Feb. 13, 2006 – Making Waves

PWCs top list of most stolen boats in U.S.
Three personal watercrafts top the list of most frequently stolen boats in the U.S., according to a list released Jan. 19 by the Boat Owners Association of the United States.
Yamaha’s Waverunner topped the list with Kawasaki’s Jet Ski second and Bombardier/Sea Doo being third on the list, a first of its kind from the boat advocacy group.
Seaworthy, a newsletter from BoatU.S., put together the list by looking at recreational vessel theft data from the past five years of association claims.
“The problem with owning a popular brand of boat is that other people want to ‘own’ it too,” said Bob Adriance, Seaworthy’s editor.
In addition to the most frequently stolen brands of boats, Adriance also found that 90 percent of all boats were stolen while on their trailer.
Australia gets first Motosurf World Champion ship
The International Jet Sports Boating Association recently announced that Australia will host the first Motosurf World Championship on Feb. 26 in the scenic Gold Coast of Queensland. World championship titles will be awarded in Pro Runabout Open, Pro Ski Open, Amateur Runabout Open and Amateur Ski Open.
“This is an exciting development for personal watercraft racing,” said Scott Frazier, IJSBA’s managing director. “Initially we had planned on having Northern and Southern Hemisphere championships with a points contest to determine the Motosurf World Champion host location for 2007. However, affiliates from other potential Motosurf locations have opted to host other premiere IJSBA-sanctioned events, which will be announced shortly.”
According to Frazier, the plan is to have three-to-four premiere title events outside of the United States, although the world finals will remain in the United States as always.
“Aside from closed-course racing, there are other classifications of PWC competitions that are deserving of world championship recognition,” said Frazier. “These would include surf competitions, indoor racing, endurance and free ride-type of contests.”
The IJSBA plans to rotate some of the venues, as well as to allow different affiliates to host the events.
Ross Moore, president of the Australian Jet Sports Boating Association, an IJSBA affiliate, is looking forward to the event. “This was the next logical step for our Australian Surf Moto World Cup,” he said. “As we have been attracting more international competitors to this event, we already have formed a racer base sufficient for a world championship title. This sanctioning will allow us to showcase that Australia has some of the world’s best locations for personal watercraft riding and competitions.”
Sea-Doo takes part in tow-at competition
Sea-Doo continued to broaden its audience by handling the grunt work at the Red Bull Tow-At Surfing competition, held mid-January, in Sebastian Inlet, Fla.
The PWC-pulled completion was part of the Globe Sebastian Inlet Pro surf contest, the largest pro surfing contest held on the East Coast. That contest featured a $75,000 purse, as well as a new Sea-Doo GTI.
The first of its kin “tow-at” portion of the competition was an invitation-only event, with nine lucky riders being pulled into the waves by a Red Bull-branded Sea-Doo GTI. Each competitor was allowed 20 minutes to be towed “at” as many waves as possible, pulling off a collection of aerial maneuvers for the crowd of 1,500 spectators assembled on the beach. Utilizing the power of the Sea-Doo, competitors were able to catch significantly more waves than would be possible by paddling alone.
2006 Rule Book Released
Race competitors also got a look at the International Jet Sports Boating Associations much-anticipated 2006 Rule Book. Significant updates include allowing a manufacturer to qualify for sanctioned competition with less than the normal 500 unit build if they produce a minimum of 100 identical units of one model, indicate in writing that the model will have production numbers less than 500, and inform the IJSBA as to the status, location, and/or purchaser of each unit produced.
The IJSBA must also be allowed to broker the sale of up to 25% of the total units produced in order to ensure distribution to IJSBA competition members. Further information on the rule book can be found at the association’s Web site, www.ijsba.com. psb