In a fantastic bit of honesty, IJSBA 2014 Freestyle World Champion Eli Kemnitz shares the struggles and payoffs of dedicating oneself to the sport of flatwater freestyle jet skiing in a revelatory video that was published yesterday on YouTube. Kemnitz, brother of Derrick Jr. and son of Derrick Sr., not only displays his aptitude at flipping his Hurricane Industries ski, building the custom machines in his brother’s shop, but peals back the curtain on the costs of being in contention for a world championship.

“I had to sell my car to buy a new engine for my ski,” Kemnitz shares, noting that the state of today’s sport cannot support the level of equipment that it requires to remain competitive, noting that “one of these skis costs anywhere from 30 to 40 grand.” Even in light of Kemnitz’s own sibling producing the Hurricane hulls he rides (citing, “It’s pretty crazy to think that we start with a roll of fabric and my brother turns that into a hull.”), things add up. But he vows never to quit, sharing, “It’s where my heart is.”

The video has already taken in several thousand views and will undoubtedly rake in many, many more as the action is stellar and the quality of the video production is sharp. So much so that Full Spectrum’s own Edward Brazina wrote, “No other family in our sport has accomplished what “Team Ski Clinic” has done. Two brothers, two World Freestyle Championships! To Eli, ‘Keep the momentum going.’ Excellent video, nice work.”

If this past weekend’s AquaX action in Tavares, Florida just wasn’t enough to quell your thirst, then we’ve got news for you: the first two rounds of the 2016 HydroTurf Surf and Turf Tour will be held this coming weekend (April 16-17) at Wooten Park Extension. Marking the occasion is the return of Hydro-Turf as the title sponsor of the Surf and Turf Tour presented by City of Tavares, Yamaha, Sea-Doo, RIVA Racing, and co-sponsored by Jet Pilot, Team Mean, Ross Nemo Racing, Ben’s Performance, and Fizzle Intercoolers, Key West Resort, Tiki West. Promoter Mikey Young has also arranged for a swell discount ($69 per night) for participants and spectators as the host hotel, Inn on the Green when you mention the Surf and Turf Tour.

For those already planning to attend, here is the schedule of events for this weekend’s Hydro-Turf Surf and Turf Tour:

Friday
9am – 5pm Event Load in
6pm – 9pm Racer check-in

Saturday
8am – 9am Late check-in/safety inspection
9:00am Racers meeting (mandatory)
9:30am – 10:30am Practice
10:30am – 12:30 1st motos
12:30am – 1:00pm Freestyle
1:30pm – 4:30pm 2nd motos

Sunday
9:00am Racers meeting
9:15am Last chance practice
9:30am 1st motos
11:30am Lunch
12:30pm Freestyle
1:00pm 2nd motos
4:00pm Awards for both days at pavilion

And on an additional (albeit side note), we at The Watercraft Journal would like to congratulate Hydro-Turf President and CEO Arno Olbricht who was inducted into the Wake of Fame by the Rescue Water Craft Association for “the contributions of Hydro-Turf for safety applications of the traction pads supplied for trailer and personal water craft use.”

According to a recent Facebook post, Olbricht wrote, “This is an incredible award to receive from within the personal watercraft indsutry. We at Hydro-Turf are honored to be recognized for these contributions to injury and accident prevention. Thank you for supporting our company and using the same products that water safety professionals rely upon.”

It’s regretful that we announce the passing of one of the original testers and pioneers in the sport of jet skiing, Bob “Big Mac” McCord.

An official announcement was made as was a memorial Facebook page yesterday, stating:

“We regret to inform you that our dear friend and colleague Bob McCord passed peacefully and with great love surrounding him today.

“His journey was a strong one in this life he shared. Our condolences to his beloved and his loving children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and the collective of friends. Bob was directly responsible for all of us enjoying the sport of Jet Skiing today. He was the influence who kept Kawasaki from ditching the Jet Ski Project. Otherwise we would not be here today in this great sport we all love as much as Bob does.

“We were so proud and honored to have Bob be present at the Wake of Fame awards and to receive his induction. This meant so much to all of us in friendship and praise because he made such a significant impact in every aspect of our sport, and few understood today where their history footprint elevated their efforts, for this we are eternally grateful for Bob’s influence. Please let out a shout of love to a life well lived! Get after it in Heaven Bob!”

