If you own a personal watercraft, you likely know that the effects of water meeting metal parts causes corrosion and rust. Salt water compounds this effect much faster than fresh water. If you ride in any ocean, salt water bay, or brackish body of water, it is definitely worth giving your watercraft some extra post-ride care so that it will last for years-to-come.
Due to the harmful effects saltwater plays on your craft’s metal components, cooling system, and electrical components, all manufacturers give their recommendations on how to care for your PWC after riding. There are many additional resources online that give excellent tips for beating salt water corrosion including one such article.
First of all, you should always flush your watercraft with fresh water via the flush port and according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can even use a salt remover called Salt Away to help remove any residual salt deposits. Rinse off the entire exterior of the watercraft and even scrub with a high quality boat soap if desired. Don’t forget to spray up in your intake grate and all around the jet pump area.
Remove any engine access panels or seats and rinse the engine compartment with fresh water. Don’t forget to remove the drain plugs to allow the water to drain and leave the seat off for some time to allow everything to dry out as well as avoid mildew buildup. Invest in some quality corrosion inhibitor oil spray. Sea Doo and Yamaha make their own brand so you can look for these.
Give a light coating to your jet pump, drive shaft, and other metallic fasteners and linkages. You may give engine components a very light coating but avoid directly spraying hoses, motor mounts, gaskets, and other rubber materials as it can make them dry and brittle over time. Many of the electrical connectors will have insulating gaskets from the factory but every once in awhile, you may remove the connectors, coat with insulating grease such as corrosion block, and reconnect for some added protection.
Following these or any similar procedures as well as general precautions from individual manufacturers will ensure that you get many reliable hours out of your Personal Watercraft.
One might even consider this the official shirt of the IJSBA. The IJSBA is making strides to become even better with the addition of a t-shirt and collaboration with Riva Racing. The shirts look nice and appear well made. They’ll make great additions for purchase or giveaways during IJSBA sanctioned races. Everybody likes a t-shirt!
The shirts are available in two colors; Dark Heather and Heather Royal. They are emblazoned with the IJSBA screen print logo. The shirts weigh a mere 4.5 ounces and are 100% cotton preshrunk jersey knit. According to the RIVA Racing site, these shirts are thin, breathable, and ultra soft.
The t-shirts are available in sizes small, medium, large, extra large, and XXL. Show off your international racing pride and support the IJSBA and RIVA in one of these shirts. Also, you can score a deal right now because they’re on sale. Prices range from $17.96-20.66.
If you prefer to grab a tee in the store, hit up RIVA Racing, located on 3671 North Dixie Highway in Pompano Beach, Florida. While you’re there check out RIVA Racing’s line of other products.
It’s started with a text from racer and JetX team director Ryan Dalli one evening;”Hey bud. You going to ‘Finals this year?” I replied affirmatively, although bemoaned the process of actually getting to the remote Lake Havasu City. A few seconds later came, “Yeah, we’re not going. In fact a lot of Canadians aren’t going this year.” It came as a shock obviously. Dalli and his team were favorites in the pits and have been building a strong presence in the North American racing series. To sit out the biggest event of the year seemed…uncharacteristic. When pressed, Dalli shared his woes – mainly logistical, but some political – that culminated in something more sinister:
“I hear there won’t be a lot of internationals this year,” he hinted. “The UIM is discouraging racers from participating.”
That bomb echoed louder than anything else. What was this about? Was there a silent feud between the UIM and IJSBA resulting in racers having to choose between one or the other? Rumors like these are quite often birthed out of games of telephone, and because of such, required more investigation. Inquiries to the respective organizations were sent the following morning, while I reached out to various racers. Messages sent to international racers went unanswered for the most part, yet domestic racers were happy to reply. RIVA Yamaha racer Brian Baldwin shared, “I heard they pay them a ton of money up front to race (the UIM) but they must race the whole tour or they have to give the money back.” Wisely adding, “[I’m] not sure the truth of it.”
