There are few companies more committed to the sport of jet ski racing than Jettribe. Celebrating its 20th year in business in 2016 (which is only two months away!), Jettribe has been working nonstop since those heyday years to provide a full array of products for those racers who take to the band week in and week out.
From their first foray into the industry providing heavy duty canvas PWC covers, to developing and testing their own range of high performance racing boots, wrap-around goggles, race-bred full suits and safety-minded side-entry vests, Jettribe’s lineup of modern products are rife with details and features that frankly are not found with any other manufacturers.
Likewise, Jettribe’s support of jet ski racing has grown substantially in recent years, most notably in its support of the Jettribe West Coast Series and jetting its Jettribe USA Team overseas to King’s Cup in Thailand, Asian Aquabike in China, Offshore Endurance race in Martinique, and elsewhere – not to mention support of some of the biggest names in racing including James Bushell, Erminio Iantosca, Aero and Aqsa Aswar, Craig Warner, Brock Austin, and many, many more. Oh, and you’ll remember Jettribe as the 2014 title sponsor of the IJSBA World Finals at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Because of the vastness of the Jettribe catalog, The Watercraft Journal will be conducting an unprecedented product review once a month of some of the best, most popular and favorite items offered by the venerable manufacturer. We’re incredibly excited to provide our 200,000-plus annual readers a better look at Jettribe‘s vests, boots, gloves, wetsuits and much, much more throughout the next 12 months! Oh, and make sure to keep a close eye and stay tuned to special offers exclusive to The Watercraft Journal’s readers found in their digital ads and special announcements!
Unless you’re either of the position of living in a temperate climate that never sees snowfall or requires the winterization of your watercraft or can afford to hole up your PWC in a private storage facility, chances are you’ll be storing your slumbering ski in your home garage or storage shed while the skies gray and the weather turns to crap. It’s an unpleasant inevitability, so we’re thinking of the best tools and tactics to make the transition from weekend hot rodder to hibernation.
Highest on our checklist of necessities for the off-season was a shop cart that would not only provide us a comfortable height to access our engine as we plan on tinkering all winterlong on our project ski, but be able to roll smoothly over our garage’s less-than-perfect surface without catching or jamming. These might sound like minor “must haves” but once you’ve nearly topped a runabout because a low-quality caster catches on a loose bolt, you’ll feel the exact same way.
Above left: The complete AQ-19 cart comes in 9 pieces with all the hardware you’ll need. Above right: The large 5-inch 4-axis casters mount to each end of the 28-inch wide base.
Initially, we approached Aquacart wanting their lowest-slung runabout cart because we hated the idea of climbing up and over our Sea-Doo Spark all season. Thankfully, wiser minds prevailed. Aquacart’s Rob Towner convinced us that the AQ-19 was ideal for what we were looking for, particularly as the AQ-19 was, as he said, “a great height for using with trailers.” Only after an hour assembling the Aquacart AQ-19 did we learn firsthand exactly what he was talking about.
Our Spark slid almost effortlessly from our single-place trailer onto the 48-inch long black premium marine-carpeted bunks. The cart’s 19-inch height is measured to meet most PWC trailers, earning the AQ-19 its namesake. Of course, the featherweight Sea-Doo Spark’s 400-pounds doesn’t strain the AQ-19’s 1,300-pound weight restriction, and with a choice of 14- or 20-inch wide bunk spacing adjustments, the Spark fit comfortably on the widest setting.
Above left: A 19mm boxed-ended wrench is all that’s needed to tighten down each caster. Above right: Aquacart also includes these nice black plastic end caps to protect you from sharp edges.
Prior to assembly and use, we were immediately impressed with the AQ-19’s build quality upon arrival. Built from heavy-duty 2-inch 14-gauge steel square tubing, each of the components come professionally finished in powder coated bright white (the powder coating being significantly more durable than conventional paint and corrosion resistant) – and if you’re looking for a dash of color, Aquacart offers other hues upon special request.
