Over the past two weekends I decided to get some shots of the locals that I usually ride with. Pretty much every weekend on the Gold Coast, at least up to 10 riders at any one time hit the waves at South Stradbroke Island. It’s just a five minute ride from the ramp and a beautiful part of Australia.
Every time we head out, there’s always something different you see. From luxury cruises and charter boats, to whales and dolphins, turtles and jellyfish. Yes, jellyfish. These last few weeks we have had thousands of them. It’s almost impossible to ride without them getting sucked through the pump. Luckily, they don’t pack much of a sting, unless you get them up your shorts (I’m looking at you, Ryan Soloman).
So it’s summertime here and a beautiful 30 degrees (86’F). So you’re mad if you don’t head out a take advantage of the magic weather and ride with your mates. With conditions almost perfect all year ’round, the Gold Coast has some of the most talented Freeriders in the world: Brock Taylor, Brodie Copp, Ryan Soloman, Luke Rotolone, Daniel Maloney and Levi Johnson just to name a few.
These guys are just good on their skis, but are awesome blokes who would do anything to help you out. That’s one thing I’ve noticed about the Freeride community, they’re all mates. So here’s a few shots to get you through you winter blues up there in the north.
Wait, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering, “Hey, there’s already plenty of places to go to find out the schedule of events for my favorite race series.” And you’d be right. But unlike other outlets that solely focus on the hottest racing action happening locally, nationally or even internationally, the all-new Watercraft Journal 2015 Event Calendar Tool will actually be a central resource for ALL (and we mean all) personal watercraft-focused events.
Over the past several months, we have reached out to many of the North American PWC clubs, event organizers, charities and of course, race directors, to create a collaborative tool that everyone can use to look up the coolest watercraft events, rides and races going on throughout the United States of America and beyond. Of course, it’s pretty dang hard to know of everything going on across the globe, so we’re also asking that if you have an event that you’d like included on our calendar to simply email [email protected] today with all the pertinent info.
It’s really that simple. We will have addresses, phone numbers and emails helping you get in contact with the event coordinators so that if you’re interested in attending, all you’ll need to do is keep The Watercraft Journal 2015 Event Calendar cached in your browser to stay up on all the events happening near you! Obviously, we’re only a week and a half into the New Year so many clubs and promoters have yet to release their fine details, so expect to see the calendar updated regularly throughout the year!
We’ve also made it easy to view the calendar in a traditional format or a very easy-to-read list. You can even view the calendar by day if there’s a lot going on at once! Simply click the highlighted links HERE or go to “Events” in the Navigation Bar at the top of the page.
What rain runoff that had gathered alongside the highway earlier in the week had since frozen solid into opaque glassy pools. It took a while to compensate for the sub-freezing temperatures outside, but my truck’s heater was finally working at full force, spewing artificially heated air into the cab. Journeying south on Interstate 24, the steely gray skyline of downtown Nashville peaked out from behind the rolling hills. Still embraced by the frigid winter weather, attending this year’s boat show felt more juxtaposed than ever before.
The annual Nashville Boat & Sport Show, Presented by Progressive, occupied the main Hall of the Music City Center nestled only a few blocks from famous Music Row, giving the city its iconic nickname. Sneaking past the guards a few minutes early, I entered the convention center as exhibitors hustled to erect displays and arrange tables. Front and center was Progressive Insurance’s marine-themed booth, staffed by young, attractive attendants with names like Kitty (I’m literally not joking).
Perusing the center booth, attendees could feign reeling in a marlin from a faux angler’s chair, furiously reeling on a rod tethered to a coiled spring beneath a digital screen. Sure enough, as the video showed said swordfish struggling against your hook, the line would taut and pull against you. Although nowhere near the battle reeling in such a fish would require, accomplishing the virtual feat was something to be proud of.
