A few weeks back we got a note from our friends at Diptech Performance, “Don’t be fooled by any dealership out there that will tell you where you have to get your jet ski serviced so that your warranty is not voided. The team at Diptech Performance provide a service that is second to none and above all DOES NOT void warranty. We use genuine parts and follow all service procedures as a dealership would and more. Please call us for more information.”

All of us at The Watercraft Journal can attest that the technicians at Diptech are some of the best found in Melbourne, Australia. But rather than simply pontificating on and on about their professional staff and top-level skills at not only servicing personal watercraft, but finely tuning performance craft for all levels of enjoyment, we thought it best to leave the talking up to some of Diptech’s most satisfied customers.

It didn’t take long to receive an influx of videos from very satisfied customers very happy to share their exploits aboard their newly tuned and serviced Sea-Doos, Yamaha WaveRunners and Kawasaki JetSkis. Below are just a sample of locals getting the most from their machines during Australia’s prime riding season:

There’s no denying the facts, when pursuing the big triple numbers, the first step is acquiring a 15-year-old Yamaha GP1300R hull. The design of this particular hull has become the standard from which all top speed Open class Hydrodrag racers have built upon in their race towards world domination. From this singular foundation, all of the fastest personal watercraft racers in the world then insert their own formula of performance to push them to that coveted 110-plus-mile per hour level.

One such racer is Ray Sanchez. Piloting the “Boosted Demon” built by Game Over Racing, Sanchez has chased the world record of 112mph closely now. Below, we’ve included two videos from Gregg Mandigo’s “unsane” YouTube channel documenting Sanchez’s pursuit, the first run was taken during Round 3 of the 2014 Hydrodrags in Polk City, Fl. on July 13, 2014. Verified by a Stalker Radar Gun, Sanchez clicked off a 104.5mph pass even while navigating 3-inch chop.

As you watch the second video, wherein Ray clicks off an impressive 109.5mph pass, you’ll see the difference absolute glass makes for skis at these speeds to keep them hooked up. Sanchez will chase the record again this year and look to overthrow Mikael Gonzalez’s standing as the fastest personal watercraft in the world.

Areas of Queensland, Australia’s Pumicestone Passage may be blocked to jet skis to stop “cowboys” on the hectic waterway according to an article in the Noosa News.

Mark McArdle, Member for Caloundra said he was examining the change and introducing rangers after hearing grievances about personal watercraft riders for twenty years.

The proposed changes may occur within the next 12-18 months. Three petitions with 1,000’s of signatures have been presented to the Parliament during the decades of complaints.

Edwards expects McArdle to make his plans clear for the proposed ban and before the election. He expects him to do something to intervene after another long weekend of noisy jet skis and drivers using Pumicestone Passage as a drag strip.

Edwards went on to say that the Ramser Convention, which was put into place to protect migrating birds and other animals, safeguarded the Passage. Edwards quote goes on to explain the reasoning behind the Ramser Convention.

Edwards also stated that the residents of the area were being discriminated against since jet skiing was banned in Noosa. The ban has increased the number of personal watercraft riders on the Passage, which has impeded recreational use of the Passage for passive recreational activities.

McArdle understands the worries of citizens and also believes that jet skiers have made a valuable contribution to the economy and that most of them followed the rules. The majority of them are not the problem and he would like to see a designated area for the personal watercraft enthusiasts.

Jet skis have become a preferred method for the transport of illegal immigrants, drugs, and weapons from Mexico and into the United States of America. Personal watercraft are launched from Tijuana and then landed on the beaches from the border up to Point Loma.

According to a report by UT San Diego, some jet skis are stolen from San Diego rental companies and used for the nefarious purposes described above. The cargo is usually human. However, they’ve been known to move drugs or weapons, according to Coast Guard Captain John Spaner.

“It’s become a routine conveyance of organized crime. Because of that, and because 50 to me is a high number, I see that as a security threat,” said Spaner, the Coast Guard’s San Diego sector commander.