In fact, the finish is so nice on these carts that they’re not just intended for storage or shop use, but also for showroom display. Towner provided us dozens of examples of dealerships and custom hull makers using these carts in their displays and across their showroom floors – many using the same carts for years without showing any sign of distress, patina or discoloring.
Above left: The center support mounts to opposing perches on the H-frames. Above right: The carpeted bunks also have long bolts that run through the H-frames and are fasted down before adding the final end caps.
The basic frame assembly consists of two wide footprint 28-inch H-frames, a center spine (or support), two pressure-treated wood bunks – with the inside edges beveled to reduce additional wear on the carpet – and wrapped in the aforementioned marine carpeting. Assembly takes a skilled mechanic mere minutes. We needed a while longer to snap pictures along the way (and we skipped a few steps, so this isn’t a step-by-step tutorial on how to build your AQ-19, sorry).
And to our pleasure, the AQ-19 includes four-axis, 5-inch diameter swivel casters. We opted for the optional caster wheel brakes as we knew we’d be crawling all over the ski in the coming months, and although Aquacart offers optional 6-inch casters with an impressive 1800-pound rating, we knew the standard 1300-pound rated casters would work more than enough for our PolyTec Spark.
Above: Our Sea-Doo Spark slid effortlessly from the trailer to our Aquacart AQ-19 and maneuvered through our garage without any trouble – or down the garage approach and across the asphalt driveway.
The best way for us to evaluate our AQ-19 was by pushing it laden with our Sea-Doo through some tight spots around our tool bench, riding lawnmower and car all parked in the garage. From there, we rolled the Spark out (and down the approach) of the garage and across the driveway. From treated concrete to asphalt, the big 5-inch casters rolled over the surfaces easily, the Aquacart never feeling tipsy or unsteady.
Climbing up onto the ski, leaning forward over the bars to access the front bin or crawling down the back, the casters’ wheel locks didn’t fail either. Obviously, we’ve got quite a few months more of testing ahead of us, so some might consider this review slightly premature, but we’re already pretty certain this was one of our smartest purchased. Priced at $234.95, the Aquacart AQ-19 is the ideal shop cart for the home garage, the professional shop or dealership. We know, we’ve seen already seen them there!
The Ultraskiff 360 is a round, lightweight boat that is easy to tow, move, and launch. The disc is balanced well so it’s great for fishing and hunting. The video below shows it rigged for fishing and also transformed into a duck blind for hunting. The skiff weighs in at 123 pounds and is 6-feet in diameter. It retails for around $1,600 and is made in the USA.
The boat has numerous features and is geared toward the recreational boater and the serious sportsman. Whatever you choose, this thing will get you on the water quickly and easy. A person can put it on a hand truck or just roll it to its destination. It is designed so it won’t tip and the deck won’t even incline so there is no fear of tipping.
The video has a guy bouncing in the boat and it barely moves and another man is shown jumping into the water and he easily climbs aboard from the water. Another scene shows a guy reeling in a fish with no issues keeping his balance, he even lies down to net it. The sleek design allows a person to comfortably and safely lay or kneel over the side with no fear of falling into the water.
Jeffrey Lizzio, the inventor of the boat, recommends outfitting the boat yourself since people like different seats,motors, and batteries. However, it is possible to find a dealer who will sell a buyer an outfitted boat.
The skiff does come with these removable accessories:
• Four Cup Holders
• Three Storage Compartments
• One Battery Compartment
• OneTow ring/Anchor holder
• One Transom with Covers
• Eight Strap Guides
• Six Rod holders
• One Side Bumper
• One Prow
• Six Bottom Skegs
• One Center Hole
• One Drainage Canal
The boat seems great for the solo fisherman, hunter, or just someone who likes to doing own thing by themselves since there’s only room for one person. Visit Ultraskiff for more information.
