Today, on a hot summer day, water skiers can be seen on typical lakes and coastal waters all over the world. It’s one of the easier water sports to get involved in, requiring only some basic equipment, a boat, and three or more people (one to drive, one to ski, and one to spot). The right boat insurance is important for anyone involved in water skiing.

Water skiers today probably have no idea that they are enjoying a sport that almost didn’t get off the ground (or, more accurately, the water). Prehistoric man was hitting the slopes on snow skis by 5,000 BC in Scandinavia, but we don’t have evidence of anyone successfully trying it on the water until the 1920s. It took them almost 7,000 years to figure out that you don’t have to freeze your butt of to have a good time skiing!

There’s no way of knowing for sure who first had the idea. More than one sailor probably had the idea during a keelhauling. Unfortunately, none of them lived to pass the suggestion along. So, the world would have to wait.

Sweden awarded a patent for a water ski design in the 1840s, but it’s not exactly clear if it was ever actually built or used. Of course the steam ships of the day traveled at an alarmingly fast 5 miles per hour, and skiing behind a sailboat isn’t exactly anybody’s idea of a good time, so that may explain why the sport didn’t catch on in the land of the Vikings.

The first person known to successfully water ski was Ralph Samuelson of Minnesota. It took him several tries, but in 1922, Ralph managed to do what, as far as can be proven, no one else had ever done. By then, he was being pulled at a whopping 20 miles per hour. A few years later, Samuelson skied behind a World War I era flying boat, at a then record setting 80 mph. Samuelson was also the person who first brought us the ski jump.

Since then, water skiing has exploded, reaching all over the world. It has been featured in intercollegiate competition, as a Summer Olympics exhibition, and in numerous shows on lakes, rivers, and coastal waters everywhere. Join in the fun this summer. Get your boat ready, make sure your boat insurance is in order, and have a great time out there on the water.

Photo via OakleyOriginals