Until recently, the dates for the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship in Shanghai, China overlapped with the dates of the Blowsion IJSBA World Finals, which had been scheduled unusually early in October, leading many to believe the scheduling conflict to be intentional. (The UIM event was later rescheduled to the 13-15 October last month.) “The IJSBA pushed up the Finals to mess with AJ’s World Championship in Naples, FL,” a representative from a major OE manufacturer noted, asking to be kept incognito. Giving some legs to the rumor, the Pro Watercross World Championship announced a move from its typical final week in September dates to the first week in November. “They’re all trying to screw with each other,” he laughed.
Investigating further, racers were split on whether the UIM was having racers enter into a verbal agreement or whether there was an actual written contract threatening racers by withholding a stipend were they to “leave the reservation” and participate in IJSBA events. WaterX’s own Blake Corning – a key figure in the operation of the World Finals – wasn’t shy to share: “Yeah, I heard about it. And only twelve people signed it.” The existence of such an agreement would almost certainly cripple the World Finals’ international participation numbers, as well as seriously injure the organization’s clout as an international sanctioning body. The rift, it would appear, would be equally as damaging as the current one existing domestically between it and AJ Handler’s Pro Watercross series. “If this keeps up,” one person wrote, “it will be time to change the ‘I’ in IJSBA from “international” to ‘isolated’.”
Thankfully, a response from UIM-ABP’s Nigel Quilter assured The Watercraft Journal that, “We never penalize anyone but we do encourage riders to participate in UIM sanctioned and recognized races. On many occasions we help riders that want to attend and race in other competitions, such as the Kings Cup, by helping organize their transport. We certainly don’t force our riders to boycott other events but we do offer a small bonus to our riders to commit to our program of events as a recognition for their commitment.”
Instead of a contractually-binding penalty, what Quilter calls a “bonus system” is in place. And not through the UIM. He explained, “The bonus system that we have introduced is proprietary information and is offered by H2O Racing and not the UIM. As a matter of fact the UIM Championship is open to all riders with valid criteria to participate (license, insurance, etc).” Yet, Quilter continued, adding in his sentiment on the current situation, “The reason is that jet skiing – as an international sport – needs to be organized and managed worldwide under one serious and reliable authority, which is the UIM, the world governing body for powerboating and an international authority that is fully recognized by the IOC, Sportaccord and ARISF.
“With all that said, we want to emphasize that having a sport reunited under one entity, which is democratic, meaning rules [are] voted by majority and representatives of UIM National Authorities, not one individual making decisions [that] can only be good for [himself]. …The majority of riders that have crossed our path in the last years can [testify] to the ambitious project that we are building.”
Understanding Quilter’s words as representing the UIM as a whole, it is clear that the organization feels that the IJSBA is no longer the preeminent sanctioning body, and has taken efforts to usurp its authority – not through a forcible coup but rather emphasizing the palatable chasm between how the UIM operates and the IJSBA. Participants who travel to Thailand, Guadalupe, Shanghai or France’s Aquabike series all gush with praise at how well the racers are treated, the venues are arranged and the smoothness of the operation. In contrast, there is still no unified National Tour, no Nationals event or a cohesive regional series; hopes of a AquaX-ran national series have yet to materialize; and the IJSBA still remains at bitter odds with Pro Watercross, like two virulent divorcees fighting for sole custody of a child. And it is the children that are hurt most during a divorce.
“A house divided cannot stand,” Lincoln paraphrased, and like it neither can this sport. For jet skiing to rise from stagnancy and begin to flourish as a world class motorsport, we agree with Quilter’s insistence that a single, unified and democratic system ought to be in place; whether that is the UIM or IJSBA. Yet, for it to be the latter, a great many changes need to be initiated: the disorder within its own house must end; positive, insightful and dynamic leadership must exist; a reunification of the domestic regional and national racing landscape needs be established; and newfound energy needs to erupt from what many consider the cooled embers from a dwindled fire. Likewise, if the UIM wishes to wear the mantle, it must accept that the US remains the single-largest PWC marketplace in this industry, and thereby, must appeal to its constituents accordingly.
The final of three WaterX events was hosted at Lake Bowers within Vance Creek Park in Elma, Washington. The events – sponsored by Skat-Trak, Jettrim, and JetRenu was attended by riders and their families from all over, as far as Arizona and Canada comprising 44 racers in total with 17 different class heats.