The four-day event welcomed dealers, retailers, marinas, local and regional repair and maintenance shops from around the southeastern states. From resorts to dock builders, insurance policy writers to floating cooler manufacturers, the Nashville Boat & Sport Show had pretty much anything you could hope for. Rows after seemingly endless rows were rife with glimmering metal flake imbued paint jobs and brightly polished stainless steel.
While previous years’ quotient of yachts were supplanted with double the quantity of luxury triple-hulled pontoons and racy sport boats, the dollar value of the flooring looked to be no less. Hundreds of top-of-the-line boats were presented in all of their glory, flanked by elaborate catwalks and boarding platforms allowing boating parishioners to explore the acres of teak wood, leather and burnished walnut.
Big for the new year were interactive seminars, offering classes on proper dual-throttle docking, baiting techniques and preferred methods for fly casting. Amid the pontoons, day boats, cruisers, wake boats and the occasional personal watercraft dealer, those milling the floors encountered extreme kayak fishing outfitters, specially-crafted floaties for individually-bottled drinks (we presume Diet Cokes, right?), and even Nashville’s own Defiance Flyboard.
With the latest in marine gear, outboard motors, electronics, tackle and accessories on display, it was hard to remember the purpose of my trip, although visiting charter companies and resorts to book my next vacation was a tempting prospect. Rather, I sauntered back to the brightly colored Sea-Doos in the America’s Motor Sports booth. Flanking the Bimini Blue and Manta Green GTIs, iridescent Sparks continued to draw passersby eye. Surprisingly, the retina-scorching yellow RXP-X sat alone in the furthermost corner as couples manhandled the 130 and 155-powered 3-seaters.
“They’re still our biggest seller,” America’s Motor Sports’ Chris Watts explained, nodding at the GTIs. “For every RXP-X, we sell 10 of them. They’re quick enough for most people, had a ton of storage and are just great little skis.” I echoed my appreciation for the GTI platform, motioning to the GTI 155 Limited as one of my personal preferences. “Yeah, the Limited is great too. But the 130s and 155s are still our most popular.”
Regarding the polarizing color choices for 2015, Watts continued, “Sea-Doo’s really good about tracking what’s trending. They look at what Porsche and Nike are doing. They pay attention to where people are going in the near future. I think I knew about these colors maybe two years ago. I know a lot of people freaked out when they first saw the pictures. We had a couple of our own guys wonder what [Sea-Doo] was thinking. They actually look a lot better in person.”
And sure enough, he was right. The Bimini Blue really is attractive and is unmistakable against all of the other machines available. A few booths over, Tims Ford Powersports and Castle Motorsports had both Yamahas and Kawasakis on hand, the Kawasaki lineup looking a wee bit lean compared to the offerings from Yamaha, particularly the new VX Series. Both dealers boomed with pride over the new RiDE technology and took little time to press its superiority over BRP’s iBR.
Of all the dealers presenting their watercraft, it was Howard’s Powersports’ reserved display of two Yamahas that spoke the loudest – at least to someone who knew enough to recognize it. The small 10×20 booth was bookended by a fire red SVHO-powered FZR and demure V1 Sport. From the very height of Yamaha’s performance lineup to the brand’s most paired-down, entry-level machine, Howard’s seemed to understand the ageless “we’ve got something for everyone” credo; and by the looks of it, so did this year’s show.
Although Sea-Doo has officially been out of the jet boat business for a couple of years now – although you can find Rotax powertrains in several brands of jet boats currently on the water, including Scarab – there are still quite a few very choice examples of Sea-Doo jet boats floating around looking for a good home. One in particular is this awesome 2011 Sea-Doo 150 Speedster 215-horsepower Wake model for sale in Millsboro, DE.
If you don’t recognize the location, it’s our friends at WMF Watercraft who over the past year have become one of the Top 10 Mercury Marine dealers in the US and one of the top Avalon Pontoon boat dealers as well! Although currently winterized, you can get your hands on this super clean Speedster Wake that comes with a 215-horsepower supercharged, intercooled Rotax 4-stoke with a scant 24 hours of use. Able to sprint from 0-to-30 mph (48.28 km/h) in 2.8 seconds, room for you and three passengers, it’s a blast to drive.
