Here’s a bit of reality: the majority of people who are buying new watercraft are older people. Yup, dealers and manufacturers alike report that the average buyer ranges between 40-to-60 years old. And most sexagenarians aren’t big into tearing up the closed course or streaking offshore at full throttle.
So for those older enthusiasts (or even those who would like to just dial back a little and just cruise), Caloundra Jetski Hire and Safaris wants to give them a chance to enjoy Caloundra (on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia) with a different, more laid back “jetski experience.”
Caloundra Jetski Hire and Safaris’ City Explorer Tour is “more about taking the time to enjoy the surroundings,” according to owner Ken Jeffreys. The ride will guide a group of PWC along the tip of Bribie Island and along Bulcock Beach to Golden Beach in a 40 minute trip.
“There’s nothing better than seeing people out on paddle boards or walking along the boardwalk enjoying Caloundra,” Jeffreys continued. “People love the experience of jetskis but don’t always want that full on adrenaline blast, so this is a way where they can get that but at a slower pace.
According to a report in Sunshine Coast Daily, the new tour adds to the experiences Caloundra Jetski Hire and Safaris offer. The Pumicstone Passage has become a playground for new innovative water-based businesses including Larc About Tours, the amphibious environmental tours where the vehicle goes directly from road to water.
Jefferys concluded, “It’s an extraordinary piece of waterfront here and there’s nothing better than seeing it from the water.”
We’ve all had days out on the water where things have gone well, just really bad. Unfortunately, a couple launching from New York’s Jamaica Bay in the Rockaways around 9:30 at night on Monday, June 23rd had one of those days. Clearly breaking several state and city boating ordinances, the nighttime ride went sour when their Sea-Doo’s engine died and began rapidly taking on water.
Thankfully, the two were stranded in shallow water, near Big Egg Marsh where they spent the entire night waiting for a rescue. According to David Console of the NYPD Harbor Unit, that’s when, “their friend reported them missing at around 12:30 at night and that’s what started all the searching.”
Because their watercraft had no running lights, nor did the couple carry cell phone, flares, or other signally devices, it took emergency crews six hours to find them.
In a report by CBS News, the shallow marsh provided little help. “It’s a small, small island-type marsh with large grass, but it’s sharp over there so they couldn’t walk on it,” explained Andrew Novellano, with the NYPD Harbor Unit. “They’re almost like razor blades so they couldn’t even stand on them.”
Upon rescue, the couple were hypothermic. They were taken immediately to Saint John’s Hospital, where they were treated for hypothermia and released.
It’s a great thing to rally behind those who would step up to preserve freedom, especially as they risk considerable harm to themselves in doing so. Many a fine organization has risen up to advocate our nation’s wounded soldiers and we applaud each of them.
Recently, we were introduced to Take Point Now. Not solely a charity, but as the official website describes, “an imperative, a call to action. It’s a command. It is our effort to inspire our fellow veterans to take back their awesome, extraordinary lives.” A crew of six are looking at doing exactly that…by setting a new world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a jet ski.”
Informing us of this exciting effort was our friends at Kool PWC Stuff. Owner Chris Chamberlain stated, “we have recently donated a couple of custom racks to these guys! You should look into them.” Indeed we did, and were impressed with what we found.
Using two runabouts, a Kawasaki STX-15F and a Yamaha FZS SHO, John Pignone, Greg Raney, John Kilby, Erika Christie and Jim Kieffer are looking at traveling the Atlantic Coast – and making a stop at the Pro Watercross Tour event in Colonial Beach, Virginia – before crossing “the pond.”
The team has a great deal of history together, as they served together from 2004 to 2005, in the Al Anbar province in Iraq. Then known as Major Ewing, Staff Sergeant Kilby, Sergeant Raney, Sergeant Pignone, and Lance Corporal Dixon, the team experienced “both physical combat and mental stressors and challenges. Ten years later, the team is still together and focused on a new objective – breaking the Guinness World Record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a personal watercraft (PWC).”
Currently, Take Point Now is in the midst of training, equipping and navigating their route before executing it later this summer. Take Point Now maintains a very active YouTube channel updating regularly with new videos and webisodes. We strongly suggest checking them out and following their journey.
The waterproof foam also rests nicely on your skin thanks to the micro-fleece lining, and won’t feel spongy even when wet from sea-spray or sweat thanks to its water-wicking material.
It’s been an inside joke for years. After one particular outing with the Kawasaki crew, where we ventured through some severe weather off of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, I lost two pairs of Bomber sunglasses and a favorite pair of goggles. Exposing my eyes to searing salt spray and whipping winds that day left me in an irritable mood the rest of the trip. And since then, whenever I join Kawasaki’s media group, I am been greeted with a complimentary pair of goggles.