In the wake of a series of big storms to roll through lately, we’d hope people might’ve learned a lesson. Unfortunately, such is not the case, as with this story about a personal watercraft rider attempting to pilot his ski in the angry seas left in the wake of Hurricane Joaquin from New Jersey-based newsworks.org. A video on Facebook shows an unidentified man riding his jet ski in Manasquan Inlet in the midst of Victory at Sea conditions. It was a pure wash cycle! The guy was somehow riding up and down the inlet and then…he wasn’t.
His poor judgment would have probably killed him if the US Coast Guard had not been in the area performing a training mission. Lieutenant Commander Edward Dipierro was piloting a helicopter above the inlet at the same time the unmanned ski was spotted by rescue swimmer, Billy Arrinson, as it was crashing into the jetty.
Arrinson knew that the rider would soon meet the same fate as the personal watercraft so he quickly changed into his rescue gear and was lowered into the water and was able to rescue the man before he was annihilated by the heavy waves.
Both men were hoisted just above the gnarly waves and set down safely onto the beach. According to www.pressofAtlanticCity.com, once Arrinson and the unidentified man reached the beach, they were met by EMS and Arrinson and the emergency medical services crew checked out the waterlogged man and discovered he was okay, just tired from fighting the waves. We can only hope that the rider learned a valuable lesson or two from his experience with the tumultuous seas.
The Watercraft Journal: Congratulations on your recent World Championship at this past World Finals! The Pro Stock class was an exciting one to watch, as there were so many ups and downs! Can you tell us a little bit about how the race went down?
Brian Baldwin: I think the Pro Stock was the most talked about class due to the speeds these boats are running and the skill level of the riders. In the first moto, I was on the outside due to changing the boat from the FX I was riding [borrowing Travis Zielasko’s FZR – Ed.]. There were two false starts, in which even with the jump, I had the hole shot on both.
The third restart, I had the hole shot again with a nice margin but a ferry going by was putting out some 6-foot waves that I hit and launched what seemed to be 100-feet off my course and my teammate Abdullah got by me in the inside, leaving me in third for the moto. In the second moto… I lined up in the same spot and killed the hole shot again, checking out and never looking back. Abdullah finishing second and Aqsa breaking with an electrical issue, and being the Moto One winner, gave me the points to win the World Title.
WCJ: We normally see you aboard your white-and-silver #502 FX SVHO. What brought you to switch over to Travis’ FZR for Pro Stock? Can you tell us about what made this Yamaha a world championship-winning boat?
BB: What made it the world-winning boat? Dean Charrier made it the world-winning boat, he is the undisputed best Yamaha tuner in the world. The FZR is a better handling, lighter boat and I felt the FX SVHO in Havasu wasn’t going to get it done (even though it is a bad ass boat in its own right). The FZR had more speed and snap around the course. Huge thanks to Travis Zielasko for renting me the ski!
WCJ: You shared the podium with two others of your fellow Dean’s Team/RIVA Racing/Factory Yamaha racers. What has it been like to be part of such a team?
BB: We are without a doubt the Dream Team: the best tuner [Dean Charrier], best parts [RIVA Racing], and the best riders [Aero and Aqsa Aswar, Abdullah Al-Fadhel, Mike Klippenstein, Rob Greenwald, Paloma Noceda, etc.]! What else can I say? It is a dream come true.
WCJ: When you’re not on the water, where can we find you? (What can you tell us about your training regimen?)
BB: When I’m not on the water, I’m working at my jet ski shop Champion Powersports (in Denver, North Carolina), or riding at my favorite watering hole – Lake Norman. It’s killer nice and big. My GP class standup (an SX-R with a “mildly built” 1,100 triple) has been my training for the season – who knows? You might see me out there in the [AquaX] Ski class next year.
WCJ: The race season isn’t over for you yet, right? What do you have coming up?
BB: The race season isn’t officially over – we may do the King’s Cup in Thailand and the Peru Jetraid. We will have to see! [Baldwin had just finished third behind Sea-Doo’s Eric Lagopoulos and fellow Dean’s Team Yamaha rider Paloma Noceda in the 2016 AquaX USA 250 Class. -Ed.]