Topping out at 60mph, the Speedster was one of Sea-Doo’s most fun, nimble and quick-on-its-feet boats. Equipped with the Wake package, the Speedster comes with wake tower, cover and trailer (courtesy of WMF Watercraft). Simply the closest you’ll get to blurring the lines between a PWC and a full-sized boat, the Speedster 215 is an absolute riot (particularly out in the surf), and one that has been this well-maintained, properly serviced and carrying as few hours is truly a rare find.
Jet skis and motor boats are banned during the summer along a three kilometer stretch of the metropolitan coast of Australia’s Adelaide Coast. Motorized boats, including jet skis, are not allowed within 200 meters of shore between Torrens Outlet at West Beach and Grange Road. Labor member, Colton Paul Caica, claims to have pressed the government to introduce the motorboat ban for a decade and he finally saw it come to fruition in 2013. The government signed this exclusion which lasts from December 1 through March 31. 2015 marks the second year in a row that the ban has been enacted.
According to a report in OZPWC, penalties for disregarding the prohibition of personal watercraft range from a minimum $105 fine to a maximum fine of $750 AUD’s. However, no fines were issued during the first year and only 13 riders cautioned. Transport Minister Stephen Mulligan says the law will be closely enforced the summer of 2014-2015. He expects the Marine Safety to enforce the law.
Mullighan also wants to extend the ban along more of the coast due to pressure from families who fear injuries from the jet skis and motorboats coming inshore. Beach goers do not like the noise created by skis and boats either and agree that some sections of the beach should be preserved so that families can enjoy them. The people in favor of the ban say that the beach is much more enjoyable and less dangerous without jet skis and would like to see the ban extend north, beyond Grange Jetty in to prevent that particular strand of beach from becoming a haven for displaced riders.
Boating industry Association’s General Manager, Glen Jones, is disappointed by the decision to reinstate the exclusion of jet skis and other motorboats. He says, “There’s a handful of ratbags out there but that’s what the world is coming to. You can’t pick mum and dad off the beach, you can’t go back and refresh your bait.”
Jones considers the ban a law imposed upon the skiers because of a few reckless guys and he also believes the current laws, stated below are sufficient: Restrictions of motorized craft to 4 knots within 50 meters of swimmers or 200 meters away from shore.
“If you are not willing to risk it all, then you have already failed.” Adventurers understand the risk. We understood the risk. Here is our story:
With over two years of planning, multiple test runs, rider assignments and practice days, judgement day had arrived. The plan was to jet ski from Boynton Beach, Florida to Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island – thus creating what we called the “North Bahamas Jet Ski Loop.”
On the day of departure, we had a PWC ride team of seven skis, including what we believed to be the first solo female rider, Linda Cobelo, to cross the Gulfstream from Florida to Grand Bahama Island; our support boat captained by Leslee Tull Baute carrying significant others, children and gear. We were also joined by Captain Douglas Montgomery and family for the expedition after learning about it on the boating forum, The Hull Truth. The reality to risk-takers is never trust the weather, always expect the unexpected, prepare for the worst, and pray for the best.
As the 18 of us stood staring out across the Intra Coastal Waterway, we could feel the wind – much more wind then forecasted – but no one was swaying. The final call was given and we shoved off.
It was a calm dawn in the Intra Coastal Waterways, however, once passing the Boynton Beach Inlet we were immediately met with large seas and small intervals. Hoping this was just the typical demeanor of the jetty we pressed on East to find the waters growing in conditions. This went against every weather report and surf report we were studying.
The first six miles were brutal with no real way to explain it. From my experience, I could sense the wind was direct from the East at no less than 20mph. Combining that with shallow waters off the Florida Coast just intensified the surf. It was impossible to estimate the wave height but the back-to-back intervals directly in your face were an immediate challenge.
