No. Really. I have never met a person who can skip stones as well as I can. Is it a lost art? My sister claimed her new fiance could skip better than I, but he quickly recognized that he was outmatched, and in a fine representation of why I like the guy, told my sister that she was crazy to think that he was as good.
The current world record for skipping is 38. Is anyone else out there thinking to themselves, “38?!? heck, I’m going to start filming all my skips with hi-speed film. If you count the little putters at the end, I know I’ve done 38”
It’s all in the wrist and the spin. I’m able to get a good snap out of my wrist. Even a round rock will skip once or twice with enough spin. So I decide to Google, and I come across this article. What a bunch of hooey. They make it sound like brute force is the key. No wonder all these people look at me as if I’m some sort of freak when their pathetic attempts at skipping are showcased next to mine. These pages are filled with dis-information. I am here to set the story straight, and fulfill your dreams of super-skipdom, with a few simple tips.
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Possibly the most important part of skipping is finding the right rock for you. Put your thumb and index finger at a right angle. Then decrease the angle of your index finger ten to twenty degrees. That 10 degree range gives you an idea of the size perfect for you. Bigger than you thought, right?
Shape is also important. Although a nice triangle will almost always give you some good skips, my perfect skipper will have a round leading edge, with a notch no more than a couple centimeters for creating spin.
The web pages claim that the spin should come with your index finger. Don’t. Rest your index finger on the flat surface of the stone, and use your middle finger. The last part of you touching the stone should be the middle finger, giving a last bit of flick for spin.
Don’t throw your arm out. Start throwing fairly gently, concentrating on spin. Build from there. I look like a maniac when I’m going full bore. I rarely end a throw in perfect balance.
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I welcome any challenges. Those seeking advice. Or those of like minded thoughts on the next generation’s dismal failures on the lost art.
Technically, it’s called “dapping” even though the stoopid Merriam-Webster online dictionary does not show it under definitions, yet their Thesaurus does show “dap” as a synonym for “skip.” Idjits!
I’ve easily gotten 30-40 skips out of one stone. I like skipping them all the way across rivers. That’s always fun. I even discovered another way to “skip” stones. My relatives once owned a resort at Chile bar on the south fork of the American River near Hangtown. Their house was easily 50-100 feet directly above the water. Shale outcroppings were plentiful in the area and provided insanely effective skipping stones.
I found that if you ‘pancaked’ (flat spun) a slab of shale off their porch, when it hit the water, sometimes it would bounce back upwards over ten feet into the air! Now, that was some fun!
I will accept your challenge, Nurse Carmen. I wrote my college admissions essay about how stone skipping is a lost art.
I have specialized techniques for all of the events in the skipping olympics:
-Maximum number of skips (heavily dependent on water conditions… very unpredictable)
-Furthest total distance travelled (best to use a heavier rock and throw very very hard)
-Furthest distance of a single skip (best to use a very light thin rock, thrown downward)
-Furthest distance before a skip (extremely difficult category)
I have skipped stones across rivers and ponds. I have skipped stones on other continents. I bow to no one. Bring it on!
(Oh, and I thought that it was officially called “schooning”, which is how “schooners” got their name)
Schooning, eh? Maybe that’s why Google sucks on the topic. I was using the Minnesotan termonology, but I did search under skiffing as well. I am amazed that of all the dopers, only you and I understand and appreciate the fine art.
Now, we’ll just have to put together some sponserships and get a nice big cash pot together for the first annual SDMB stone skipping challenge.
X-Game? ESPN2? WE? 1st place Buick or Hummer? Cash awards, or endorsement deals? Location, location, location?
Wow! You guys are pros. Here I thought I was pretty good. I’ve put down your averager challenger from time to time with 20+ skips but never 30+ (that I can tell). I’ll agree with NurseCarmen and add that I find it best to get as close to water level as possible giving the stone a flatter approach. But it truly is a fine art.
What’s the largest rock any of you have skipped? I’ve skipped flat rocks approximate the size of a football. Any others?
I used to love skipping rocks! Well, I still do, just haven’t had the occasion to do it lately. It is an art and I got pretty good at it, but never up to 38. Where’s the awestruck smilie? Oh heck, I’ll just make one up-
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There ya go. I like mine smooth, flat and definitely with a rounded leading edge. And gray. I always liked the gray ones better.
In an ironic display of humility to the fine art, skipping requires one to “bow down” in order to effectively complete the perfect toss. Lowering your torso and into a contrite pose and positioning your arm just a foot or so off the surface upon release of the spinning projectile allows the planes of your stone’s arc and the watrer’s surface to slowly embrace, thus lengthening their dance.