Other Where is jetskiing going?

[WAB]

I think we all go though phases where it seems to be more of a chore or job than a fun hobby.
BUT, if you are not into it, just DON'T POST. You become a drag/downer/buzzkill to others on the site. Posting about the hobby & and not riding = NO FUN.

I feel F'ing great everytime I ride! I hope this shiz never goes away!!

F Yeah. Mondays, when I am nice & sore, I am already thinking of riding the next weekend.

 

[yamaslut]

As I my body gets beat up I'm less interested in aerial tricks and focus on surf riding. The knee shaking thrill of aerials has been replaced with the zen of wave riding. It may not photograph well but the feeling of a bottom turn is the best feeling. I think I'll be able to pull off bottom turns for a couple more decades.

yup, I try to keep my mull in the water now and find ways to excite myself w/o having to be 15ft up

 

[Moondance]

Interesting thread - I thought I was the only one losing interest. But I guess things change - life changes. Pretty much since the 90s I rode every weekend, weather permitting. After having moved a couple of years ago and the proverbial life altering circumstances, my ski now sits in my garage looking pretty. I guess when you lose your riding buddy(s) the fun is taken away too. Selling the ski becomes more of a reality as time passes.

 

[Matt_E]

I would have sold out long ago if I didn't have riding buddies.

 

[Moondance]

I would have sold out long ago if I didn't have riding buddies.

That makes all the difference. I've probably ridden 10 times in the last 2 yrs.

 

[Scorn800]

I still really enjoy riding. It's just I don't have the extra free time like I use to. Back before I was married or had our daughter. I would ride atleast 2x a week. This season I got about 15rides in and not once was it during the week. Last year I tried downsizing by selling my limited sxr but before long I had bought 2 back. I'm in it for the long haul, hell I have a mint 92 550 sx with my daughters name on it. I can't wait till she's my little riding partner.

 

[DangerBoy]

Ive been riding since 1984, Ive gone through all phases of jet ski ownership but I always find myself back in the surf
It has become more difficult to get out and ride , My original group of riders we would chase the swell and travel to get the best surf, burn several tanks each time we rode , had multiple skis ect. than life happens, children, jobs, wifes, divorces not to mention we are all nearly halfway to 100 in age

With that said , the quality of the Rides in the past couple of years has been awesome, and really what matters for me now. Quality over quantity
I've downsized from a bunch of older skis to one quality one, I also choose my rides for when there is good surf or a good crowd of friends,

to quote Ross Liberty (a long time ago) "as you get older Work gets more fun and fun gets to be more work"

But every time I have a good day in the surf , it adds to the future stories that I will have to tell about back in the day when we used to have these jet ski things that you stood on with 2 stroke motors in them

Db

 

[oxnard111]

Ive been riding since 1984, Ive gone through all phases of jet ski ownership but I always find myself back in the surf
It has become more difficult to get out and ride , My original group of riders we would chase the swell and travel to get the best surf, burn several tanks each time we rode , had multiple skis ect. than life happens, children, jobs, wifes, divorces not to mention we are all nearly halfway to 100 in age

With that said , the quality of the Rides in the past couple of years has been awesome, and really what matters for me now. Quality over quantity
I've downsized from a bunch of older skis to one quality one, I also choose my rides for when there is good surf or a good crowd of friends,

to quote Ross Liberty (a long time ago) "as you get older Work gets more fun and fun gets to be more work"

But every time I have a good day in the surf , it adds to the future stories that I will have to tell about back in the day when we used to have these jet ski things that you stood on with 2 stroke motors in them

Db

I'm glad I dragged your butt out to the surf to get back into this go-round. I remember the first time we rode together a couple years back you said "I usually only come out when the surf is huge, but I guess I'll ride today"... haha

 

[chriselmore_1]

I'm glad I dragged your butt out to the surf to get back into this go-round. I remember the first time we rode together a couple years back you said "I usually only come out when the surf is huge, but I guess I'll ride today"... haha

If I end up movin down to your neck of the woods you guyss better get excited quick like!

 

[BruceSki]

I dunno. I have seen a ton of new riders here and have spotted standups on trailers all the time. Maybe It's because We live on an island and there is water within 15 miles of you wherever you are, but there are definitely a lot of new guys getting into it. I think using the site traffic may not be an accurate judge because some people may not even know about it. For example, I spoke to a guy on the phone the other day calling about a craigslist add. He said he had a group of around 10-15 throughout the summer that would ride together. None of them had heard of pwctoday or x-h20. I think we forget that this is a niche sport and these sites are even more so.

However If the OEM's stop selling that is no good. Not sure what that will cause in the long run. I have been riding for about 10 years. Only 3 or 4 in the surf on a quality ski though. The early years were messing around on half running 440/550/650 skis in the bay, plus a few WR500's.

 

[Big Kahuna]

I think people will show for Daytona, it's just very hard to gauge the interest when people don't post about it... The hotels are all sold out or close to it so there will be people coming...

Not a jab, but have not seen much info posted by you about what all is planned. Parties, Watercross race again??? etc etc.................

The ride is not going to generate its own interest.

I do like the registration changes you made.

Who knows, maybe I will get a kitchen pass.

