Please tell me of what is the coolest thing that you have ever done in a boat? This should be interesting...,
let me tell you mine....

Many year ago I took a good friend of mines son out for a boat ride he was about 21 years old but due to some very strong situations with juvenile diabetes he looked like he was 12 and had also lost his site . While we were out we got stopped by the marine patrol for an inspection . There the Deputy saw that the young man was blind . He bid us a good day and we went on to cruise the chain of lakes. We went around for a while and then I thought it was time to put this young man behind the wheel . He had not driven since the loss of his site . We went around and he got the hang of it well . I guided him with hand signals on his shoulders , I even got him to do some speed runs .
Ahead I saw the marine patrol and I guided the young man to speed up to go right and then left to correct. We increased speed till we were well above 80mph , we passed the deputy and I waved the boys white cain as this young man was ripping passed the marine patrol at over 80 mph . The deputy looked shocked but he did not make chase . The young man and I rode some more and when we got back to the dock there the deputy was waiting . He looked at me strange for a while then I said do not just sit their help me carry my boy back to the truck. The young man was exsausted as his health was failing due to his strong diabetes. The deputy helped me carry the young guy to the truck and on the way back to the boat he said “ I thought to give you a ticket but if you showed up in court I do not know that I could explain that a blind boy passed me driving a boat over 80 mph”. The Deputy was quiet the rest of the walk till he got back in his boat . He said “ that was pretty cool but don’t do it again”… That’s the coolest thing I ever done in a boat. I taught a blind kid to drive a boat over 80 mph. That young man carried that experience with him for only a few more years till he was laid to rest . I am glad that I and my boat was able to give him that experiemce .

Gee...that one's gonna be hard to top.

let hear yours...

Back before 9/11 a friend and I took a day off work and loaded our jetboats with extra fuel. His was a Rochelle with a blown BBF, mine was a NA 600hp Taylor SS, we drove them out of the San Jacinto River down to the Houston ship channel, then drove them all the way through downtown Houston, Buffalo Bayou Park into Memorial park just past North Sheppard drive (this involved jumping several downed trees on the way up) A lot of people came to the river banks to see what all the noise was in the normally silent bayou, but we did not get any attention from the police.

I picked up half a gallon jug in the intake on the way up the ship channel and spent 45 minutes on a mud bank cutting it out. When a big ship would come by it would raise the water level by 3 feet and then it would suck all the water off the bank leaving me 20' from the water momentarily. I was soaking wet and it was kind of cool but very sunny so I warmed up quickly.

On our way back we ate lunch downtown near the UH campus then left pretty hard through downtown and out Buffalo bayou to the ship channel. The boats sounded awesome near all the tall buildings. Craigs boat was in the lead in a fairly narrow section of Buffalo Bayou with high banks and he scared an enormous pelican out of the water just ahead of him. The pelican was trying it's hardest to get away from the thundering jet boats and decided to dump some ballast to gain altitude. The bird strafed Craig's jetboat with crap from bow to stern with military precision, getting Craig and his wife a little. I nearly fell out of my boat laughing, still makes me laugh nearly 20 years later.

I'd estimate we traveled between 80 and 90 miles that day which is a marathon for a jetboat. We did stash fuel at one dock along the way also. After 9/11 you can no longer enter the westerly section of the ship channel without coast guard authorization (something I doubt you would ever get for real jetboats)
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not pictures from the actual day, cant find those yet.

I had to do some testing on the old f2 sutphen and a very good friend of mine who was a bit of a gear head had never been on a go fast boat, so I brought him along. Ran the boat all over the bay from 70-92 for about 2 hours. Not a big deal except he had brain cancer that was diminishing his health and well being day by day. This was the only ride I was able to get him out on before he passed. The best part was he couldn't stop talking about it for weeks.

My 13 ' Bullet 130 offshore challenges.

Cape May, NJ to Manasquan Inlet

Manasquan Inlet to New York Harbor for 4th of July Celebration .

NPBA NY Hudson River Poker Run twice and finished.

The good old days...

I knew a guy in the same business as me for years before ever meeting him. We met 20 years later, in hindsight we should have been partners years earlier as we both were very similar. We worked together on a project as he was battling cancer for the 2nd time. He had been a "fishing" boater in years past, never had much use for "go fast" boats or their owners......just couldn't see the value in it vs. a nice Grady White type boat were you could fish, dive, sleep aboard etc.

He was in his last year, though we were being hopeful at the time he would beat cancer again. I convinced him to go out on the boat (32 Sunsation) with me, he then said he was going to bring his daughter (16ish at the time). I made a comment about two old guys on a go fast boat with a young girl he laughed (the stereotype he hated he was about to become!). We ran outside to the next inlet and pulled into a marina for lunch. Sun was hard on him, so we ran up the ICW back towards the dock. David died a few months later, he thanked me a couple times for the ride with his daughter.......I think he was trying to have a "bucket list" type send off with her and this was just one more thing.

Fast forward 5 years.....I see his daughter again with her uncles at a local business. I met her twice prior, once on the boat and once at the funeral. So chatting about college and whatever she has been up to I realize she has no idea who I am.......just another one of her dad's friends she didn't really know!

So I dropped the line we all make fun of on OSO...........How many Cigarette boats have you been out on? She instantly smiled and said "oh now I remember" and said that was her first and only ride. She said that was one of the best days she had with her dad.......I didn't know it at the time, David knew it would be the little things on his bucket list that his daughter would remember! The ride on the boat wasn't for him, it was for them.......

TX challenge last year.

Jumped in the Boat (50 turbine cat) with Nick and Chris (owner of invitation only) and we did the shootout. We ran the fastest pass for them that day of 176mph. After that the coolest part to me was coming around the corner and turn doing damn 185-190mph and the boat just handled like it was on rails.

We did a lot of running around on that boat that weekend but doing the shootout at that speed was incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg9qhI-AuRk


Me in the black tank top

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bug60ffrnU0

Thank you for sharing that. That literally brought tears to my eyes. It's great to see the community helping others enjoy what we love so much.

I was paid well to run.
Day one was 4-6' washing machine for about an hour and half at 60-70MPH
Day two was glass and came across a pod of dolphins, hundreds!
It was sunny where I was and crap at home.
I got two days off work.
It was all legit, I even had to get an extra insurance binder.
I'd do it again in a heart beat.