Although appreciative of the many pairs of cheapo goggles in my gear bag, my choice of eye protection tends to sway a little more picky. For riding on water, two things are a must – and are intrinsically tied – ventilation and clarity. So often riders resign themselves to whatever is handy, be it a pair of snow goggles, motocross goggles or even swimming goggles. None of these are ideal as they fail to meet the needs of riding a personal watercraft.
That is why I am so drawn to Dragon Alliance’s MDX Hydro Goggle. Designed specifically for watersports (i.e. riding your personal watercraft), these beauties feature waterproof tri-layer neoprene face foam that not only is designed to survive prolonged exposure to water, but also keeps out unwanted water from entering.
Fantastic drainage is achieved thanks to cast-in drain vents in the frame.
The foam is also what allows the Dragon Hydros to float in case you do lose them, but the 1 1/2-inch strap features a silicone bead that grips firmly to your helmet (if you’re wearing one). The frame is made from polyurethane, which keeps it lightweight and flexible.
But Dragon’s lenses are where it shines most. The frames allow for wide, panoramic lenses opening up your range of vision far more than others we’ve tried. Of course, their lenses are 100-percent UV (UVA/UVB) proof and coated in a proprietary anti-fog treatment. And all anti-fog lenses are available in polarized, blue and all available lenses for MDX framed goggles. And of course, switching out lenses is made easy so you can adjust tints or replace scratched lenses.
Not once did we find any cause for demerit while using our two pairs of Hydro MDXs. Visibility was at a maximum regardless of weather or temperature. Adjusting them to fit young adults or even children was a cinch. We simply felt that the fitment, visibility and comfort of these goggles were leaps ahead of any we have tested before.
Eye protection is a must, as is a life vest. We strongly recommend these. Do not let the $69.95 retail price dissuade you. They’re worth it. We picked up our from Western Powersports, but can also be found at Optima Racing and Thrust Innovations.
The Dragon MDX Hydro Goggles are a favorite among racers today and understandably so. Racers enjoy maximum visibility and comfort.
For most dealers nationwide, July 4th marks the beginning of the end of the season. Not that the skies cloud over and snow begins to fall, but because most would-be buyers of new or used watercraft have already made their purchases and are busily enjoying their PWC every chance they get. Sure, many will see slight surges before the Labor Day weekend as well as some peaks in sales as the new models arrive and last year’s models suddenly go on sale, but for many, you’re looking at the end.
Being a conscientious shopper, we’re always looking for the BOGO (Buy One, Get One) deals, and we can’t believe we found one on a pair of BRP-yellow 2009 Sea-Doo RXT iS 255s! That’s right, the first year for a bunch of awesome innovations by Sea-Doo, these two 2009 RXTs are equipped with iBR brakes & reverse, the automatically-adjusting Intelligent Suspension (now discontinued on RXT craft equipped with suspension) and the trick iTC fly-by-wire throttle control.
Of course, we’re personal fans of these machines as they carried us to a class championship and tenth place overall in the 2009 Long Beach t0 Catalina race nearly exactly five years ago. Today, the suspension-equipped RXTs are commonplace, but at the time, these were the most unique, far-out machines you could get your hands on.
The two sitting on WMF’s Millsboro, Delaware lot come with the double trailer seen in the images and can be yours for $16,999. Of course, as with all watercraft leaving WMF, these have been fully serviced and checked out by WMF’s stellar staff of technicians to boot.
Last month The Watercraft Journal published a fun tease of the annual WetBike Rally in Lake Murray, Oklahoma. This got our wheels moving as to the design of the WetBike and why it never really caught on. Then, we were reminded of the JetBike (of no affiliation to the WetBike), produced by Aquajet. The unusual-looking craft borrowed a lot from the aforementioned watercraft but tried to bring it into the 21st century.
Powered by a mid-mounted three-cylinder engine, displacing 1250cc, the watercooled/open loop two-stroke plant used a trio of Keilin 42mm CDK carbs producing a reasonable 150-horsepower. Manufactured by the Aquajet Corporation located in the Port of Los Angeles, California, the JetBike WX1 was surprisingly lightweight at 387 pounds despite its tall sportbike-like profile.
Reviews of the JetBike reported it responsive and agile thanks to its dual steering achieved by both the pivoting front ski and rear jet nozzle. In light of its advertised 70-plus-mph top speed, the JetBike never really caught one like so many other unconventional personal watercraft that have both preceded and followed it.
