sulphur Point.

It looks like the start of any recreational day on the lake, until you see the skiers preparing for their 35 minute runs, the object being to complete more laps of the about-2.5m course than the other competitors.

The early-week weather promise of light winds and a flat lake have proved wrong but no-one is complaining as they go about their race day business.

There is a definite sense of anticipation, bravado and competition in the air as the skiers get their first outing on Rotorua which is in line to host the world championships in 2007.

Ankles are being heavily taped and all sorts of bandages and guards appear on bodies to be hidden beneath wetsuits, while goggles and full face helmets, sporting the marks of previous falls, are being checked.

As Rotorua's Kevin Murphy says, water ski racing is not for the faint-hearted.

"It's an extreme sport," says the driver of Warlord, one of Australasia's most winning ski boats, and an aquatic version of a V8 Supercar.

Murphy and his $140,000 machine are fresh from taking out New Zealand's annual Bridge to Bridge race on the Waikato River between Cambridge and Huntly with observer Tony Bradley and skiers Vaughan Hyde and Bevan Turksma.

They were the first all Kiwi crew in 11 years to take the 22-year-old title.

The combination have a big race in Paeroa next year and if they win that, they'll earn New Zealand's overall King of the River crown.

Quick is an understatement for the white and purple 21-footer, tuned by laptop, powered by two twin Mercury outboards and capable of a top speed of about 108 m/h (174 km/h).

But contrary to popular belief, waterski racing is not all about the boat.

In waterskiing's equivalent to drag racing one could be forgiven for thinking the fastest boat will always win, but that's not always the case.

"You can have the fastest boat in the world but the skier's got to hold on to it ... At the end of the day it's a skiers' race," Murphy says.

It's more a balancing act with the driver having to run the boat on a constant fine line between blowing up the motor and taking care of the two skiers holding on to a 260-foot rope behind.

Too much or too little throttle and the skier will be bounced across the water like a skimming pebble before crashing to a reasonably painful stop - hence the helmets and strapping.

The role of the observer, the only other person on the boat, is also important as the eyes of the driver are focused on the waters ahead and monitoring instruments rather than the skiers among the spray behind.

"Tony's [Bradley] watching their legs to see if they are getting tired and need a rest," Murphy says.

The skiers have to be skilled and powerful to hold their position in the choppy waters, with their upper legs, knees and ankles absorbing most of the pressure, while their upper arms also get a workout.

One of the best in the business is Hamilton's Turksma, the current New Zealand champion who competes in Australia's Superclass circuit.

The self-confessed adrenalin junkie started skiing as a 7-year-old and has been to two world events.

He's had his fair share of bad injuries with torn ligaments in both ankles and a compressed vertebrae - suffered at the world championships in Long Beach, California, when he was holding fourth position.

The injury forced him off the water for some time.

"At these speeds you've got no control over how you fall," he says.

He takes his role pretty seriously and he supplements his training on the water with regular gym, running and biking sessions.

Turksma's excited about the prospects of getting the world event in his own backyard.

"I'm pretty stoked - it's going to be good for the sport over here," he says.

After attending two world events he believes New Zealand certainly has the facilities to cope, and the rough waters on Lake Rotorua during the weekend add to the package. "We need to ski in rougher conditions - it's good training for international events ... it's good for other people to get the experience."