On Safety by John Belton

John Belton of PWCOFFSHORE speaks off the cuff on PWC safety, an interesting perspective (picture of Belton on 10/26/2008 on the backside of Catalina Island)

"I have been hedging for years if should get an EPIRB or not. This letter has just pushed me to get one. You know one thing you touched on, which I would like to elaborate some more on is Seamanship. And just what is that? Good seamanship starts at the Ramp or in the garage, it plays a role when you are washing your craft down. When I am washing my pwc off, It is not just for cleaning purposes; I am also looking for things that might be wrong. Loose wires, hose clamps, nuts bolts, etc. When I am done cleaning my boat, I remove every drop of water out of the bilge area. The bilge area is the lowest point in the hull so likely any loose "parts" will find their way there. If I find a broken zip tie down there, I find out where that zip tie came from! Alot of people treat their pwc's like they are "dirt bikes on the water". Nothing could be further from the truth. Alot of accidents at sea can be prevented by keeping the pwc as mechanically "ship shape" as possible. Of course there will be some breakdowns here and there; a pwc has alot of moving parts so some mechanical misshaps will happen. But if thru good Seamanship some of those can be prevented, I think that's a good thing."

SAFETY IS ALWAYS FIRST, Never ride in the ocean unless you are prepared.

LB2CAT Training Ride, 10/26/2008

Top Picture is Jim Walker. Picture to right is Cheng Leu and Kim Bushong

SUBJECT: LB2CAT Training Ride 10/26/08 by Ralph Perez (Guest writer) This morning at 0’dark thirty I wake up to the fog horn that sounds like its right outside my window. Normally for me I don’t mind fog except that today is the much anticipated LB2CAT training ride called by non other than “Famous Friebe”. If you own a Seadoo and you ride WOT or have recently raced you know who this is – if you don’t, he is the guy that can coax the maximum mph’s out of your Seadoo.If you haven’t yet gotten a copy of the video – 2008 LB2CAT Race – visit www.pwcoffshore.com the footage of the now famous Mark Gerner riding #58 SeaDoo built up by Famous Friebe is reason enough for purchasing a copy. The other reason for getting a copy is to remind you of why you bought that ski in the first place. So why not come join the rest of us for a “fun ride” next time; to the island and back.Yesterday the wife and I helped some friends move a 40’ sailboat from San Pedro to its new slip in Long Beach. The sea was like pond water all morning. By 6:30 p.m. that evening the San Pedro Channel (waters between the mainland and Catalina Island) was covered in fog with Catalina Island totally exposed. This made for a great picture as they were all low lying clouds with clear skies. It was no surprise what this morning would be like for me.As you may recall, my ’08 Ultra 250X broke down on me last Sunday as I was leaving Two Harbors, Catalina Island while riding with John Belton. Some electrical issue is all I know at this point.When I left my house this morning the visibility was about one mile. As I approached the last bridge into Long Beach from San Pedro the visibility kept dropping until I pulled up to the launch ramp. In no time flat I counted fifteen PWC riders that showed up for this mornings ride.Most had made the early morning journey all the way from Fresno, California to do this ride. Fog or no fog everyone was itching to get going. By 0830 all riders were in the water and heading towards the Queen Mary.I was pulling up the rear as Jim had outfitted me with one of his handy dandy camera cams so I could record the ride. I got some great footage of the riders heading into the fog; the Queen Mary and then some more riders (how could they see) and fog.Unfortunately, the great footage of the dolphins and the sun breaking through about 5-6 miles out did not make it. Seems the SeaDoo also likes to go fast and in no time flat the RAM suction mount holding the digital camera fly’s up in the air; the length of its cord and directly back at me, possibly bouncing off my helmet before it comes back down at full force right on top of my $400.00 Garmin 76CX; splitting the screen wide open.A short while later (9 miles from Avalon) to be exact; my assigned “Wing Man” Kim Bushong looked like he was dead in the water; and so I return to him. He quickly tells me he is taking