At the six mile mark, we were introduced to our first equipment failure, Michael Baute’s auxillary fuel system came off and fell into the water. His system, like ours, was hard-mounted with welded brackets and it only took six miles of Atlantic Ocean before it was ripped off the ski. The system was unrepairable on the water, but luckily for Mike, he was riding the FX HO which is a very fuel friendly machine to begin with so we pressed on.
The next 14 miles brought us deeper into the Atlantic, now dipping our toes in the Gulfstream and increasingly rougher conditions. Rider Andy Hodgen realized his fuel is not transferring. Andy, riding an Sea-Doo RXP 215 with the smallest stock fuel tank of all the skis (and not very fuel friendly) looked over the system but decided to push on further before attempting a mid-water fuel fill. At this point the crew on both boats were already sick and even a few of the jet skiers were as well. No amount of Dramamine was helping on this day. As we pushed on trying to reach our halfway point, Ken Roseman, riding his FX SHO and myself, riding the Kawasaki Ultra 310LX, both lost our SPOT emergency transponders into the ocean while other riders’ equipment, such as VHF and GPS had failed.
Now this is all new equipment, all of which had been tested for many rides before, so whether that was a coincidence or the curse of the Bermuda Triangle, we will never know. Finally reaching 35 miles after an exhausting 3 hours and 20 minutes, Andy made the call to literally wire in a new fuel pump on the water. Vince Cobelo’s job on this expedition was ride preparedness and true to his responsibility, Vince had all the spare parts needed, additional fuel pump and supplies setup in case of this or other scenarios. After a painstakingly long time, Andy accomplished the task, his fuel was pumping and we were back to the grind.
As luck would have it, as we exited the Gulf Stream moving closer towards our destination, the waters finally began to calm down. The pattern I’ve always noticed while studying the weather reports for both Florida Coast and the Grand Bahama Coast is a minimum 5mph increase wind and slight direction change. This day it was backwards. The wind decreased and direction shifted the closer we got to the island. Nearly seven hours post departure and nearly 69 miles later, we arrived in West End, Grand Bahama to refuel, clear Customs & Immigration, and grab a quick snack before continuing on the next 60 miles to the Flamingo Bay Resort & Marina in Port Lucaya.
Since the waters were rough and the wind blowing against the island from the southeast, the planned route of traversing the North Sound to the Lucayan Waterway was all agreeable; however, the North Sound is a very tricky boating area. There is an actual path to travel which we had mapped out but is nowhere near land. The boat was setup to run in no less than 10′ of water at low mean tide, based on the nautical maps uploaded to the lowrence GPS system. The Channel to the average person would seem ridiculously far offshore but that is something the Bahamas is known for, long even shallow ocean floor for miles.
Not wanting to risk hitting a rock or other obstruction under the surface of the water, the channel was and is the safest bet to traverse the North Sound. We made our way across the Sound and into the Lucayan Waterway. The Lucayan Waterway is the only man-made canal that runs north-to-south through the island. It is not well maintained but easily passable by large boats and a heck of a lot of fun for PWCs! Lining the shores we found thousands of conchs left behind by conch fisherman, thousands of beautiful shells just sitting there for the taking. The Lucayan Waterway dumps out into the tongue of the ocean and just east of Port Lucaya.
After a total of 127 miles, 10 hours and 10 minutes, we finally arrived at our destination, the Flamingo Bay Resort and Marina. Great place, amazing people, very helpful and friendly. Terrance, our Dockmaster jumped down to help unload the boat and skis and even allowed us use of their jet ski rental docks to make needed equipment inspections and repairs. The resort boasts a lagoon style pool with bar grotto, beautiful Taino Beach, nice restaurant and amazingly affordable rooms looking out over the Marina with 24/7 security.
