By early Friday, the weather reports weren’t looking too hot. Sure it was going to be cold out on Lake Havasu – being uncomfortably cold was part of the “endurance” part of the world’s longest continual race – but the purported wind gusts of up to 35-40mph was going to make things so much worse.
True to form, Saturday’s conditions were looking brutal. Winds whipped the lake into an opaque tundra of pale green and churning white caps. Even those seasoned by years of offshore racing were looking at waves upwards to 4-to-5 feet on the far end of the lake – and it was only getting worse.
Of course, that didn’t deter a trio of Lake Havasu City locals, Jake Tobin, Ryder Bliss, Logan Blanchard, who had all signed up for the 17th annual Mark Hahn Memorial Havasu 300. Although relatively new to the sport, the boys grew up around jet ski racing (how could you not in Havasu) and felt they had a better than decent shot at the Ski Team class.
Aboard a slightly modded Kawasaki SX-R 1500 stickered up with a few sponsors like IPD and TC Freeride, the three charged hard into the surf, battling against some seasoned riders from teams like Kommander Industries, Broward Motorsports and Klipper 212 – all the way to the end. That’s right, after six brutal hours, the boys came out on top in their class, and that’s something to celebrate.