Event staff Blake Corning, Monte Hughes, John Dewar, Matt Rennie, Surie Hughes, and Dan Lindgren worked as a team each day to ensure that safety was first and that the event flowed as consistent of the nearby Vance Creek.
Arriving Saturday morning at the venue parking area, we could feel the excitement in the air; riders, friends, and family were transferring gear from camping spots and trailers to the beach area. Many riders were inspecting their machines and turning a wrench when needed. Weather forecast was for sun and mid-80’s for Saturday and possible 90+ on Sunday. If you have an idea of where Elma is you will appreciate how awesome the weekend weather was.
The riders meeting was very informative, giving the needed details of the heat events, course specific rules, and a course demonstration was ridden by event staff allowing all riders to see the course. We liked the way each class of riders was given their own “tour”. The course was laid out nicely and was billed as a “fast” track. It proved for great racing
This great event hosted 17 separate class heats including, Beginner Ski, Novice Ski Limited, Runabouts, Woman’s Ski Limited and Pro-Am GP. Heats started straight away, there was little down time in between. Each rider should be commended for being attentive to the calls for staging and not allowing time to slip away.
Both Saturday and Sunday racing was intense! Typical of a flat water course, the start was critical, there were very few red flags to restart. As the riders blasted the throttle lever and raced to the first buoy, the riders took great care in positioning as not to create an unsafe first turn. Many looked over the shoulder, finding out where they were in the crowd. Washington State has an awesome group of riders, all are dedicated to the sport and are great ambassadors to promote it. If your looking for a great time, seek out WaterX!
That time is fast-approaching for the 2017 Blowsion SurfSlam Freeride. For participants of the event, you must have your pre-registration form filled out and sent in before 5:00 PM this Wednesday, September 6. This year’s ninth annual event will be held the weekend of September 8-10 on the beaches of Pacific City, Oregon.
The event is open to anyone interested in participating, just select your particular class Rookie, Amateur, or Pro during registration. In addition, the Tierra Del Mar Beach has free public access so the event is also open to any spectators. The entry fee is $135.00 for Rookies and $175.00 for the Amateur and Pro Freeriders.
The fee is payable online through the registration link above and you must retain your receipt as proof of entry upon arrival at the event. Please note that you must be both an IFWA and IJSBA member to compete in the SurfSlam Freeride Competition. You will note an additional per-event IFWA fee of $45.00 as well as a $45.00 IJSBA membership fee unless you have already paid your annual IJSBA membership fee.
The event is being held under the IJSBA insurance charter umbrella so you must present proof of IJSBA / IFWA membership before you will be allowed to compete. If you plan to compete in the Big Air competition, there will be an additional $20.00 entry fee as well as a late fee for any Pro Class Freeriders who register after the deadline.
Not able to attend the event? Be sure to check out the blowsionsurfslam webpage for a link to the live streaming of the event so that you can check out all the action!
My friends grandmother being jet ski'd out of her living room in Houston. (imgur.com) submitted 14 hours ago by Webborwebbor. Tags. Harvey, Houston, Jet Ski, Texas, Flood.
Hurricane Harvey has been the focus topic of this past week in most major news outlets. There has certainly been lots of loss and devastation however in times of disaster, people generally band together to help those in need. A few groups of Personal Watercraft Riders were no exception as they joined in on the relief efforts for those coastal Texas residents stranded in the flooded areas.
My friends grandmother being jet ski’d out of her living room in Houston. (imgur.com) submitted 14 hours ago by Webborwebbor.
One particular rescue incident has been getting some viral attention involving the elderly stranded Houston resident J.C. Spencer and his Wife Karen Spencer. According to the reports, jet ski riders Keith Christensen and Winston Savice Jr. showed up to the Spencers’ home aboard their PWC’s to rescue the couple; but not before Mr. Spencer called the local Chick-fil-A restaurant to place his breakfast order.
Inside his submerging home, Mr. Spencer called the restaurant where they frequently dine in order to ask for some rescue assistance. The restaurant manager apparently organized a boat relief effort for the couple however the boat was too big to get inside the home. It was at this time that the two PWC riders happened to arrive and offer their assistance as well. Since the skis were smaller and more maneuverable, they were able to fit through the front door and accommodate the stranded couple.
