Skiing with the big boys

Alight wind rippled across Lake Mead's Hemenway Harbor as 44-year-old Flemming Pedersen bobbed in the water wearing an orange helmet, a impact suit and a fluorescent-orange racing ski.

As the motor of the Day Cruizer idling 166 feet in front of him changed from a hum to a roar and the boat picked up speed, the lines gripped by Pedersen became taut, pulling him up from the lake. He balanced himself on the water's surface at a speed of 50 mph.

"He does this for about an hour and 10 minutes," Pedersen's friend and driver Jerry Phillips shouted from behind the wheel as wind whipped at his face. "But usually a lot faster."

About 20 mph faster if he's racing. The glide through the harbor was just a practice, but as a speed skier competing in up to 15 local and national races a year, Pedersen has skied up to 100 mph. In July he finished second in his class, third overall at a competition in Clear Lake, Calif., skiing 75 mph for 28 miles.

This week the executive pastry chef at the Golden Nugget is in Spain competing in the 1999 World Water Ski Racing Championships.

As a Danish citizen, he will be the first-ever Dane to compete in the world competition.

"It's pretty much everybody's dream to represent one's country," Pedersen said. "I always dreamed that it would be through playing soccer, but I wasn't very good -- not by European standards."

Although he has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, Pedersen held onto his Danish citizenship for sentimental reasons -- an act that allowed him into this year's competition.

Because his age and other responsibilities keep him from full-time participation, Pedersen said he would never have qualified to represent the United States. But because there were no qualifications -- or even skiers to compete against -- from Denmark, Pedersen, a 1996 national winner in his class, stepped forward to represent his country.

"The Danish Water Ski Association is really behind me," he said.

That's because at the waters of Oropesa del Mar and Castellon in Spain, skiers from more than 20 countries will compete to see how many miles they can ski in an hour. While three athletes from each country are racing, only Pedersen will represent Denmark.

"Just little old me," he said with a laugh. "I'll be carrying the flag (through the opening ceremony) and washing the boat."

His parents and two sisters still live in Denmark. "They're excited. It's a small little country."

Water skiing isn't a popular sport in Denmark, Pedersen said. In fact, it wasn't until he moved to Las Vegas that Pedersen even donned a pair of racing skis. He began racing in 1992 shortly after Phillips asked him if he wanted to go water-skiing sometime.

Although he earned the nickname "Flying Flem" from the guys on the beach who watched him take a nasty spill every time he was behind the boat, Pedersen fell in love with the sport.

"If you like water-skiing and you're into a lot of speed, you'll get hooked real easy," he said.

His first competition was in Hemenway Harbor. "I didn't do very well," he said. "But I got hooked. If you like adrenaline, this is a lot of fun."

For the most part he has been able to escape injury: A broken collar bone during a competition in Hemenway Harbor last year was his first major injury.

"I was just getting too comfortable," he said. "You have to clear your mind. When you ski fast, you have to watch the back of the boat and the water coming at you.

Pedersen wears arm restraints while skiing to keep from windmilling if he falls and a neck brace so his neck won't snap.

"It's very dangerous out there. In the time that I have competed, five people have been killed in this sport."

Although it's dangerous, his wife, Chere, says she supports him.

"It's something he really loves to do," she said. "He's an adrenaline junkie. If I told him 'don't do it,' he'd be racing cars or jumping out of airplanes. This at least keeps him in the water."

She's a little worried about this week's competition. He's never met his driver and having a good driver is crucial for safety when racing. He's also not an ocean racer, she said. Pedersen mostly skis lakes.

"But he'll be out there, and he will endure," she said. "He won't give up. He will finish that race.

"I'm real proud of him even though it scares me to death," she said. "He's worked hard for this. He'll work 10 to 12 hours a day, then go run seven miles at the gym."

Pedersen didn't even learn to ski until he was in his mid-20s. He didn't start competing until he was 36. Which is why he doesn't expect to win the competition.

"The odds are not that good," Pedersen said. "I don't think I have much of a chance to win it. The kids I'm competing against are fast. Some of these kids are 18 or 19. They started when they're 8."

Not a concern for Pedersen, who says winning isn't his goal. Representing his country and doing something not many people have the opportunity to do are enough, he said.

"For me it's fun. I just want to participate and do the best I can."

It's also a stress release.

"It's my outlet. When I really want to relax I ski. You need to be able to get away. This is my way."

As an executive pastry chef with 22 people working for him, Pedersen says he gets out of bed at 4 a.m. each day and spends 60 hours a week whipping up French and Danish pastries, pies, candies, chocolate sculptures and sugar showpieces.

The pastries serve about 5,000 people daily.

"If you have a tough day you can get out there and concentrate on the skiing," he said. He sometimes skis with other bakers, Chere said. "They're under a lot of stress. They're cooped up in the kitchen."

A pastry chef locally for nearly 20 years, Pedersen said Las Vegas is a great place to build a resume.

He grew up in the small village Tuse, Denmark. He became a baker when he was 16, starting as a four-year apprentice in that country. He received his degree in pastry design from the Danish Institute of Baking, then left Denmark in 1976 because he was "nosy and curious."

As a former 14-year soccer player in Denmark and an eight-year boxer in both Denmark and the United States, Pedersen said he has always enjoyed sports.

Settling in Southern Nevada satisfies his appetite for adrenaline.

"You can water-ski on Wednesday and downhill ski Thursday," he said referring to Lake Mead and Lee Canyon.

Fortunately, he's found some sponsors -- the Golden Nugget and other local businesses -- to help him get to the world competition.

The trip to Spain is costing at least $5,000. That and the thousands of dollars he spends annually on the sport may cause him to slow down next year.

"Speed costs," Phillips said.

Normally Pedersen pays for his races himself and now he has already begun training his two stepchildren, 12-year-old Alastair and 10-year-old Caitlin, to water-ski. Alastair plans to compete next year.

Money isn't the only thing that may slow him down.

Skiing is taxing on the muscles for "an old man like myself," he adds jokingly. The trick to skiing is "stamina. You've got to have a lot of leg."

All kidding aside, Pedersen said he'll keep skiing "until it's no longer fun."

The competition ends next Saturday and Pedersen will return to Las Vegas on Sept. 20.

So how fast will Pedersen ski in Spain?

"Hopefully not too fast. It's going to be on the ocean. The ocean always slows you down. It's more of an endurance race. If I hit 70 I'd be surprised."

Last week he skied a 32-mile stretch from Long Beach, Calif., to Catalina to prepare.

What does he think about during those long stretches? "How can I go faster?"

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