WCJ: Can you tell us what to expect from Brian Baldwin in 2016?
BB: I plan to race the AquaX USA series next year and all the closed course races I can. Yamaha has some exciting stuff coming down the line that I can’t wait to be a part of! [laughs]
WCJ: Alright, here’s your chance to give a big shout out to your sponsors and supporters. Who would you like to thank?
BB: Hands down, I couldn’t have done it without the man, the myth, the legend, Dean Charrier, RIVA Racing and Dave Bambas, Yamaha, Fly Racing, Jetlift, my wife and awesome family!
QPWC’s first round of the Queensland Titles was held on Sunday the 18th October 2015 at Redcliffe. The day offered perfect tranquil Queensland coast conditions that we have all become accustomed to, with the occasional echo of “Heads Up” being shouted from above as the local skydivers dropped on to the beach offering spectators a treat with both air and sea performances as we all shared the local parkland area.
Everyone was excited to welcome back Tim O’Neil and Brett Douglas who only returned from competing at the 2015 World Finals earlier in the week, unfortunately Mitch Wayt missed this race as he was still enjoying his time over there.
The lemans start endurance kicked of the day, with riders dealing with the usual issues being engine failures and running out of fuel with only two laps to go, but it was Mark Dallow who took the hole shot and led the entire race to earn the top podium position for the day. Mark was followed by Brett Douglas and Dane Alberti, which made it seem like it was Kawasaki’s day with all three-podium places riding 300’s from Brisbane Kawasaki.
The highly anticipated vintage class made its debut, and these guys definitely let the good times roll with a new twist on the podium finish. Instead of scoring the actual races, their names were pulled out of a hat at the end of the day – proving that in its infancy, this class is all about the fun of bunny hopping these old ski’s around the track and just having a good old laugh. With the enthusiasm and interest from both riders and spectators I think it safe to say these classic skis will be here to stay.
Australia’s current number 2 for open ski Michael Stevens made the massive drive from NSW to show his support and took out first place. After some action on the water between Zac Humphries, Joel Batt, and Zane Taylor, Zac managed to take second place with Joel in third.
Bailey Cunningham was an impressive racer to watch on the day and I would bet, will be a force to be reckoned with in the very near future, competing in four classes – Endurance, Vintage, Beginner/Amateur Runabout and Spark/Sport.
QPWC also announced two new major sponsors for the season, TWT Concrete Pumping and Liquid Industries. TWT Concrete Pumping located in Brisbane generously purchased new radios, which were desperately needed and Liquid Industries located on the Gold Coast have provided a rescue ski for future racing events. Without the contribution from our sponsors racing wouldn’t be possible, the club and all it’s members are most grateful and expressed their appreciation.
The second round of the Queensland Titles will be held at Bells Beach, Redcliffe on 15th November.
This past weekend has been one that many racers and fans have been waiting for to get here: the AquaX race series’ final round. Originally slated for St. Petersburg, FL. in front of the pier, the AquaX team had to try and find a new venue due to the pier being demolished. Their location choice came down to Lake Dora in the City of Tavares.
After last month’s Grand Prix of the Seas in beautiful Cocoa Beach, everyone wanted to see who the top winners of the year were going to be. Saturday’s event had to share time with sister event, the P1 SuperStock boat races as they too had their final race of the year to crown their champions, and the City of Tavares’ planned seaplane event where airplanes were taking off and landing on the water.
After the mandatory rider’s briefing, the racers had some down time to make sure their skis were tuned in and ready to go. While this was happening, the seaplanes had a pumpkin drop from the air in celebration of the upcoming Halloween holiday. Sea-Doo had their brand new 2016 RXP-X 300 and RXT-X on hand for demo rides and the racers, fans and yours truly took our turn test riding the new machinery. All came back raving about the great product that Sea-Doo had come up with.
Finally, the racers fired up their skis and took to the water for the first moto of the weekend. All classes ran together for this final round. For this final round there was a noticeable absence from the Aswar brothers, Aero and Aqsa. This left things wide open for their teammate Mike Klippenstein to try to cement his lead in the 300 Class over Eric “The Eagle” Francis and Blaine Spooner. Both Francis and Spooner had different ideas on this though.