At the time of the incident, the flood victims did not catch the names of their rescuers but in the aftermath, ABC News was able to reunite the couple with the two PWC riders. The Spencers were definitely grateful for the service these riders provided. It is certainly good to see these and other PWC riders joining together in such times of need.
Whoa. Where did summer go? We’re so turned around that we’re literally five days late on publishing this month’s episode of “By The Numbers.” That’s literally the latest we’ve ever been in our four years of publishing these articles. That’s pretty impressive (and a little embarrassing). If you’ve been paying attention lately, there’s been quite a few changes in our little industry that should make you pretty excited: over the past 12 months, the personal watercraft industry has experienced a growth explosion 3-to-4 times greater than previous projections with an incredible 11-percent in new unit sales.
This double-digit gain was felt by all three major manufacturers: Sea-Doo rose 6-percent in sales, Kawasaki an impressive 11-percent (thanks in large part to the introduction the 4-stroke SX-R), and Yamaha who shot up 18-percent in new sales. Most impressive is that 48-percent of total new vehicle sales went to first-time buyers. You won’t find that kind of growth anywhere else in the powersport market, be it motorcycles, snowmobiles or otherwise. And of the Top 3 sellers, behind Sea-Doo’s Trixx and 3up Sparks, was Yamaha’s EX Sport. Toss in Sea-Doo’s GTI, a couple other Spark models, Yamaha’s other EX and VX models, and you’ve got a strong entry-market.
Well, except for the GP1800. That’s right, Yamaha’s reinterpretation of the heralded GP moniker was so successful that it not only broke into the Top 10 highest selling PWC for 2017, but also nabbed 6th place. (And if you’re wondering how it fared among other supercharged units, the GP1800 out-sold the Sea-Doo RXP-X 300 two-to-one). What does all of this add up to, you ask? A major influx of new “neophite” PWC enthusiasts and a strong presence of performance enthusiasts who are looking for thrills – all great news for all of us looking to educate, entertain, and provide service these new and returning customers.
And The Watercraft Journal has been on the job, as well. As noted in articles like these and appreciated by the diehard reader, we have streamlined our layout in recent weeks. Doing so has improved load speeds, improved accessibility to our content on a wider array of devices and services, decreased scrolling, and expanded our breadth of content. Race coverage? We doubled it and expanded our reach to smaller, more regional events. Multimedia? The Watercraft Journal publishes new articles everyday as well as two videos a month – all entirely free to you. How about industry news? We’ve got inside access to all the latest watercraft, accessories and equipment. And we’re not slowing down…
August 2017
When Less is More
A funny thing happened in August 2017; we brought in slightly less new or one-time readers, but maintained almost exactly the same amount of page views (meaning, how many articles they read). What does that mean? That our new reformatting allowed for readers to peruse and explore the magazine in greater ease and with increased interest. We’ve been watching a change in our readership and we’re making efforts to accommodate accordingly. Sure, our massive swathe of content has only increased, but the manner in which we provide and deliver said content is fluid. We get it, you’re using your phones to read articles, and we’re making it easier to do so. We’ve cleaned up the page with less clutter so you can devour the story, and scroll through the image galleries at the very end. Video? Same thing. You won’t find it breaking up your read.
Augustr 2017
Total number readers: 35,853*
Total number of articles read: 66,095
Percentage of new readers: 67.3%
*This number is considered equal to an individual sale of a single copy of a magazine.
Content From Every Corner
Maybe it was because we opened our doors to local, regional racing coverage. Maybe it was because we not only had the full reveal of the 2018 Yamaha WaveRunner lineup, but also leaks on what Sea-Doo’s got coming and spied photos of the 2018 Kawasaki lineup. Or maybe it was all of the product reviews we had. But what August meant for us was the single-largest month for full-length feature articles that we’ve had in years. (It also means one of the most expensive. Why? Because unlike other PWC magazines, we pay our contributors for their submitted work.) All-in-all, we produced enough originally-written content in August to fill a 178-page magazine – that is if we charged our readers to print anything (which we don’t). Rather, all of that content was published digitally and made entirely free to our readers.