After settling in, we hit the pool bellying up to the Grotto for a few much needed beverages then onto dinner on the beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We received the post report of the ocean conditions and to our astonishment stated average wave conditions were between 9–to-12 feet with some larger rogue waves. Seeing a 32-foot boat’s stem and stern in the same frame from the rear of it nearly vertical makes you a believer in what type of conditions we battled through.
The adventure did not end there! Please be on the lookout for Part 2, 169-plus-miles in one day to the Abacos Islands and back!
Last year was a good one for the brand with the tuning fork, but if you thought 2014 was Yamaha’s year we gotta say that you’ve ain’t seen nothing yet. With the new year comes a whole new VX Series for Yamaha WaveRunners, and with it a whole new crop of advanced technology and improved riding experiences.
As per The Watercraft Journal‘s exclusive reviews of both the exciting VXR and loaded VX Cruiser, it’s undeniable that Yamaha has seriously raised the bar for their once entry-level series and packed them with some premium features. Biggest among these new-fangled amenities are Yamaha’s innovative RiDE technology; a dual-throttle reverse and braking system allowing riders to dramatically reduce the stopping distance, as well as easily docking and launching from a trailer.
Of course, the entire VX Series rides on a whole new hull making for a stable and smooth ride, whether riding solo or with passengers. For those new to personal watercraft, the additions of RiDE, the ample storage, smooth and stable ride and intuitive nature of the VX are the perfect introduction to enjoying the most out of a day on the water.
With a durable 4-stroke Yamaha Marine engine, multi-function instrumentation, integrated mirrors, automotive-quality paint and chrome accents, the revamped VX series not only look great but are some of the best performing PWC in its class.
The world’s longest-consecutive endurance races, as well as one of the most honored events to have risen out of the past two decades – the Mark Hahn Memorial Havasu 300 – is partnering with possibly one of the most grueling offshore endurance events we’ve seen in the past few years – the JetRacer Russky Grand Prix – to form the 2015 JetRacer Endurance World Tour Championship! (How’s that for a run-on sentence?)
That’s right! Under the direction of the IJSBA, two of the world’s most demanding personal watercraft endurance events are joining forces to crown the Endurance World Championship in both Pro Runabout Open and Stock. And just to sweeten the deal, winners of each class will win $12,000 and $3,000, respectively.
Here’s what you need to do: While you’re preparing to race this year’s Mark Hahn Memorial, pony up $2,200 to enter into the Russky. After completing the Hahn 300, the officials of the JetRacer Endurance World Tour will box up your runabout and ship it off to Vladivostok, Russia for the Russky in August. (We’re not sure what your ski is going to do for 6 months between events.) Your fee will also enter you into the race, put you up in a hotel room and get your ski back to Havasu safe and sound. Sound easy enough, right?
IJSBA is proud to present one of the most exciting new developments in PWC Racing: the 2015 JetRacer Endurance World Tour Championship.
For 2015, this event is a two round tour which begins with the very popular Mark Hahn 300 on February 28. Competitors who opt to join the World Endurance Tour will have their watercraft transported from Lake Havasu City to the second round in Vladivostok, Russia. Once in Vladivostok, there will an intense final round that lasts from August 11-16. For the inaugural season, there will be two competition categories: Pro/Am Runabout Open and Runabout Stock.
Entry fees are $2,200 per team (in addition to Mark Hahn 300 fees). Each inscription includes the following:
-Round trip shipping of a PWC from Lake Havasu City to Vladivostok, Russia and back to Lake Havasu City. -One hotel room including breakfast.
These prizes are in addition to the prizes offered at the Mark Hahn 300 Round which carries its own title. As well, Russky GRAND PRIX carries how own title and prize money.
Participants in the Endurance World Championship must make their inscription prior to the start of the Mark Hahn 300.
This is just the start of an amazing new series in IJSBA Racing. For 2016, there will be four or more stops as other venues have already signed on to host a round of this tour. 2015 participants will be given discounted entry fees for the 2016 tour.