Below is a copy of the JetBike’s original promotional video that shows it careening through chop, open ocean surf and through wakes. It might be no more, but it’s always fun to take a look back on this “Throwback Thursday.”
Of course, this is so new it doesn’t exactly exist yet but that’s not stopping the online blogosphere (and us, for that matter) from chatting this thing up. Designed by California-based Strand Craft studios, the bull-nosed personal watercraft is not quite near ready for production, and whether there’s demand for personal watercraft with a teak-lined tray, leather seating and y’know, a 5.7-liter (350ci) V8 engine is still up in the air.
Christened the “V8 Wet Rod,” this opulent machine is no run-of-the-mill runabout. Designed as a true luxury watercraft, or better yet, a miniaturized motorboat for two, the V8 Wet Rod is a robust 16-feet long, featuring a carbon fiber-and-epoxy shell. Beneath the hood is the aforementioned V8 churning out 300 horsepower.
There’s not much stated in the way of the usual amenities found on modern watercraft, like cruise control, brakes, reverse, or even fuel capacity, on that the design house estimates their craft reach a speed of 65mph. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff. But there is a waterproof luggage compartment and an ice box under the seat.
Currently, the V8 Wet Rod comes with a variety of optional features, including a chrome engine dress up kit, wood and carbon fiber inlays, special custom paint or vinyl wrap, an on board sound system, GPS and even a custom trailer! Until it hits production, all we have to enjoy is the video below:
Yamaha’s lobby has got some great stuff on display.
It all started with one of the rare moments my wife and I get to sit down and watch some late night television. With two young daughters determined to tear our house down to the foundation, these moments aren’t often. One episode of Comedy Central’s pop culture game show, “@midnight” I was immediately intrigued when guest comedian Kurt Braunohler showed off a t-shirt with the outline of a jet ski.
“I think I might have figured out the dumbest way to make the world a better place,” Braunohler quipped. “I’ll be jet-skiing from Chicago to New Orleans (seriously) in order to raise money to provide 500 goats and 1000 chickens for African families in need. I’ve got the jet ski, I’ve got my route – I just need YOU to donate money so we can help change people’s lives.”
Wanting to learn more, I googled Braunohler, which brought me to the official IndieGoGo.com fundraiser page. True to his word, Braunohler would be partnering with Heifer International to send 500 goats and 1000 chickens to impoverished villages in Africa. It was up to the lanky comedian and Comedy Central to generate the $50,000 necessary to do so.
It’s always a fun feeling to pick up a brand-new supercharged Yamaha SVHO that doesn’t belong to you for a couple of days. It’s a shame we had to give it back so soon!Although they don’t give tours, Yamaha’s Kennesaw, Georgia headquarters is a place all PWC diehards need to see.
The charity, Heifer International is more about empowering impoverished families than merely addressing their immediate needs. By supplying these rural communities with the animals necessary to generate prosperity, Heifer brings “sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a long history of poverty. Their animals provide partners with both food and reliable income, as agricultural products such as milk, eggs and honey can be traded or sold at market,” according to their website.
Thinking it a noble cause, we published an announcement on the effort on The Watercraft Journal in late May. Curious for more information, I had sent off an email to Braunohler’s publicist with little thought of hearing back. Literally within two hours, I was on the phone with a board of television producers in Beverly Hills, California.
The challenge was set for The Watercraft Journal to rally its readers to join the Comedy Central team in their penultimate day of filming, in Pickwick Lake, Tennessee. The episode called for a group of fellow jetskiers to join Kurt in a mock biker gang as the terrorized the lake straddling the border between Mississippi (and the river namesake) and Tennessee.
They say “getting there is half the adventure,” but too many times we just wanted to pull over in any body of water and take the supercharged SVHO out for a ride.Apparently, this is only some of the gear needed to keep a comedian afloat.
Immediately, I went to work publicizing the opportunity. It’s not often personal watercraft get this level of broad exposure and we wanted to really pull out all the stops. A couple of emails into Yamaha secured the use of a brand-new ’14 FX SVHO, but there was a catch: I would need to drive down to Yamaha’s Kennesaw, Georgia headquarters to pick it up the day before – nearly doubling my mileage.
Next, I reached out to Sea-Doo/Slippery Wetsuit racer Claude Clayton. Clayton lives less than tour hours from where we’d be filming and I attempted to lure him into bringing his insane turbo-powered GTR and his tuned Spark for the filming. Unfortunately, both skis were incapacitated for that week and couldn’t land another Sea-Doo to use. We even tried to hook the traveling Spark Some Fun Demo Tour into driving down for the day, but their ironclad travel schedule made that impossible as well.
