As we post a lot of content related to PWC recreation, racing, news, and manufacturer-related topics, it is always nice to get a fresh take on the sport such as this article from Monticello Times about a man who’s mission to riding PWC’s is solely for transportation and exploration purposes.

Joey Freeman of Monticello, Minnesota uses his Yamaha Waverunner as a tool not for ripping around his hometown lakes, but for exploring. He takes journeys to ride and see the unknown. One such trip which he took this past summer, was a journey from Florida to the Bahamas. During the trip, he and the group of riders he went with, did some island hopping, hanging out with wildlife, and exploration of all the nooks and crannies that are hard to access by anything other than PWC’s.

Freeman has also partaken in numerous other journeys including trips on the Mississippi and Hudson Rivers as well as through the Atlantic Ocean environment. During the course of his explorations, Freeman has met many people and other fellow riders as well as learned of better ways to equip his ski for his sometimes daring adventures.

So what’s next for this avid rider? For next year, he is planning a more than twelve hundred mile trip down the Mississippi River from St. Paul, MN to Mobile, AL. As he is certainly not the first to traverse the Mighty Mississippi, we bet he can find some helpful advice for his notepad.

Friday wasn’t going to be easy. Lake Havasu City, Arizona was slated for mid-90’s temperatures, but worse off was the expected winds. Gusts of 20-30 miles per hour blew tents and EZ-Ups free of their moorings, and the lake looked like a tumultuous sea of whitecaps. Needless to say, the first moto of the Pro/Am Limited Runabout class was hard fought, and RIVA Racing team rider Eric Francis was loving it.

“I love this stuff,” Francis beamed. The brutal conditions battered lesser riders, and the seasoned AquaX racer only shined brighter. Aboard a meticulously-assembled ’17 Yamaha GP1800, Francis ran down and ahead of the field, the Yamaha-racer came home (after Saturday’s final moto) with the IJSBA World Championship. The Limited class ski consisted of a RIVA MaptunerX Yamaha 1.8L Bundle (PT# RY110SC-B0, a RIVA Yamaha GP1800 Power Filter Kit (PT# RY131100, a RIVA/HKS Yamaha Power Cooler, and SSQV Blow-off Valve (PT# RY17040-BOV-SSQV).

RIVA commented, “Recognizing that each customer has specific wants and needs, we offer our Performance Kits in several ‘Stages’. Our Performance Development Technicians have spent hundreds of hours testing numerous combinations of parts both on our in-house Dyno and on the water to maximize the performance and reliability of our kits.” Prior to the race, RIVA Racing performed a video interview with Francis who walked through the specifics of his GP1800 below:

In case you missed it, Sea-Doo published an awesome video of some great Sea-Doo moments shared by owners and fans around the world this summer. The video was part of the #SeaDooLife series and is appropriately named Sea-Doo Fun Runs Around The World.

The ‘Sea-Doo Life’ is an expression flaunted by numerous owners, riders, and fans as well as the Sea-Doo company itself. As with many other recreational activities, riding Sea-Doo’s is a lifestyle for many people worldwide and the passion invokes itself to the #SeaDooLife.

This particular video is just one of many social media sharing contests that Sea-Doo publicizes. It is amazing to say the least to see so many people who share the same passion from many of the major continents around the world.

We see some incredible footage initially in North America from the canyons and oceans out west to lakes, rivers, and swamp lands of the east. Moving down below the equator, we also see some neat reels in South America. Rivers, oceans, and even underwater explorations make up these Sea-Doo life goers’ adventures.

Moving across the Atlantic, Europe is up next. Whether the sun is shining or snow is on the ground, the Europeans sure don’t let the fun stop year-round. Moving on over to Asia, we see some super cool footage of these guys and gals around the beaches and in the open water. Last but not least, we definitely see the Australians know how to live it up.

Check out the video for yourself to see how much fun the #SeaDooLife can be. If you aren’t yet living this amazing lifestyle, and want to join in on the never-ending fun, check out sea-doo.com or your local dealership today.

By mid-morning Sunday, it was all but in the bag for 5-time IJSBA Pro Freestyle champion Lee Stone. Drawing the “short straw,” Stone was selected to go first in the lineup of Saturday’s afternoon first moto. The British innovator quickly churned the shoreline, building up some desirable chop before executing the world’s first flat water double backflip. It was, to say the least, monumental.

During that evening’s session at the Blowsion Explosion beneath London Bridge, Stone repeated the double backflip (only cleaner) and successfully performed the first aerial 720′. The championship was all but his, and even some judges quipped that Stone would’ve scored higher had there been a standing rule of “no Perfect 10s.” So as one judge shrugged, “It’s now a race for second and third place.”