During fall of 2013, 50 smugglers on personal watercraft were apprehended over a course of three months. The Coast Guard, United States Border Patrol, and other federal agencies contributed to this number of captures. This figure dropped significantly in the fall of 2014. Only ten criminal transporters were caught and the Coast Guard claims that low number is due to increased vigilance.

“I think our system of sensors is very good, and we’re very good at detecting when this happens,” Spaner said.

The pressure along the border has caused a spike in the cost of transporting potential immigrants. The cost of illegal transports by non-law abiding Jet Ski drivers has increased exponentially. Undocumented immigrants are paying 40% more for a potential ride to the southern California Coast.

Law Enforcement Officers claim that migrants are paying thousands of dollars to cross the border by personal watercraft.

He went on to say that a person can rent a ski for a mere $500 deposit in San Diego. This makes it easy for smugglers to pull off their illegal actions. The ski can transport up to 2 people per trip at the cost of near $7000 per person. That is good money and gives smugglers incentive to continue.

Unfortunately, there is no reputable data publicly available to let us know when the human smuggling began although since 2012 there has been a decline in the use of pangas for human smuggling. This means it’s possible that is when jet skis came on the scene as the new watercraft of choice for smuggling.

“With the fall off of pangas, we saw more of an uptick in Jet Skis. I’m not sure what’s driving it,” Lavergne, a Border Patrol agent, said. “We still have pangas coming, but for the most part pangas have gone toward carrying narcotics.”

Federal agents say that drug pangas head farther out to sea and land north off the San Diego coast to keep from being captured.

It’s a different game for smugglers and their cargo since they don’t usually have high tech equipment. Typically, smugglers on jet skis don’t even use GPS so they only have their eyes to rely on when figuring out their route.

Lights on the coast are the only things visible at night and U.S. officials say that they worry about the immigrants arriving on skis due to safety concerns.

Make sure to watch the UT San Diego video HERE.

As the mercury in the thermometer continues to climb and the snow finally begins to ebb, hope for warmer days on the water begins to spring as much as the grass. But, that’s not to say that our friends in Canada are zipping up their lifevests just yet. Unfortunately, much of the Great White North continues to be well, white. Yet, that’s not to say they’re not scratching their PWC itch.

One such enthusiast is inventor Christophe Paquin who figured out possibly the best marriage of a standup ski and a snowmobile. The Québec resident reapplied a Rotax 670 motor to a repurposed snowmobile, employing the same traditional twin skis and tread platform. While the prototype is a little rough around the edges, it’s still impressive how well the rider input works so well with the snowmobile’s format.

If you live along the coastlines, then yeah, enjoy your eternal summer. But for so many other PWC enthusiasts, this might be one way to keep on riding even when the white stuff is still covering most the earth.

This year is shaping up to be one of the most transformative in the personal watercraft industry. A recent uptick in consumer confidence has fueled a dramatic increase in new vehicle sales, which in turn, is supplementing an already burgeoning aftermarket, giving us a landscape rife with waterways brimming with new and returning PWC enthusiasts. The industry is the healthiest it’s been since 2008, and to this, 2015 is seeing more aggressive moves from many of its biggest and savviest players.

Rick Roy and his Rickter RRP team are easily one of these key players, and never one to let the fiery iron cool. Signaling what they deemed “a new adventure in ski freeride,” the whole roster of the RRP Team – consisting of Mark Gomez, Pierre Maixent, Brandon Lawlor, Taylor Curtis, Brodie Copp and Abraham Hochstrasser – will travel the entirety of the IFWA Freeride World Tour; from Australia, Portugal, France, England and USA.

Not only representing Rickter RRP, but acting as ambassadors for the sport of freeride, the Rickter RRP Team riders will be promoting the “sport’s true hard core freeriding and wave competitions.” Accompanying the press release was an equally-professional teaser trailer which we’ve included a link below:

Until the IFWA Tour begins, we invite you to prepare for an influx of coverage by following the Rickter RRP crew via social media, to gain “a taste and a feel of the countries visited by the Rickter RRP Team.” Likewise, “Events videos will be produced and published on our website and a wrap-up video of the complete tour will [be produced] at the end. Come and join us on the locations; dont miss the chance to meet and ride with the Rickter RRP Team Riders.”