The Jet Ski

I sat my butt on one for the first time a few weeks ago on the Colorado River when the weather was still hot.  I was in Laughlin and rented a jet ski, a model probably the equivalent of a Ford Taurus at a car rental place.  Not super a pro design or super sleek.  They wouldn’t rent those to people.  Mine was a very stable, very floaty jet ski with blue and white designs.

Now, I am an athletic person who has done a fair amount of water sports; surfing, boogie-boarding, single ski water-skiing, snow boarding, snow skiing, tubing, etc.  So it’s surprising, especially to me, that at age 44, I had never been on a jet ski.  I mean, my friend’s father actually invented the Wet Bike, a predecessor Jet Ski product.  But I got on and started jet skiing away!

I was actually quite astonished and delighted at how free I felt on the thing.  With just a pull of my right index finger on the throttle, I was up and away; I could go from here to there in just a matter of a few hair-blowing seconds.  I could get from our river-camp site to the dam about a mile up the river in a few minutes short cutting lines and angles atop the water.  I loved the feeling of moving through large amounts of space at my finger’s whim. 

The Colorado, despite the 105-degree air temperature that day, was chilly to say the least.  And yet, when I would throttle up my jet ski, say up to 40 miles per hour or so, the hot wind would blow against my face at such a force that tears formed from the sides of my eyes.  It was exhilarating.

I really enjoyed jet skiing.  It was about time!