I left home in Nashville, Tennessee exceptionally early the Tuesday before and made it down to Yamaha in record time. Snatching up the SVHO, I doubled back up to Chattanooga and darted west determined to reach Counce, Tennessee by that afternoon. Wide-open grassy pastures, emerald rolling hills, and dense treelines reminded me how I fell in love with this state only a few years earlier.
Hailing from Mississippi, the Pirate Nation PWC club showed up in force with a trio of murdered-out runabouts.Kurt Braunolher’s FX HO was unmistakable in its American flag-meet-Hawaiian shirt wrap job.
Unfortunately, the Volunteer State’s rural highway system leaves much to be desired, and it was dusk by the time I reached the miserable little Quality Inn I had booked online. Staffed by a spherical bridge troll who clearly applied her makeup via paintball gun, my room was a dank, unlit cave with zero cellular or internet service. Despite my protests, I would have to remain overnight or pay for cave I didn’t want.
Little did I know that Braunohler and his crew were experiencing quite the same turmoil. During the first day of filming, both Kurt and the chase boat ran out of fuel. The next day fared no better as they were forced aground as the crew were dispatched to find more fuel for the second safety boat. Neophytes to both personal watercraft and the Mississippi, none expected the sheer level of debris, garbage and runoff that littered the nation’s largest river.
Traveling by water quickly proved far too problematic for the Hollywood crew who were caught completely out of their element. The decision was made to have Braunohler “hopscotch” from location to location, pulling the skis and boats out of the water and traveling to specific locales before relaunching and riding for shorter distances. In his podcast on Nerdist.com, Braunolher bemoaned the decision but relented. By the fifth day, the 6’3″ comedian was frustrated, somewhat defeated and exhausted, exclaiming, “Man, this trip has be $%$-ed from the beginning.”
Dubbed “The Wet Ones,” the jet ski gang to be portrayed in the webisode were quickly briefed on the day’s planning.Braunolher had plenty of assistance from Cinemarine, a professional service of boaters, captains, lifeguards and stuntmen specifically trained in boating.
As I stood in the parking lot of the Grand Harbor Marina the next morning, my heart began to sink. Seeing that filming would take place early Wednesday morning, there simply weren’t many who could take the time off and make the trek on such short notice. Besides Braunohler and his guest comedian, Kyle Kinane and a third “backup” runabout, I was the only PWC on hand.
But, it was then that the skis, the beautiful, beautiful skis started to show up.
Hailing from Mississippi, the Pirate Nation PWC club showed, bringing a trio of smoked-out flat black two-stroke runabouts – a Kawasaki, a Sea-Doo and a Tigershark. Pulling up to the dock was a very clean 2009 Sea-Doo GTX iS Limited 255. With the ink black-and-electric blue SVHO, we had ourselves quite the crew.
From local residents to out-of-towners, we thankfully brought in plenty of enthusiasts to fulfill Comedy Central’s casting call.This freshly painted Sea-Doo SPI was only completed a few days prior to showing up.
Each of us were provided a black sleeveless t-shirt with our “jet ski gang’s” insignia and motto: The Wet Ones: Live Free, Die Moist. Sliding the shirts over our life vests, all we had to do was wait for Kurt. I fielded a few questions from the Pirates concerning the Yamaha and even put it through the paces showing how a runabout as large as this could carve a corner with such aggression.
Finally, Braunohler and Kinane arrived, Kurt aboard a wildly-wrapped FX HO, the ski looking like a tourist wearing an American flag t-shirt over a hideous pair of Bermuda shorts. We were greeted quickly by the comedian who thanked us for coming out and then directed to stay far off camera as they filmed some A-roll for the webisode.
Gracious and charismatic, our host Kurt Braunohler was enthusiastic and fun enough to make us want to join him for the rest of his journey to New Orleans.Unbeknown to many, much of filming a movie or TV show is “hurry up and wait.” We spent much of our day with this view, as the crew discussed shots and resets.
In the skit, Braunohler played up his frustrations that the fundraising wasn’t generating the money needed, so he intended on forming a “jet ski gang.” We were quickly ushered into a v-formation and filmed streaking across Pickwick Lake. A few takes later, we were lined up and filmed some additional A-roll between Braunohler and Kinane deciding it would be best if our gang distributed wrapped Christmas gifts to strangers on the lake.