Information will be coming rapidly, we urge every competitor to stay tuned to IJSBA for announcements as the start of this tour is just over two months away. Please share this exciting news with all of your fellow competitors.
There’s some great stuff happening now with the New Year – specifically, it’s boat show season! Yup, there still might be ice on the ground in the northern states (and some of Southern California), but the prime boat-buying season kicks off in the next few months. So now is when all of the boat shows start throwing open the gates and wheeling out all of the newest models!
This weekend starts off the early Spring Boat Show season with both Baltimore and Nashville Boat and Power Sports shows. And kicking off the Music City event is a special promotion hosted by our friends at America’s Motor Sports. They wrote, “Want to spend your free time on the lake this year? Register today for the Nashville Boat and Power Sports show to enter for your chance to win a Sea-Doo Spark! Free to register, but donations accepted – 100% of proceeds goes to the Nashville Chapter of the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative.”
That’s right! You can not only walk away with a new 2015 Sea-Doo Spark, America’s Motor Sports is collection donations for the Nashville Chapter of the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative. Entering to win is easy (and free), and all donations will go directly to the foundation – although we strongly suggest you donate to help bring an end to cancer. Because seriously, f**k cancer.
Our last few riding gear reviews have been a little too confined to a hardcore riders and PWC racers, so it’s actually kinda nice to write about something a tad more mainstream. The weather has been a tad on the schizophrenic side of things (Hello! Snow in Southern California and Lake Havasu?), so our usual hours on the lake have been dramatically reduced in recent weeks. Nevertheless, we’ve been pretty lucky to have had our hands on (and in) this pair of JetPilot Phantom Gloves for the better part of a year, providing us ample time to break ’em in and see what breaks.
For gloves, we’re looking for two major attributes: ventilation/drainage and traction/grip. Obviously, fitment is a major factor, so much so that it’s sort of a given, but if the gloves fail either of the aforementioned characteristics, we’re not going to be too kind in the ranking department. In less time than what we’ve had with these blue-and-black Phantoms, we’ve had other brands’ gloves pull apart, seams split, straps break, discolor, fade and otherwise rot to pieces; and we’re very happy to announce that we encountered no such catastrophic failures.
But exceptional build quality and materials are par for the course for JetPilot. Gloves see much more wear due to motion than one might consider, and require certain reinforcements. Thankfully, JetPilot saw to this by keeping stitching to a minimum by using a sublimated ultra-lite one piece upper and one-piece Clarino palm panels. The thumb has been reinforced as well. Grip is enhanced with “super-tacky” palm and fingers silicon print, and unlike the silly “puffy paint” used by some manufacturers, has failed to peel off despite some pretty abusive use.
Aesthetically, the Phantom is attractive with custom Jetpilot graphics and an embossed Airprene cuff and a custom Jetpilot wrist closure strap. We’re not sure if JetPilot’s sizing for XL includes persons with some seriously fat wrists or ours are unnaturally dainty, but we found the wrist strap to be weirdly too long. Whether this is intentional or merely a miscalculation in production, it was our only real complaint.
The gloves quickly dry when laid out or hanging up in a well ventilated area better than other brands as well. We attribute this to the breathable material JetPilot uses. Again, the long wrist strap started to curl into a pig’s tail after our first couple of months.
The Phantoms are more of a warm weather glove and won’t protect your hands from the cold water or wind that often stings (particularly at speed). The JetPilot gloves fit snugly and don’t slip and slide around while riding, which is the primary cause of blisters. Available in either red, blue or white, the Phantom Gloves are also some of JetPilot’s more affordable gloves, priced at $24.99 a pair. Gloves are often one of those consumable items you pick up while visiting your dealer’s Parts Department, toss in your ski’s glove box and forget about until you head out on the water again. In this case, we suggest seeking out the JetPilot Phantoms. They’ll last longer and remain comfortable for years to come.