News articles published in August 2017: 19
Feature articles published in August 2017: 17
Total feature word count: 17,469 words*
*When this number is translated to print publication standards equals a 178-page magazine. Please note that this number does not include an average of two uniquely-written news articles published daily.
Taking it To The Streets
As stated above, The Watercraft Journal is working hard to bring its industry-leading content directly to the personal watercraft enthusiast wherever they may be; be it at home, the office or wandering aimlessly while staring at their phone. Our break-neck publishing schedule brings the latest event coverage, product evaluations, hands-on watercraft reviews, and more to more readers than anywhere else – and now we’re dishing out two doses of uniquely-created YouTube videos every month. Add to that unique access to PWCTrader’s search engine of used and pre-owned personal watercraft as well as our own T-shirts and decals in our all-new store, and you’ve got quite a bit to check out! And if that’s not enough, we’re constantly flooding your Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram feeds, and your inbox with our weekly newsletters. If you’re not already following us, subscribed to our channels, or otherwise, you’re missing out big time.
This Should Come as No Surprise
For those not currently advertising with The Watercraft Journal, let us say, “We get it.” Media is ever changing, and quite frankly, how does one even know if your ad is making any sort of impact? Your uncertainties are not unique and you are not alone. If you’ve got questions, simply ask! We have all of the experience and data to back up our answers. We want you to succeed and we can’t do that if we’re not working together. Companies who partner with The Watercraft Journal and actively engage in an aggressive media campaign, find almost instantaneous results. Those who join but do little to nothing might see some marginal success, but nothing like the former. To help you reach a broader audience of would-be customers and spread the word about your brand, product and services, The Watercraft Journal must be a resource, a tool in building your brand. If you’re ready for that, email [email protected] about advertising your company in the single-most popular PWC magazine today.
This year’s Hydro-Turf US Hydrodrags Nationals said that it was going to be a record-breaking event, one for the books. Days before the event, a few riders were injured testing their PWC making them unable to make it to the event due to minor injuries. Hosted by Mike Young, of H2X Racing, the ‘Drags returned to Tavares, FL where a new ramp was constructed to ease the ins-and-outs of the riders with their trailers. Saturday morning was cloudy with a 90-percent chance of rain, but that didn’t stop the competitors for a chance to prove themselves on the track.
Riders began to hit the water for last minute adjustments and new riders gave the launch pad a break-in after the installment of new green light towers. After a few passes by the riders on the new tree light system, Mike called a riders meeting. It was scheduled that Speed Alley’s Round 1 went first, but instead started with the Box Stock Class. In Box Stock, Christian Figueroa from Dean’s Team on his 2016 Yamaha won first place against Gus Hatzistefanou racing a Yamaha GP1800 for the very first time at the HydroDrags, who took home second place and Scott Rice of Dean’s Team taking third on his GP1800.
Stock Class began with El Tecato from Velocyraptor Performance against Tonito Lopez. El Tecato took the win and moved on to face Angelica Gonzalez, but soon found out why Angelica goes by the name of “The Golden Girl.” Gonzalez took the win putting El Tecato on the losing bracket. A new competitor, Sundaily (sponsored by Chezzy Performance) lined up against one of the strongest competitors in the game, Stan Hightower who took the win and moved on, putting Sundaily on the losing bracket. He quickly lost to El Tecato, who took the win and disqualified Sundaily on his second run of the day.
Tonito Lopez of Dean’s Team moved up on the winning bracket, facing El Tecato giving him his second loss, but Tonito still had to win against Gonzales to get second place – but Angelica, with her experience in the game, managed to beat Tonito right at the finish line, putting Tonito in third place. Stan, with no losses, faced Angelica (who already had one loss against Stan during a previous race). Gonzales won this race against Stan and took home first place, leaving Stan in second and Tonito in third.