The 300 Class started their run to the first buoy with Spooner and Francis fighting for the hole shot. Francis took the lead and not relinquish it. Klippenstein seemed to be running slower than normal and it showed in the final standings, finishing seventh in the first moto behind other racers, Spooner and Francis.
In the 250 Class, it was the usual top three of Brian Baldwin, Eric Lagopoulos and Paloma Noceda that everyone kept their eyes on. They finished first, second and third respectively for the first moto. In the 200 Class, Travis Zielasko was determined that the championship and racing was a mere formality to complete the season on a high note. For his teammate and fellow 200 Class rider, Rob Greenwald, this weekend’s races were going to be bittersweet as it was his last in his long and illustrious career. They finished like they had for almost the whole year in the number one and two spots with the third spot taken by Chad Saxon for the first moto of the weekend.
As with other venues this year, racers from the Ski Class and Sport Class joined the runabouts. In the Ski Class, Johnny Smith took the first race of the weekend over his rival Broc Harris and David Cabrera. Smith then hopped off his Ski and jumped on his ‘Blaster in the Sport Class and pulled a win over riders Glen Jung and Lusito Yumang.
Day Two had everyone excited to see what was going to happen. The 300 Class had Klippenstein taking the win followed by Spooner and Saxon. In the 250 Class, it was Baldwin followed by Paloma Noceda and Sea-Doo rider Eric Lagopoulos rounding out the top three. The 200 Class was won by you guessed it, Travis Zielasko, Rob Greenwald and Chad Saxon. David Cabrera took the win in Ski Class followed by Broc Harris and Johnny Smith. The Sport Class was up next and Glen Jung checkered with the win followed by Smith and Yumang.
During the down time Fly Boarder Kristen Smoyer put on a show for the fans as she is one of the best fly boarders in the United States. This was going to be a pre-show for the flyboard World Finals that are taking place later this year in Dubai and she did not disappoint.
Finally, it was time for the third and final moto of the year: The race started as normal then things took a turn for the worse: Chris Leo spun out, which tossed him. Then Saxon, close behind ran over his ski, totaling it (Thankfully, Saxon and his ski were OK). Unfortunately, by the time Leo popped back up in the water, he was run over by Jeff Thorton. It all happened so quickly there was nothing anyone could have done differently. Leo sustained a broken jaw, and was airlifted from the scene.
The racing was suspended due to the severity of the accident, which changed the schedule a little bit and pushed up the Ski and sport Class racing for their final race of the year. In the Ski Class, Broc Harris took the win followed by Johnny Smith and David Cabrera. In the Sport Class Glen Jung took the win followed by Smith and Benjie Binford.
The runabouts were sent back out on the water and the final race of the year went off without incident. Eric Francis grabbed the final checkered of the year in the 300 Class followed by Mike Klippenstein and Frank Silva. In the 250 Class, it was a tight race between Noceda and Lagopoulos, who narrowly sealed the deal before an untimely getoff opened the door for Lagopoulos to pull ahead. Brian Baldwin, Eric Lagopoulos, and Anya Colley rounding out the top three. The 200 Class ended with the same three that had been winning so many times this season Travis Zielasko, Rob Greenwald and Chad Saxon.
For the season’s championships, the 300 Class went to Yamaha rider Mike Klippenstein who took home the gold by a 56-point margin. For the 250 Class, Sea-Doo’s Eric Lagopoulos came in ahead of Yamaha riders Paloma Noceda and Brian Baldwin respectfully. In AquaX 200 action, Travis Zeilasko and his Yamaha remained undefeated this season, earning the championship. Broc Harris came home with the Ski Class championship with Glen Jung taking home the hardware for the Sport Class.
