Get the adrenalin flowing by watching the Outlaw Eagle 2011 World Jet Boat Marathon in northern and central Alberta from July 1 to 9.
Up to 70 teams from around the world will race their boats in waterways around Hay River, Whitecourt, Peace River and Grande Prairie. Spectators can a find spot along one of these rivers and watch boats hit speeds up to 200 kilometres per hour.
Final preparations and inspections will wrap up on July 1, when the festivities will kick off with a show and shine, a Canada Day parade and a fish fry, and the races will begin the next day.
Starting in the community of Hay River, N.W.T., jet boats will roar 78 kilometres down the waterway of the same name to Louise Falls and back. Peace River, Grande Prairie and Whitecourt are other racing locations as the marathon continues through the week.
Whitecourt is where the racers will finish their run, and the winners will be recognized at an awards banquet on July 9. The event rotates every year between Canada, the U.S.A., Mexico and New Zealand.
Meet the racers
Gordon Humphreys is a jet boat racer based in Fort McMurray, Alberta, who has participated in jet boat marathons in all four countries and won the event in 2005. He began racing in 2002 with an entry-level sport jet 240 that topped out at roughly 100 kilometres an hour.
The need for speed hooked him and Humphreys soon tracked down a bigger boat with better performance and jumped full feet into the unlimited class.
"I just wanted to be competitive and be faster, so I went into B class to step it up," said Humphreys. "Then B class wasn't fast enough either, so I went to unlimited."
Humphreys describes the Canadian course as a "big speed race," whereas the New Zealand marathon is more technically challenging.
While he can reach speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour, Humphreys still has to be wary of hazards like rough whitewater and rocks.
International representation
Ryan Ringer hails from Gold Beach, Oregon, and has been riding in jet boats for about 10 years but got behind the wheel in 2006, when he won the A class world title in Mexico.
Tim Harding, a fellow jet boat racing enthusiast, showed him the ropes of racing jet boats and Ringer hasn't looked back since.
"The feeling of pure horsepower combined with something I really love to do—which is boat—it's a passion, I guess," Ringer said.
Ringer's boat—a 21-foot Eagle—has a groundbreaking feature in that it was the first to be powered by a helicopter turbine. That's right—a helicopter jet engine.
The idea was the brainchild of Harding, and he worked with Ringer to seek out and acquire all the necessary parts for the installation.The pair were able to get the unit working on their first build attempt and managed to reach top speeds over 220 kilometres an hour.
While racing jet boats is something Ringer enjoys, the sport also enables him to travel to other countries like Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.
"I've been to all these places that I probably wouldn't go unless it was to race," Ringer said. "It's fun and I've met a lot of good friends."
Comments