Sure enough, we were handed bags of wrapped gifts (random items purchased at a local boating supply store) and encouraged to approach fishermen and boaters to get their reactions on camera. Unfortunately, as the camera boat followed Kurt and the others, I noticed one of the Pirates adrift far behind us. Turning back, the father and son duo were trying to encourage the Tigershark’s stuck starter.
Selected for its fuel mileage and comfort, Braunohler’s FX HO proved worthy of the five-day adventure.It would be a week of ups and downs (for both myself and comedian Kurt Braunohler), but it was all for a good cause in bringing some much needed help to those in need.
I pulled my tow rope from the SVHO’s rear storage, I jumped in and looped the two-stroke to the big Yamaha’s tow eye. Cruising back at 20mph, we made it back to the marina to applause from Braunohler, the film and safety crew and our fellow Wet Ones. We had missed much of the filming in the rescue but felt good helping a fellow rider out.
After loading up our skis and changing out of our wet clothes, we were invited to a free standup comedy show to be performed at a bar nearby, Freddy T’s. The bar also seconded as a nightclub which open its doors to the production crew at noon. After a disturbing amount of midday drinking, the audience, which included a legitimate biker gang, were properly lubricated for the two comedians.
With a tight schedule of filming to do later that day, as well as some additional riding further down the Tenn-Tom Waterway, the show had to “go on” as it were, as did I. Again, I ventured east to return the SVHO to Yamaha, only to turn north the next day and return home, 1,100 miles in three days later.
To date, the “Jet Ski For Goats” drive is still underway, as it has yet to meet its goal, so there’s still plenty of time to donate and make somebody’s future just a little bit brighter. And while the webisodes have yet to air, Braunohler has documented his adventure in the aforementioned podcast.
It’s hard not to be impressed with a dealership that not only offers some seriously comprehensive sales and service coverage but also hosts a full season’s worth of exciting personal watercraft ride events! James Tod, owner of the JetSkiShop in Queensland, Australia recently let loose his ride event schedule for 2014.
While the JetSkiShop will be hosting the below monthly rides, there will also be plenty of “popup” rides between the listed dates, so make sure to check-in with the dealership’s “Breakfast Club” event listings. Oh, and make sure to check out The Watercraft Journal, as JetSkiShop will be filming and documenting each of these trips for full reports here!
July 20thÂ
A day trip from Gold Coast to Tangalooma Island resort, it is about 2 1/2 hours’ ride time each way.
August 4th
A week trip to the Whitsundays in the great barrier reef, we will be based on Hamilton Island for the week. Each day we will do a trip around the tropical waters, which will include watching migrating whales with their the calves. A featured Bonfire castaway night on a deserted island, and lots of jetskiing.
September 13th
A two-day adventure, with overnight stay at the Sunshine coast’s 5-star resort, Rumba. It’s about a three hour ride each way. We get exposed to all conditions, from bays, mangroves, ocean, and surf.
November 15thÂ
Another two-day camping weekend at Lake Moogara Dam. It’s very rare here when we get to ride in fresh water. We get to have green grass, a camp fire, tents, and lots of socializing. Oh, and some jetskiing too. It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive from the Gold Coast to this dam, and then its just hanging out with the family and friends. Plus they have a waterfall that you can jetski upto.
It’s been since 2009, that yours truly has participated in the grueling open-ocean 56-mile dash from Southern California’s Queensbay in Long Beach to Santa Catalina Island’s Avalon Harbor and back. That year, we raced the then all-new 2009 Sea-Doo RXT iS 255 and earned first in the Manufacturer Stock class and 10th place overall.
While this year we’re not expecting a repeat of such a performance, we will be competing in RPM Enterprises’ Manufacturer Stock class, meaning only seat covers, handlebars and an aftermarket bilge pump are allowed. We won’t be doing any of those as we’ll be aboard Kawasaki’s offshore racer-in-a-box Ultra 310R JetSki.
But what we’re very excited to announce here is the final hood design from Hurricane Industries. Learning that we were clear to race this year, we reached out to Derrick Kemnitz Jr., owner of Hurricane who immediately jumped at the chance to design a very cool one-off hood wrap for our 310R.
Taking time from his hectic schedule of designing and building insanely cool carbon fiber standup skis in his Antioch, California shop, Derrick designed this sweet custom hood wrap. With the measurements on hand, Derrick says he can create any number of custom designs for those racers looking to step up the look of their Kawasaki Ultra 3oo or 310 series JetSki.
Expect to see a full how-to tutorial on installing this custom decal kit in the next coming weeks. Until then, if you’re interested in your own custom designed hood kit, contact Hurricane HERE.
Last month The Watercraft Journal published 