on water fast! Dejavu I say. Maybe there is a Catalina Triangle and we are dead smack in the middle of it; come to think of it I haven’t seen the other 14 riders since we entered the fog bank.Bermuda doesn’t have to be the only place with these kind of weird waters. Seems I recall that according to her book Weird Michigan; author Linda S. Godfrey believes there is also a Michigan Triangle located over central Lake Michigan and now I’m starting to think there is one out here too. Right over there I tell Kim, four miles up the road; that’s where my Ultra started taking on water and where I was starting to sink.Could it be human error? Not on this occasion; it turns out it was just a disconnected engine cooling line (lower bottom – by the supercharger belt) only we didn’t find this out until we got back to the launch ramp. That was a 19.8 mile tow according to my broken but, still visible Garmin screen.Just call me SeaTowDoo from now on. I towed Kim at 25 mph with him riding on the back of my ski. Maybe this will make a good retirement job. I’ll sell tow service just for PWC’s. Only I know there are only a handful of you that ride anymore than two or three times a year so I won’t be making much money. Thanks to my previous breakdown (read Almost Sunk my Ultra 250X article) I purchased a new 100’ of (5/8) poly pro line and cut it in half. 50’ went to the my GTX and 50’ went to my Ultra.So you’re interested in joining this little group on a future ride to the island I’ve set up a FAQ (pronounced FAK) or list of "frequently-asked questions" (and answers) for you that may help. So here goes. (stolen and changed from my earlier Key West Ride Article)Q: How much experience do I need to ride to Catalina Island?A: Experience is how we avoid mistakes. Mistakes are how we gain experience. Does this answer your question? If not, we will just call it a “learning experience”.Q: How dangerous is it to venture out to Catalina Island?A: Why it’s like filing your taxes which you will soon be doing; and as dangerous as only you decide to make it. Show up with no GPS, cell phone, VHF radio or do not wear a wet suit – man now that’s dangerous.Q: What about the Bermuda Triangle – I read that ships magically disappear?A: Don’t worry about it we’ve got our own. The main reason for so many mysterious happenings is due to the San Pedro Channel being at its strongest, and wickedest, as it flows through this so-called triangle. Toss into the mix of Santa Ana’s, Catalina Express, tugs, supertankers, inebriation, carelessness, waterspouts, rogue waves and it’s a wonder any of us ever make it back alive.Q: I only ride my PWC on a lake – will I get seasick and is there a cure for seasickness?A: Yeah. Go sit on the shady side of the Queen Mary and wave at the Catalina Express as it goes by.Q: What should I do if a shark attacks?A: Ride like hell. Remember, they usually only attack the boat that is sinking.Q: Shouldn’t you be worried about pirates when offshore?A: That was earlier this year. Buccaneer Days. There are modern day pirates in some parts of the globe, but not with any frequency in these parts. You face a far more chance of being abducted in Belmont Shores than offshore on your ski.Q: What happens if I lose sight of land and get lost?A: In the rare event that every one of our GPS’s fails, or that a flying camera comes crashing down on your GPS and breaks it (hey, this really did happen) just head northward but don’t do what Columbus did.A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner. - English proverbSee you on the water!Trawlercat is a USCG licensed Captain and former boating instructor.__________________ By TrawlerCat AKA Ralph Perez

IJSBA 2008 World Finals Results (Closed Course)

10/12/2008: American Craig Warner of Kawasaki wins the 2008 PROAM (Closed Course) IJSBA World Championship in Lake Havasu City, AZ for the second year in a row!

Franky Zappata of France wins the GP (Closed Course) IJSBA World Championship.

Once again, Shawn Alladio and K38 Safety engages in flawless execution of safety management on the course at World Finals.

2008 Long Beach To Catalina and Back APBA Offshore PWC National Championship DVD

For more infomration on PWC Offshore and endurance racing, click on http://www.pwcoffshore.com/

PRESS RELEASE
October 4, 2008
From: PWCOFFSHORE.com: The Core Website for PWCOffshore Endurance Team Racers, Catalina and Offshore Riders from around the World!

