The love of this sport finds us pushing the limits from time to time. In the right and safe environment that may be perfectly fine. One of the most important things true riders know is you always wear a life jacket, you don’t drink and ride, you disconnect your Yamaha “pisser” when pulling tubes or boarders behind your runabout and you do not go fast close to shore.
We came across this video which at first seems harmless but as you watch closer, a multitude of issues become apparent. First the visibility spout, Yamaha’s trademarked rooster tail, should always be disconnected when pulling someone behind your watercraft for their safety and ability to have visibility. The second thing you notice is the speed in which the WaveRunner is traveling.
For most wakeboards, knee boards, tubes, etc. being towed on plane, the recommended speed is somewhere between 18 – 25mph. The runabout pulling the tube in this picture has the capability of a max speed close to 63/64 mph and from the looks of the tube flying in the air most of the time, you can bet that WaveRunner is moving quite a bit faster than recommended speed.
As the ski comes closer – making it’s approach near the beach – you’ll notice, neither driver nor passenger (spotter), who incidentally is sitting backwards, have life jackets on. Not sure what this clowns were thinking (we’re game to say they weren’t thinking at all), and then the guy sitting backwards flips of the ski and the guy in the tube flies off the tube nearly hitting his unvested spotter.
The last thing of course, is the speed in which these folks were going near shore. We have had so many injuries both with long term effects and even death caused by reckless driving near shore that it is a amazing people like this are still out there giving the rest of us, a bad name.
Hey it’s great to have fun, it’s exhilarating to push the limits from time to time, let’s just ensure we are doing it safely without the endangerment to others. Always wear a life vest and do not speed into or near shore.