Spec Class began soon after with strong competitors and fast skis. With its new class rules, teams have to step it up to keep up with the new innovations. Angelica managed to win first place again against Stan Hightower, Tonito Lopez and Manny Salgado (KRT); while Osmel of OPerformance fetched one loss against Scott Rice, who took two wins against the Chezzy Performance #123 Sea-Doo and El Tecato of Velocyraptor Performance. El Tecato took his first loss when going head-to-head with Scott Rice. Manny, driving the green KRT #17 made it to the Final 3 with only one loss after facing Gonzalez, but afterwards had to face Angelica again to decide between the first and second places. Angelica again took the win on the final race putting Manny Salgado in second place and Kerry Hibdon, with only one loss and one win, in third place, putting Angelica the first place winner of Spec Class.
Right after Spec Class was the Speed Alley. Soon, staff members had all of the competitors on the water. Beginning with Super Stock, Jesse Gonzalez hit 99.3MPH on West Hawkings’ Yamaha GPSHO, followed by Ross Nemo with his custom supercharged Yamaha FZR with a 98.9MPH pass. The moment everyone was waiting for was the Unlimited Speed Alley. The crowd had their phones ready to record history when Uva Perez of Ujet Team ran 122.1MPH. His record didn’t last long as Uva made a second pass of 123.2MPH, breaking his own record twice in the same day. The unbelievable top speed set the world record even higher for others competitors. Jesse Gonzalez took second place with 111.9MPH.
Sunday morning started with the Speed Alley before the water would get any choppier. Super Stock riders got ready to break world records, beginning with Hector Alvarez of CRT driving Lazaro Alonzo’s Yamaha FZR, who broke the record of the fastest supercharged watercraft with a top speed of 106.1MPH on his first pass. Sandor Blanco made the second pass with Alonso’s FZR. Hoping to make better numbers he ran 105.8MPH. Taking the third place with a run of 94.3MPH was Jesse Gonzalez on Wes Hawkins GPSHO.
In Unlimited Class, Uva Perez had everyone hoping he would break his own record of 123.2MPH from Saturday afternoon, but that Sunday morning he ran 115.1MPH leaving everybody surprised. Uva had made his mark and didn’t need to push the ski any further. The day continued with Manny Salgado driving Rayge Sanchez’s ski reaching a top speed of 107MPH. He also took third place with Carlito Del Valle’s Sea-Doo RXP with a speed of 82.3MPH.
Super Stock class began with Kerry Hibdon winning against Scott Rice; Orlando and Jorge (both from the same team) had to face each other on their very first race, with Orlando taking the win. Chezzy Performance with their Sea-Doo #123 broke down after the qualifying pass, unable to continued racing. El Negro from Boosting Performance won against Kerry Hibdon. Angelica Gonzales stepped it up and beat El Negro, putting him in second place. Jorge from OPerformance outdid himself taking the win against El Negro, Manny Salgado and Scott Rice, leaving him in third place. Angelica could not believe it; after beating El Negro on the last race she had won first place in Super Stock.
As Unlimited riders got in to position, it was turbos competing with superchargers. Gus, with his Stock Class GP1800, made it a few rounds, but after facing Ernesto Calas got disqualified. Sandor Blanco of CRT driving Carlos del Valle’s carbon-edition Sea-Doo RXP got thrown off of the ski on the first pass, making him unable to continue. Rauling Cue, also from CRT, was the only one left with a turbo, giving him the advantage. Rauling took the first place home, as Scott came in second after winning against Angelica, who was getting too close to another victory, and Osmel from OPerformance took third place after a close race with Scott Rice.
It was a record-breaking event raising top speeds even higher and breaking the barrier of 120MPH! Congratulations to “The Golden Girl” Angelica Gonzalez for taking home three first places and to her excellent team at Jim’s Performance and family members who are always supporting her; Uva Perez showing the world the unbelievable speeds of 123.2MPH (and we believe he has more in it); Hector Alvarez for breaking the supercharger world record by 106.1MPH – outstanding job! Thank you all the staff members for the excellent work out there, and see you all in November.
