It was only last November – a whopping three months ago – when Cuban-born Uva Perez set the world record at 114.6 mph. The closed course racer-turned-world record holder abandoned the buoys when an on-water collision nearly broke his leg. Since that time, nearly 8 years ago, Perez has been in the pursuit of setting world speed records. Heading the U Jet Team, Perez and teammates have been loyal to the Yamaha FZR SVHO platform, including retaining a fiberglass hull (although it being far from a factory stock machine).
In an interview with The Bradenton Herald, Perez spoke candidly, “The speed was always there. The problem was the condition of the water.” In exploring the topic of last November’s 114-plus-mph run further, Perez had commented online, “I want you to know that I didn’t use [nitrous] because it was too rough.” With superior conditions on the Manatee River last Saturday, Perez’s U Jet Yamaha WaveRunner achieved a staggering 118.0 miles per hour within a breakneck 3.8-seconds. And add to the fact that Perez achieved the speeds on denser salt water, compared to last November when his 114-plus-mph record was set on fresh water.
“There’s a lot of people who want to break that record,” Perez continued, “so I wanted to set it pretty high.” Perez and the U Jet team came to the third-annual Bradenton Area River Regatta already holding the honor of the fastest personal watercraft in the world, and was looking to retain his title with his new nitrous-fed turbocharged SVHO-powered ski. “It’s faster than the other one,” Perez smiled, “and more reliable.” And Perez understands the need for reliability at all levels; he runs a personal watercraft shop, U Jet Ski Service, in Miami with the help of his two sons.
Congratulations to Uva Perez for this amazing speed record. Takes a lot of courage to ride PWC at those speeds.
Questions:
Since the speed was done in the Manatee River, wouldn’t the river current speed affect his overall speed?
Since saltwater is denser than fresh water, wouldn’t the jet thrust be stronger leading to more forward speed, and wouldn’t the buoyancy also be higher thus reducing the vessel draft, which in turn decreases the wetted bottom hull area thereby reducing drag?
Again, congratulations on this amazing PWC record.
Salt water and fresh water are identical. Denser means more thrust but more drag. They cancel each other…
Actually, no they are not and we’re talking at the minutest levels. Behaviors between the two are dramatically different, as even the most cursory Google search will reveal.
I’m so fucking sick of reading the word JETSKI when they are not Kawasaki made skis… call it by its actual name, WAVERUNNER, or say PWC or just Ski…
Grammatically, there is a difference. “JetSki” is a watercraft built by Kawaski, as “jet ski” is a colloquial term meaning “any and all types of personal watercraft.”
Absolutely spot on my friend. And I take it even further by saying if it is not a stand up Kawasaki it is not a jet ski!.