PWCOFFSHORE.com is pleased to announce the release of the 2008 APBA Long Beach to Catalina & Back PWC Offshore National Championship Race DVD on Friday October 10, 2008. The DVD will be made available for sale via PWCOFFSHORE.com. Gerner of PWCOFFSHORE.com stated "Working closely with IBall Productions, PWCOFFSHORE has generated some of the finest PWC offshore endurance racing footage we've seen to date. The heavy sea-state, speed of the watercraft combined with the intensity of many of the racers resulted in some truly awesome footage. This includes footage of a PROAM1 racer doing a get-off at well over 70 mph which is an amazing thing to watch on a big-screen." The promoter of the event Ross Wallach of RPM Racing Enterprises stated that "If you couldn't have been there to watch the race, having the vantage point from the helicopter is absolutely the next best thing, probably even better! I am excited about the growth of the LB2CAT PWC event and look forward to the races that will follow in the years to come. We thank PWCOFFSHORE for using the DVD as a platform to show this truly epic PWC offshore endurance race to the rest of the world."

PWCOFFSHORE wishes to thank the following DVD Sponsors for their support. The DVD would not have happened without these sponsor's support and we are all truly grateful to: PWCOFFSHORE.com, NOBLE Racing, GreenHulk.net PWC Performance Forums, 4-tecperformance.com, Rude Performance, St Pete Rental Properties, JetTrendz and David Walker, Florida Team Moto Racing and Skip Holmes, R&D Racing Products, Clawson Motorsports, Steve Friebe, Vanick Racing

PWCOFFSHORE also wishes to thank Kevin Shaw of Personal Watercraft Illustrated (PWI) and Jason Johnson of WatercraftWorld Magazine for their great coverage and support of the event!

Enjoy the DVD!

PWCOFFSHORE

You will also find an interview with Craig Warner, the 2008 APBA PWC Offshore National Champion on the DVD. Craig Warner provides feedback on how he trains for offshore racing and he addresses recommenations for new offshore racers considering racing in the offshore niche.

www.pwcoffshore.com

Steve Friebe of PWCOFFSHORE finishes in top ten at 2008 Florida Offshore Challenge

PROAM1 Racer Steve Friebe of PWCOFFSHORE.com finishes in the top ten at the 2008 Florida Offshore Challenge Race in August in Pompona Beach, Fl. Friebe was able to do so even after a craft propelled his craft into another boat resulting in Steve temporarily losing his craft. Friebe, riding his extremely fast SeaDoo RXP prevailed and returned to finish in the top ten. Congratulations Steve Friebe!

Overall Results: 1. KIRT DIVINE 1092. CURTIS REINBURG 1163. TYLER WHITE 9 4. MIKE YOUNTS 8005. RASHAD GOFF 1176. JEREMY SCHANDELMAYER 387. ERIC LAGOPOULOS 118. KEVIN GLEIZES 179. STEVE FRIEBE 310. PAUL PHAM 9911. CHENG LEU 18812. JEFF DYCKOWSKI 813 ALEX MORGAN 2114. HONEY GEE 3915. DARRYL SCHILLER 13516. DOUG SILVERSTIEN 5 17. JOE JOHNSON 19118. DOMINICK BARILLA 419. MARK MAGGERT 1020. KELLY BRYANT 31521. GERRY HAM 3422. ROSS NIEMOELLER 4023. VANCE RAMGEET 1624. RYAN SPEHN 1825. LEE PHAN DNF 8826. NICK VANIS DNF 127. ANDY WISE DNF 128. GEORGE SMITH DNF 1429. KELSEY COOPER DNF 32430. PAT ROQUE DNF 8131. DAVID WALKER DNF 1RIDERS UNACOUNTED FOR (NOT SCORED)TONY KWOLEK 261JOSH CERNY 111DOUG NEYER 7ERIC BROWN 300