In 2015, McCord was inducted into the Wake of Fame, here’s the video of that ceremony:

The Wake of Fame also honored McCord with a biographical recount of his life and experience with Kawasaki’s JetSki during its early development and rise in popularity:

For most multi-time world championship racers, their post racing career is often found within the sport itself or closely associated to powersports, be them custom ski builders, trainers and coaches, and even dealership owners. But for Peru’s Paloma Noceda, a larger calling beckoned.

According to a report published at Deansteam.com, the nine-time National Title and three-time World Championship winner, Paloma Noceda is making a run for Congress in her home country of Peru. In a Facebook post back in May, she announced her decision with the following post (translated):

“Many will be surprised by my decision to run for Congress of the Republic. It wasn’t an easy decision, because after 18 years of hard work in sport and placing the Peru at the top of the podium, today I retire momentarily to assume a greater challenge with our country.

“For those who don’t know me, I can say that I have a clean record and many goals reached: Industrial Engineer entitled at the university of Lima, master of science in Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship) of the university of Bristol in England, magister in administration of the agribusiness Esan University. I have a family that I love, I’m a mother of a girl and a boy and I have a partner who respects me, supports me and goes with it.”

“I want to be a congressman because I feel like a big commitment for our country and I am prepared to contribute. I don’t want to keep complaining because things don’t work out, because we don’t have security, because we are always the peruvians in recent posts in education, health and development. I’m tired of seeing injustices, that our people hasn’t got a chance, that the bureaucracy we consume.

“I believe in the proposal of keiko and the great team of people’s strength. The plan Peru is the result of the dialogue with the communities to the length and breadth of our country, the work of years of an entire team, listening to the peruvians and knowing their problems. I can vouch for that, because I’ve lived hard these last few weeks, ever since I was invited to take part of this proposal.

“I could have decided not to get involved, don’t have an opinion about politics and get on with my usual routine, but this is an opportunity to put my strength, my passion and my training at the service of the country. I’ve made a commitment and to achieve this i need the support of you, to build a peru opportunities, so that peruvians we get a 20 in sport, a 20 in education and a 20 in entrepreneurship.

“To those who trust in my, so much appreciate your support to disseminate the information in this campaign. Kontigo to Congress!”

It’s worth noting when one of the sport’s winningest racers steps back into the ring to battle it out with the current stock of competitors. In the case of 17-time Pro Class champion Dustin Farthing, the venerable racer took his competitive edge spirit off of the closed course and applied it to a lucrative partnership between he and Ryan Hardwick, expanding Georgia’s chain of Mountain Motorsports powersports dealerships. Those following Farthing via social media will note that the champ lacks for very little these days, so his return to the saddle is clearly motivated by more than the new purse being dangled before today’s racers.

Farthing wrote on his Instagram page the following: I’m excited to be racing again in 2016 on a new Sea-Doo RXPX 300. I started playing around with the idea of returning to the sport a few months ago, and with the help of Monster Energy Sea-Doo, those thoughts have now become a reality. I previously raced for Sea-Doo back in 1997 and 1998, and during those two seasons I won two National and one World Championship. I’m looking forward to returning to a mutually beneficial partnership with this great manufacturer and continuing on to earn additional championships in 2016.”

We look forward to welcoming back “King D” to the world of closed course, and anticipate an announcement outlying his intended race schedule.

Water X in association with the International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) is proud to announce that Rounds 1 and 2 of the Northwest Region 3 IJSBA watercraft racing and freestyle championships will be held on April 16th and 17th 2016 at Vance Creek Park in Elma Washington. This exciting event will feature some of the fastest jet ski racers in the nation.

This will be a closed course buoy race on beautiful Bowers Lake. Racers will compete to earn points for the Northwest Region Championships along with earning their spots to compete in the world finals competition that is held in Lake Havasu Arizona in October of 2016.

This event is free to the public and is a fun and family friendly event. Races will start at 10am both days. For more detailed information, please visit our Facebook event page at Grays Harbor Watercross.

For more information, contact Dan Lindgren at (360) 593-0984, or Monte Hughes at (360) 349-1341.