17.5 Degree Angle?
Seven Time Winner Shares Secrets of Stone Skipping
By Leslie Rott

High Commissioner Paul Toepp III presents Mackinac Island Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club’s 41st Annual Stone Skipping Tournament 13-and-under contest 1st place winner Adam “Skate Board” Eyman, from Cincinnati, Ohio, with a medal and the Pebble’s Cup filled with saltwater taffy from Ryba’s Fudge for his 18 skips.

For only the second time in the 41-year history of the Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club’s stone-skipping tournament, the event was delayed by rain, but with participants coming from California, Colorado, and Texas, it wasn’t delayed for long.

Russ “Rock Bottom” Byar, from Franklin, Pennsylvania, won the Bill Rabe Pro-Invitational stone-skipping tournament for the second year in a row with a score of 30 skips, setting a new tournament record.

According to seven time record holder Glenn Loy, thin, smooth, flat stones that are about four inches in diameter are ideal for skipping stones. Use light stones for smooth water, heavy stones for rough water, and then he gets silly. Throw the stone at a 17.5 degree angle, he says, with the rock parallel to the water and having a good amount of spin.

For $3, participants standing on Windermere Point could shoot for that 17.5 degree angle with six natural stones of their choosing. They threw their rocks under the watchful eye of judge Robert Ransom.

Mike Mueller of St. Louis, Missouri, won the event, named the Glenn Allen Open, with 22 skips. Mr. Mueller was awarded the Little David Trophy, a 75- pound rock.

In the Pebbles Division, for children 13 and under, defending champion Adam Eyman, age 11, of Cincinnati, Ohio, won with 18 skips. He received the Pebbles Cup, filled with saltwater taffy from Ryba’s Fudge. Coming in second and third place in the Pebbles Division were 11-year-old Will Callewaert of Mackinac Island, with 16 skips, and 13-year-old Max Steiner of Grosse Pointe, also with 16 skips.

Randol “Doc” Crain judged the gerplunking contest, where contestants try to mimic the sound, “gerplunk,” made when a stone is dropped into the water. They get six tries and are graded by Mr. Crain from one to 10.

“Who knew we could have such good ‘gerplunking’ on the beach this morning in the rain,” Mr. Crain asked spectators as children of all ages tried their hand at the best “gerplunk.” According to Doc Crain, using fist size rocks, and being mindful of the appropriate depth of the water, proper elevation of the rock, and a vertical drop are the keys to having a good “gerplunk.”

No record was kept of the gerplunk contestants.TTTen professionals entered the Bill Rabe Pro-Invitational skipping contest this year, including seven-time record holder Glenn Loy and John Kolar, who was the Guinness Book of World Records Holder from 1977 to 1984 and featured on the Nickelodeon cable network show, “Figure It Out.”

Russ Byar of Franklin, Pennsylvania, won for the second year in a row with a score of 30 skips, setting a new tournament record, and, according to Emcee Eric Steiner, more than 980 spectators lined the beach at Windermere point to watch the professionals compete and witness Mr. Byar’s record-breaking stone skipping.

The late publicist William T. Rabe started the stone-skipping tournament in 1964 and it has been continued to this day by skipping enthusiasts like Mr. Loy, who bills the annual event as the world championship of stone skipping.

Proceeds from the Fourth of July contest are donated to the Mackinac Island Public Library. Registration fees this year amounted to $520, and additional money is raised through the sale of Mackinac Island Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club T-shirts, hats, and other apparel.