The 2017 East Coast Watercross Tour by Jet Renu has outdone themselves again with a spectacular event in Watkins Glen, NY for Rounds 7 & 8 of their tour! Nestled between the hills at the bottom of Lake Seneca the race site itself couldn’t have been more picturesque. With over 200 race entries for the weekend – 106 for Round 7 and 102 for Round 8 – making for 15 race classes plus a specialty mashup class per day and freestyle on Sunday, it’s hard to believe this is just a regional race series. Since taking over the Region 8 series last year, Christopher Yates and his team have worked hard to make the series one everyone wants to participate in from as far away as California – seriously, there were racers from California in Watkins Glen, New York racing this past weekend. How cool is that?
The East Coast Watercross runs a conventional two moto system for each round. Each moto consists of an average of 10 laps giving the racers plenty of course time, especially for those who race more than one class!
Round 7 saw its biggest class of the day in X2 Open with 12 racers on the line. Yes, the Kawasaki X2 skis manufactured back in the late 80’s and early 90’s that you rarely see anymore are alive and well in Region 8. The class had two new racers to the series, Danny and Lauri Ortega, all the way from California and they dominated the X2 class with Danny going 1-1 and Lauri 2-2 closely followed by Tyler Lynch with a 3-3 for the round. Sunday’s Round 8 was a bit of a shake up with Lauri Ortega taking over those first place positions for Moto 1 and Moto 2! Lynch won a hard fought second place overall going 3-2 while Danny went 2-3 resulting in his third place overall finish.
The second largest class for Round 7 was Expert Sport Spec with 11 entries. Anthony Coursen took the overall win with two impressive first place finishes on his Sea-Doo HX. Coursen was closely followed by Danny Ortega on his Kawasaki X2 with 2-3 finishes and Bill Beers 4-4 finishes on his Yamaha ‘Blaster. Round 8 saw more of the same for the Top 2 overall finishers with Coursen going 1-1 again followed by Danny Ortega with a 2-2, but the clash for third place overall was between Morgan Beers and Eric Degler who tied for third but ultimately was won by Morgan Beers for her fifth place finish in Moto 2 over Degler’s 6th place finish. That’s three different skis sitting in the Top 3 positions for Sport Spec. Clearly there isn’t a dominating ski brand here!
Expert Ski Lites class consisted of 10 racers including two pros who came out to race on Saturday. It was Rick Sherker who took the overall with 1-1 finishes but the battle was for second place where Mike Aleese squeaked out an overall score of 5 to Mike Kelberer’s 6 to take second overall. Sunday’s Round 8 was where Expert Ski Lites created some excitement for racers and spectators alike. With the addition of Jimmy Wilson for Round 8, the guys decided to shake things up a bit. By his own decision, Jimmy Wilson started Moto 1 with a dead engine and worked his way up through the pack to an impressive second place finish behind Rick Sherker with Billy Beers Jr. on his heels in third.
After some conversation, Sherker and Wilson decided to not only do a dead engine start but wait until the whole pack turned the first buoy before leaving the starting gate. This created tremendous excitement as Sherker and Wilson made their way through the pack throughout the moto to ultimately finish with Sherker in first and Wilson in second. Mike Kelberer and Billy Beers Jr. put up quite the fight to hold on to their first and second place positions throughout the moto, but in the end Kelberer came away with a third overall followed closely by Billy Beers Jr in 4th.
Novice Sport Spec had a notable number of racers on the line totaling 10 racers for Round 7. The incredible Chase Hyslop was unstoppable on his Sea-Doo HX and went 1-1 taking first place overall. Logan Hyslop joined in the racing fun and in his first race took a second place right behind his younger brother Chase! Logan went 2-5 on Saturday and finished with a second overall while Rylee O’Flaherty went 6-2 setting her in third place overall for the round. Joseph Dellaselva who finished in 7th place on Saturday was not going home empty handed on Sunday as he took first place in both motos giving him the first place overall position for Round 8. Chase Hyslop was able to hold onto to second place in both Motos followed by Rylee O’Flaherty going 3-3 to give them second and third place overall.