And that seemed to be the case until 40-seconds into Stone’s final moto. Again, he landed a flawless double backflip to the roar of the crowd. That was followed by a stellar heel-click backflip, which Stone was the only one to perform as well. Then his ski quit. To the shock and dismay of all, his orange, black and gold Revolver refused to run. A second ski was pushed out into the water, but IJSBA rules prohibit a backup ski, and with Stone’s routine less than a minute into his 2 minute time, the points accrued wouldn’t count. Stone’s bout at a 6th championship was over.

The judges were buzzing. Performances were indeed some of the best seen this year, and one athlete was clearly bringing his best to the water: Mark Gomez. The Hydro-Turf, RRP rider was flawlessly performing freeride tricks (Superman flips, Superman tray grabs, etc.) with abounding energy. And rightfully so, Gomez was right behind Stone before the breakdown. The DNF pushed Gomez to the lead, giving the Fullerton, California native his IJSBA World Championship.

This story comes to us from chixwithtrix.com. The story tells us a little about Spencer from Pacific Northwest Jetski Fishing. Spencer owned his first jet ski close to 20 years ago while stationed in Virginia Beach. It was a 1991 750 Yamaha 2-stroke and he liked to spend time in the bay looking for boat wakes to jump. Wake jumping is enjoyable. When Spencer left the military he sold his jet ski so he could pay for his college tuition in the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Fifteen years later, he became obsessed with fishing after one of his friends took him out to fish for salmon in the Columbia River. Soon after, the guys hit the Pacific Ocean to catch rockfish. The rockfish trip led to tuna fishing and shortly thereafter, Spencer tired of waiting for his friend’s schedules to match his own for fishing trips on their boats so he bought a kayak and fished along the coast.

The years wore on and he fished some tournaments and still that wasn’t enough. Another buddy brought up the idea of fishing form a personal watercraft and Spencer was captivated with the idea. He reminisced about the good times he had on his ski in Virginia.

He soon realized that he could reach more fishing spots on a jet ski. A kayak just wasn’t doing it for him. Kayaks don’t go as fast and require a lot of energy as opposed to the speed of a jet ski. Sure, a ski is tough on the body, yet it’s powered by gas and can get through waves and more water in less time than paddling a kayak. He and his buddy worked on outfitting their skis for the purpose of fishing. Their rigs were built for toughness so they could launch from obscure places and move through areas that boats weren’t capable. Their machines put them in waters rarely fished so the taking was bountiful. As Spencer wrote, “It really is impossible to not have fun fishing from a jet ski…if the fishing is slow, you’re on a jet ski, in the ocean…”

HydroDrag Nationals are already behind us for this year and yet, record-setting numbers are still being pushed by none other than Uva Perez. Back in August, he already set a new official world record of 123.2 MPH at the U.S. HydroDrag Nationals. Now, there is a new YouTube video showing Uva shattering that record at 127 MPH.

While the result may still be unofficial, the GPS modules utilized on board his PWC clearly show numbers never seen previously. With cameras rolling, watercraft prepped, and water conditions perfect, Uva climbed aboard the same turbocharged Yamaha FZR WaveRunner he used during Nationals and strolled down the quiet canal in preparation to make his run.

As he comes back down and hammers the throttle, we hear the turbo instantly spool up and the thing accelerates like a rocket. Coming back around to the dock, the expression on Perez’s face looks very promising and as the camera focuses in on the GPS, we can see the results.

The MVP Productions video indicates that Uva wanted to share to the world this exclusive new 127 MPH speed in under 3 seconds. We imagine that Uva knew his FZR had much more to give even after HydroDrag Nationals, that he just couldn’t wait until next year to push the boundaries higher and higher.

The mayors of Norway missed their goal to ban jet skis. Threatened with class action lawsuits and the like, the mayors were left with nothing. They had to give in to the wants of PWC riders. According to an article published in the Norwegian online magazine, SLTE, a large group of riders met with lawyers and stood their ground against the mayors. The battle between local mayors and personal watercraft riders had been going on since 1997.

The riders and attorneys based their legal actions on the new Dispute Act that was brought into play in 2008. The Act states that a large group of people or interest groups may initiate legal proceedings against laws such as the ones local mayors wanted to implement.

The long standing ban on jet skis was removed. It was a strict ban and we’re glad the Norwegian personal water craft riders and attorneys won their. The ban restricted skis to only 400 meters offshore. Riders were only allowed to travel at 5 knots in areas with land on two sides up to 800 meters in salt water and 1000 meters in fresh water. These particular regulations were difficult to comprehend.

Today, PWC’s can follow the same laws and regulations of all other boats. The government did make allowances for the local mayors to have an option to regulate boats/pwc in some areas. A few mayors went ballistic over the loss and decided they wanted to ban skis altogether. Furthermore, the mayors sent new regulations out for a public hearing. Those angry local mayors were denied by a higher form of government. A statement sent out by the superior government reads that jet skis can be regulated in special harbors and other small areas such as beaches.

The fight was won by the personal watercraft community. Kudos!