 

[Peter123]

Before I switched to wakesurfing, I used to wakeboard. I still go to that site (Gulf Coast Wakeboarding Association), because I have friends there. But even though wakeboarding has taken off in the last 5 years, the traffic to that site is 1/20th what it used to be just 4 years ago or maybe less. Not only that, but nobody seems to show up for wakeboarding events anymore either. Like I said, it's not a lack of interest in the sport, because we have 3 new wakeboard cable parks opening in Houston this Spring.

Here is an example of a recent post:

"Jeff - many have tried, but haven't had much luck. In the early days of GCWA, we had great events. However, it seems to have peaked and I'm not sure if anyone knows what happpend. It seems wakeboarding has grown as a sport, but getting anyone together is next to impossible. Maybe it was the outlaw bond everyone shared in the early days, there weren't many of us, so we made sure to hang out. Now we're easy to find and all over the place, have a messageboard to find riders, so going to events isn't needed to find more people. Who knows.

With that said, I haven't seen the passion to build the scene since the early days of the GCWA. We built a system and then seems we've just expected everyone to show up the last few years. I think most of us have grown up and don't have the time or energy to put towards it... and the next generation never really took over. So maybe there's opportunity to make it happen.

For me personally, my knee is shot, so I'm moving on to other hobbies."

In the off-topic section of that site, just 3 years ago, you'd have 10 new threads a day. As of today, the last reply to any thread on off-topic was 4 days ago and before that it was 15 days.

I don't think it's just this site or this sport that is encountering this.

 

[smoofers]

To half quote what's already been posted, here's my opinion. When I ride, it always feels like the best damn feeling and experience I had since the last time I rode. It is the one thing that completely clears my mind and puts my brain into happy mode. So what if my clapped out 650 square can't get up that quick, so what if I'm riding glassy flat water, so what if it's hot/cold/rainy/icy/windy. To me just getting to experience the thrill and "freedom" that a standup offers is something I will never burn out on. I have noticed though, that burning money and wrenching constantly will get old.

I honestly think that the OEMs pulling standups out of the market is not going to kill this sport. Sure, it doesn't help our progression, but how many people here go drop $8k at a dealer for a bone stock ski anymore? The main reason for the lack of traffic on the site and the seemingly slow death of standups is the current state of our economy. A large chunk of people that had skis on the high side of their priority list have been forced to focus on just paying the bills and having enough money to feed themselves/family, or worse... trying to start over after a job loss, foreclosure etc.

Skis aren't going anywhere in my opinion, but at the moment, a large chunk of riders are just struggling to survive.

Edit: To add to my point about the current economic situation affecting the amount of traffic on the site: When I have to focus on other priorities and know that skis are not even an option for a good while, I usually stay away from anything ski related (like the X) too keep my mind off of it.

 

[Sospikey]

I've ridden less this year. I work 200 miles from my home so the only riding time available is weekends. Sometimes I feel "the pressure" to ride, it's ride now or wait ´till next weekend. Plus I fked up my lower back last year, still have pain now and then. I try not to overdo it, riding 3-4 days could be too much of the good. I'll turn 40 next year and I feel that you need to take better care of yourself if you want to last in this sport. I more or less force myself to "cross-train"; ride bikes, inlines, work-out AND ski to make sure not to get injured.
BUT, since I just landed a new job nearer home I hope to put some more time on the ski next year.

 

[mademan9]

Why don't we have more advertisements for stand ups? I go to barnes and nobles and see no magaZines. Plenty of surf, boating, and wakeboarding. I wish we had more . I get so excited when wetracer comes in. this sport should be on espn like all the other extreme sports.

 

[Rickster]

When I was riding flat water, I found that as time went on, I was drinking more than riding... Good friends are what kept me there, otherwise I would be out on the boat with the Family.

Now that I have moved, and the surf (good surf) is 15 minutes away, I want to ride every week, regardless if the surf is there or not. Flatwater is damn expensive and can be damn boring, I personally think surf is where it is at and Freeriding will stay strong for a long time to come.

 

[Idok]

I still have trouble sleeping on saturday night for the exitement of riding the next day...even if the surf is crap, I still like to get out and enjoy time on the water



LBE's sig IMO always put it best:

noone ever looked back and said they should have spent more time at the office..



and it will be the COLDEST day in hell when you catch me at home on a sunday watching a football game....when it gets to that point just shoot me

 

[Charlie_Hustle]

As I my body gets beat up I'm less interested in aerial tricks and focus on surf riding. The knee shaking thrill of aerials has been replaced with the zen of wave riding. It may not photograph well but the feeling of a bottom turn is the best feeling. I think I'll be able to pull off bottom turns for a couple more decades.

Best description EVER!!

 

[SJBrit]

I rode one time last year because of surgeries and injuries. Part way through the year I was going nuts, but by the end of the year I just wasn't thinking much about skis anymore. But I really wanted to ragain the passion, so I did a major makeover on my ski last winter and this year has been better than ever! I almost never get to ride with other skiers, but 90% of the time it's is with other people - we take friends out on the boat and play all day. I love letting people ride my ski, I love it that people love watching me ride, and I love it that my skills are improving and I still get a thrill out of it. I'm in this for a while.

 

[enzo]

Facebook has killed some X traffic as well.