Fast on His Feet

Graham Cole has no problem being pulled by powerboats at speeds approaching 100 mph.

Just don’t ask him to ride Colossus at Magic Mountain.

“I hate roller coasters,” he said. “I don’t control the speed. I don’t control the direction that they go. I’m just sort of along for the ride and I’m not necessarily a person who’s along for the ride.”

Cole, 15, likes to be in control at all times, whether he’s zigzagging across the water in a ski race or dutifully watching the family cat at his Calabasas home. Nothing, it seems, gets past his discriminating eye.

Cole’s attention to detail has helped him become one of the nation’s top junior-age competitors in the relatively obscure sport of water ski racing. He is one of two boys who will represent the U.S. in the 15-and-under division at the World Water Ski Racing Championships in October in Sydney, Australia.

Although he avoids the sharp turns and dips of roller coasters, Cole eagerly awaits every nerve-testing maneuver of a ski race.

“It’s a great way to relieve stress,” he said.

Part of a racing team that includes his father, John, and family friend John Peckham Jr., Cole earned a spot in the World Championships by winning 14 of 16 events sanctioned by the National Water Ski Racing Assn. over the past two years.

Cole’s consistency was recognized in a letter from Gary Heinbuch, president of the International Division of the NWSRA, who wrote: “We know you have what it takes and we look forward to you bringing home the gold.”

Before going for the gold, though, Cole wants to bring home a record.

He has his sights set on breaking the junior boys’ division record in the Catalina Water Ski Race on Aug. 10. Competitors ski 52 miles from Long Beach Harbor to Catalina and back, coping with unpredictable rough-water conditions and stamina-sapping fatigue.

“It’s considered the greatest ski race in the world by a lot of people because it’s so unpredictable,” Cole said. “The conditions change by the hour. In 15 minutes you can be skiing along and it’s just the smoothest day you’ve ever seen. Then all of the sudden it’s a hurricane.”

Cole has completed the grueling Catalina race five times--he set the record for youngest finisher at age 8, a mark that held up until last year. His best time is about 1 hour 10 minutes.

The 15-and-under record, set by Corey Cook of Rowland Heights in 1987, is 1:02.

“You have to go about 65 miles per hour the whole way to finish in 1:02,” Cole said. “I think my chances are pretty good. It depends on the water temperature and the conditions.”

In a first-person essay for a ski-racing magazine, Cole described the thrill of competing in the Catalina race: “Nothing tops going by the Queen Mary with my boat flat out, down the channel, helicopters hovering overhead, crowds cheering and boat horns blasting, as you cross the finish line. My arms may be ready to fall off, and my legs buckling, but at the time it all seems worth it.”

Because of swells caused by Catalina cruise ships, Cole can get several feet of air between himself and the ocean while tethered more than 200 feet behind his powerboat.

“I’ve never really crashed hard [in the Catalina race],” he said. “I’m known for not crashing.”

If he does fall, Cole is well-protected by a neck brace, arm restraints and a helmet that snugly fits on the crown of his head and is fastened to his wetsuit.

Cole takes a conservative and perfectionist approach to ski racing. Some other competitors like to test the limits, pushing their high-powered boats until they ultimately lose their balance and fall, but Cole gets his kicks by staying on top of the water.

Taking a hard fall when he was younger caused Cole to become gun-shy for awhile--he would let go of the line at the first sign of trouble--but he has come a long way in conquering his fears.

“I used to throw the handles a lot more,” he said. “Now I’ll hang in there and pull it out.”

Of course, it helps to be surrounded by an experienced team. John Cole, a two-time ski racing national champion in the 45-55 age division, drives the boat for his son and Peckham has been Graham’s observer for five years. The observer serves as a link between the skier and driver, regulating the speed of the boat by signaling to both parties.

Graham says Peckham has become so efficient at reading his skiing that he rarely signals anymore.

“It’s like they have ESP,” John Cole said.

The elder Cole, a partner in a Sherman Oaks law firm, can take credit for getting Graham and his younger son, Marshall, involved in ski racing. He developed a fondness for water skiing years ago through a friend who lived at Lake Arrowhead.

But John Cole didn’t get serious about the sport until 10 years ago, when he bought a house at Arrowhead for vacations and weekends. He has since built a lake-front house. The Coles own several boats, including the racing boats “Summery Judgment” and “Judgment Day,” and a collection of skis that cost up to $1,000 apiece with bindings.

“If you count the house, I’ve got way over a million dollars invested [in ski racing],” John Cole said.

Graham’s training began at age 5, but at first his family had to bribe him to ski.

“I remember they had to make deals with me,” he said. “I enjoyed doing it, but it wasn’t like I woke up in the morning and said, ‘Let’s go ski.’ My dad wanted to get me to ski, because he did.”

Growing up with the sport, Cole quickly graduated from riding on two skis to a single racing ski. He estimated he has completed between 200 and 300 ski events, ranging from sprint-like circle races to marathon races, such as the ones that will be contested at the World Championships.

Cole competed in a circle race, where speeds can exceed 100 mph, earlier this month at Lake Mead in Nevada. He edged his friend Jai Chad, 15, of Australia to win his age division. Chad, who is staying with the Coles this summer, says Graham is capable of becoming a world champion.

“I think his chances are good,” said Chad, who missed earning a spot in the World Championships by one place on the Australian team. “He’s a really good skier and he has his head together.”

An honor student, Cole will be a sophomore at Calabasas High this fall and plans to compete in water polo, swimming and wrestling. He competed in soccer and basketball while growing up in Tarzana, but it is clear his interests lie in more individual endeavors.

“I started to pull away from team sports because I’m not completely in control of what’s happening,” Cole said. “In ski racing, either it’s my accomplishment or my fault.”