The 2015 AquaX season finally came to an end with racers saying their goodbyes. It was a fun season with some new venues, and a lot more racers. It was a season full of fun, heartbreak and excitement. It just proves that AquaX will be around for quite some time and proves that it is one of the best professionally run events of the water world. See you next year!
For all of the results from this past weekend’s AquaX Series in Tavares, click the hyperlinks for the 300 class, 250 class and 200 classes. The Ski class and Sport Spec class are also available by clicking the respective hyperlinks.
FIN (or Find It now) Powersports Security is a cigarette-sized device that attaches to 12-volt power on your ski. It then connects up with satellites and you are ready to go. If someone moves or even bumps your ski, you will get a text and an email that tells you this. The FIN system prompts you to log in to their website and “ping the ski“ where it tells you whether it is moving or stationary where you left it, showing you on a map exactly where it is. If it was stolen you notify the 24 hour FIN center and they will contact the police and direct them exactly where it is.
The FIN system also lets you set a speed limit or a geofence. This way, if your kids break the established speed limit for longer than 5 seconds or go outside the boundaries you have set, it will send you a text and email with exactly how fast they were going or where they are. The yearly subscription costs $89. However, if you pay it early, you get it for $66. While most of us have insurance, and that hopefully will replace what is stolen, the FIN system does you better – you get your stuff back before they have time to take it apart.
This cool story came by way of “The Humble Observer,” an online publication out of Houston, Texas. The Houston Jet Ski Riders, (HJR), the 97 member group has been riding together since 2013. The club is active and the members enjoy getting together for charity rides as well as rides just for fun.
The club began participating in fundraising events when it got together for a benefit ride to raise money for the Jump for the Rose breast cancer awareness organization. Since that time, the association has steadily grown and become a non-profit that is focused on safety, fun, and community involvement.
“We do all kinds of coordinated rides,” Angela Theiss, founder of HJR, said. “All people with jet skis (sic), whether they are seasoned riders or brand new, can join us on our adventures.”
HJS is holding its first reverse Trick-or-Treat ride, which is an activity the group discussed for quite some time before deciding to do it. All participants must wear a costume while piloting their PWC and hand out candy to the Lake Houston community. The ride, held on Saturday October 31, begins at 10am at the north end of Lake Houston and will continue throughout the day. All skill levels are invited and encouraged to attend. Remember to wear a costume or you won’t get to join the fun!
The new run is geared toward presenting the club to the people of the Lake Houston community in hopes of attracting more members and increasing community involvement.
If you would like to register, click here or email Angela Theiss at [email protected].
Not every one who traveled to Lake Havasu City, Arizona three weeks ago came home with a podium finish. That’s not to say they didn’t work their tail off or battled their hearts out on the track. Sometimes, it’s just not in the cards. In the case of Aussie racer, Mitch Wayt, the Waverunner Performance Centre team rider charged hard at this year’s 2015 World Finals against some of the fastest Pro/Am Runabout Stock Class racers from across the globe and came out smiling.
Wayt qualified in second place. And during Moto 1 was involved in a first lap incident that knocked him back into 13th place. Undaunted, Wayt fought hard to claim 7th in the first moto. In Moto 2, Wayt was “forced wide in the first corner,” according to a brief recap by Yamaha WaveRunners Australia’s Facebook page. Fighting hard, Wayt locked in 5th place. It was during the final moto where Wayt USA’s Troy Snyder battled it out. A well-timed pass on Snyder landed Wayt third in the moto.
The combined points fetched Wayt a considerable 5th place overall in Pro/Am Runabout Stock Class, with the Australian coming in behind Brian Baldwin, Abdullah Alfadhal, Aero Aswar, who comprised the top spots on the podium. Wayt’s efforts also placed him ahead of acclaimed and seasoned racers Eric Francis, Aqsa Aswar, and Snyder. In representing both team and country, “Yamaha WaveRunner Australia would like to congratulate Mitch Wayt and the WaveRunner Performance Centre Team on the excellent racing result, securing 5th in the World in Pro/Am Stock Class.”
Image courtesy of Mark Clemons. Originals can be purchased HERE.
