Yes, I saw this sport also. It seems to be on fairly regularly. I
immediately called it Boat-X. The similarities are interesting. They also
announced that next year there will be two tour events in the US. Did not
hear where but I'd travel to see it. Check it out if you get the chance.
Regards,
Alan
On Saturday, July 31, 1999 7:52 PM, Rocky Entriken
[SMTP:RENTRIKEN/0003006623@MCIMAIL.COM] wrote:
> Just saw something weird and wild on ESPN2 -- they call it jet sprinting.
> >From New Zealand, although at the end they said there would be a couple
of
> rounds in the USA next year, one in Idaho, the other ... I forget.
Wisconsin?
>
> autocross in boats.
>
> Event site is this area that looks like a double figure-8 carved into the
> ground and filled with water, most of it rather narrow. I don't know fir
sure
> but it looked like the water may have been somewhere between waist- to
> shoulder-high at most.
>
> Boats go one at A time on a predetermined course through the channels,
taking
> a run of 50-55 seconds. Now I wanna tell ya, these things HANDLE. Driver
comes
> to a turn, cranks that sucker over and it sends A 25-foot rooster tail out
as
> it cuts the turn.
>
> No pylons. the course loops back and forth through the channels, retracing
> several sections. How do they keep track of where it goes? Each boat has a
> navigator who directs the driver with hand signals, left, right, straight.
> I'd guess he's the one with the map. Imagine an autocross with options of
> left turn here or right, and what do you do next time you arrive here? So
> maybe it is more like Pro Rally on water.
>
> Of course, instead of a 2-second pylon penalty, cut the course edge too
close
> and you are "on the beach", which can get really interesting. One boat dis
> ... did a basic spinout, about 1-1/2 around. But another ... it hit one
island
> semi-sideways, launched, and then it was sky-ground-sky-water-sky-ground
before
> he hit on the next island over. Then I noticed, these boats have roll
cages!
>
> Announcers mentioned one had a 410 Chevy (!) for power so these are
definitely
> CP-type boats. Fascinating. But I wanter what the application was for the
boat
> that had the Firestone sticker on its side?
>
> Instead of best-time like we do in Solo, they ran a bracket more like drag
> racing. Two boats match, the best time of those two go on to the next
round.
> Kinda like my Mirror Khana, keep winning and you keep running. But imagine
a
> drag race with only a one-lane race track and it is purely a timed thing.
>
> If you put C Prepared on water, this is what it would be!
>
> --Rocky Entriken
|