One thing I really miss about living on the lake is that there's really no Marine Patrol presence mid-week after Labor Day. So we would go without a spotter (except for the dog of course) all the time, right after work. We even set up a rail in front of my house one fall - something that would have really raised a stir in the summer - and wakeskated around the cove, practicing on the rail over and over. It's funny how crowded and regulated the lake is, until suddenly no one cares about anything until next June.
We've gone out without spotters so much of the time that during the 3 months when you really need one, I sometimes forget, until someone points out, uh, don't we need a third?