Expert Ski Lites class wasn’t the only class the ski racers decided among themselves to change up this past weekend. In Expert Ski GP Rick Sherker prevailed in Round 7 with a 1-1 taking the first place overall on Saturday followed by Mike Kelberer with a 2-2 and Billy Shaw with a 3-3. On Sunday, Rick and Jimmy Wilson chose to race their Stock skis and forgo racing their actual GP skis. Billy Shaw, racing his Limited ski in this class, who made taking the holeshot look easy in both motos. In Moto 1, Shaw was eventually chased down by Sherker and Wilson who took first and second. In Moto 2, things got interesting as Sherker, Wilson and Shaw decided to use the makeup buoy (traditionally used if you miss a buoy mid-course) to create a joker lap – this is something done in Motocross where sometime during the Moto each racer has to go out and around the joker buoy once. Talk about excitement!
It was Shaw who holeshotted and decided to take the joker buoy on his first lap which proved to be devastating as he dropped to third place behind Sherker and Wilson when he reentered the course. On lap 2, Wilson took his turn at the joker buoy and lost his second place position to Shaw. By the third lap, Sherker had a large enough lead that he was able to take the joker buoy and still hold onto his first place position as Shaw eventually lost his second place position to Wilson, ending with Sherker in first, Wilson in second and Shaw in third. The overall for Round 8 went to Sherker in first followed by Wilson in second and Shaw in third.
Rounds 7 and 8 also brought a chance to see what happens when you put a Sport racer on an X2 and vice versa with a specialty class referred to as the X2/Sport Mash-Up. Six teams took on the challenge where X2 racers and Sport racers teamed up to race each other’s skis for one moto each; the best team finishes determined the overall winners. When the horn blew Saturday, X2 racers jumped on their teammates Sport ski with a running start from the beach for their 5 lap race. The X2 racers navigated the Sport skis better than expected with Glenn Ferraro taking the win followed by Teri Burke and Tyler Lynch.
On Sunday it was the Sport racers turn to give it a go on the X2’s. This proved to be more of a challenge from the start as Billy Beers Jr was tackled by his own dad, Bill Beers as soon as their feet hit the water! Anthony Coursen jumped in as well with a sneak attack on Bill Beers before any of them even got near the skis. Once everyone was able to get on the ski and on the course more excitement ensued as countless falls occurred and buoys were missed. Eventually Bill Beers crossed the finish line first followed by Scott McMaster and Billy Beers Jr. A great laugh was had by all and the stories will entertain us for decades. The X2/Sport Mash Up winning team went to Glenn Ferraro and Scott McMaster.
Even though the races were the highlight of the weekend it was not all about the racing. The East Coast Watercross Tour by Jet Renu set up a raffle of Jet Renu products that raised $470 over the weekend for local Veterans through American Legion and let’s not forget the racer’s BBQ on Saturday night! Bill Beers supplied tons of meat and manned the grill while many racers donated everything from side items to outstanding desserts for what made for an amazing evening with great food and great friends. Looking to join in on the fun yourself? There are two rounds left of The East Coast Watercross Tour in Niantic, CT, September 23rd & 24th. These rounds are your last chance on the east coast to qualify for the IJSBA World Finals in Lake Havasu, AZ! Be sure to check out www.eastcoastwatercross.com for the complete list of classes and results.
For many of our readers, we associate Labor Day with the unofficial end of summer. While PWC riding season can be drawing closer to end for many, it is never a bad time to consider some new riding gear or apparel. In fact, holidays such as Labor Day can be one of the best times to purchase some new gear. RIVA Racing sure thinks so.
RIVA Racing is currently offering their Labor Day Apparel And Riding Gear Sale. Whether you are considering replacing your worn out flotation vest, investing in a fresh pair of gloves, or picking up some new stylish Tee’s or shirts, now is a great time. They also offer a wide variety of gear to extend your riding into the colder seasons so now is a great time to also consider wetsuits, touring coats, insulated footwear, or headgear.
RIVA carries major brands of apparel and riding gear with many sizing options for Men, Women, and Youth and are sure to have what you are looking for. Discounts vary based on product type and brand but browsing through the link above, we have seen items discounted at least 10 % off of original pricing. As always RIVA offers free shipping within the Continental U.S. on all orders over $150 so be sure to take advantage of that to avoid any shipping fees.
Hey watercraft enthusiasts! The International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) and RIVA racing have teamed up 
