2018 Yamaha Variety Jet Trek wraps up in big seas

The 2018 Yamaha Variety Jet Trek from Sydney to Yamba has raised a record $380,000, eclipsing the previous high of $270,000 set last year — pushing the total raised over 20 years beyond $2 million.

In order to raise the bounty, the field of 115 jet ski riders braved heavy storms, wild bar crossings and up to four-metre swells in the 700km ocean ride over six days, including a rest day at the halfway mark.

The morning leg from Port Macquarie was cancelled due to severe weather, but after conditions eased most of the field was back on the water for the afternoon ride from South West Rocks to Coffs Harbour on Day Five.

WILD RIDE
Boatsales.com.au took part in this year's Jet Trek, only our second time participating in the event. It's safe to say it is more of a test of endurance than a race against the clock.

Jet ski riding might look easy — one mate even asked "don't you get bored?" — but there is no more exhilarating yet physically-demanding experience on the water.

Every single wave, every single patch of water is different from the last.

Because you're travelling at speed — up to 70km/h in the rough, even though these jet skis are capable of 110km/h-plus — you've got less time to make the right call.

The 4-metre swell with 10-second intervals was like riding through a giant moving corkscrew. The waves were the size of sand dunes. Some loomed so large on the horizon I thought we were approaching a small island - until I saw the island move.

Fortunately, they weren't steep, so most of the time you could thread your way through them at a decent pace.

In these conditions, keeping an eye on your group and your buddy is as much a challenge as the riding itself. Not only do you only get a glimpse of them every 10 seconds at best — if you're close enough — but sometimes it's hard to know if you're seeing their spray or the caps of the waves.

If you turn your head to check on a mate alongside or behind, you end up nearly coming off because you've missed valuable milliseconds of what's going on in front of you.

If you slow down, you lose your rhythm. There's a fine line between going too fast and too slow. Going slow is often more brutal on the ski and your body because you're hitting bumps more often.

WALLS OF WATER
Hit a wall of water the wrong way and it feels like you've just been given two black eyes and a broken nose — despite the fact I was wearing goggles and a full-face helmet. Other waves hit so hard you can feel the salt water in the back of your eyeballs.

Sometimes a wave is 2 metres when you approach it, but drops away to 4 metres on the other side.

Swearing at the ocean — I've even invented some new words — didn't help, no matter how many times I did it. The ocean wins every time.

The other tactic is to try someone else's path. Everyone else looks like they're doing it easier than you or has better water than you. So, you wander over to where they are and ... it's just as horrendous.

I favoured riding as far away from the shore as possible, in the hope I would get less kickback from the ocean bouncing off the coast. I was so close to New Zealand at times I almost got a Kiwi accent.

Eventually you have to hug the coast and cop the same beating as everyone else, where you watch your more experienced colleagues in absolute awe.

EXPERIENCED RIDE TEAM
I was privileged to ride in Team Red, led by the only two people who have done all 20 Jet Treks, brothers Paul and Peter Locock. Their support crew Gary Boon has also done all 20 events, but not always as a rider.

There are no conditions these boys haven't seen. All the team leaders — including our 'unofficial' team leader Matt Brown, a legend of the sport who with a handful of other hardened jet skiers, rode from Melbourne to Sydney as a warm up the week before the trek — are experienced riders and keep everyone safe.

When you ask Matt Brown how he can travel so fast across such rough conditions - while making it look so easy - he shrugs and says "just hold on".

A personal thanks goes to my designated riding buddy Matt Bowen — a veteran of nine Jet Treks — who kept a good pace and great company.

Likewise, thanks go to the rest of Team Red — the list is too long to include here, but they know who they are.

Special mention also goes to the honorary Team Red member from the Roads and Maritime Service who joined us for the final day. Captain anonymous fell off his jet ski — with red and blue lights flashing — just before leading us into the last boat ramp within sight of the finish.

The biggest mention of all, however, goes to the Queensland Variety Children’s Charity organisers and volunteers. The event would not exist without their tireless efforts.

EMOTIONAL FINISH
The Jet Trek car park gives you a good idea of the blokes this event attracts. There are pimped-out pick-ups from the USA, double-cab Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max utes, few of them left stock.

These are boys who work hard — to be able to afford their 'toys' — and play hard.

However, they all have heart, not only to withstand the conditions, but when they hear the stories of the disadvantaged or sick kids they're helping.

Every night Variety Jet Trek shows the audience exactly where their money goes, whether it's a computer, special equipment for a burns survivor, or better access to mobility.

On most occasions some of the kids and families are brave enough to stand up on stage to have their story told in front of an audience of 250 people. There's not a dry eye in the room, including table after table of blokes who look like front-row forwards.

WOMEN RIDERS
There are plenty of women participating — and holding their own against the men. They are wives, girlfriends, daughters. They are the sensible ones in the field.

When conditions turn nasty it's hard for men to stay on terra firma. The reality is you're brave whether you're on or off the water.

Those who decided to sit out a leg or two because of their injuries or the conditions — or both — deserve kudos for not bowing to peer pressure, and not potentially putting rescuers at risk.

It's a big call to stay on land in a fast-paced environment, but for anyone considering this event for the first time there's a simple message: if you're not feeling it, don't do it. There's always another day on the water.

PHYSICAL TEST
It's called the Variety Jet Trek but it could be called the Voltaren Jet Trek.

After chatting about the day's near misses the talk quickly turns to injuries.

A simple friendly "how you going" is often met with a checklist of aches, pains and bruises.

It's actually a relief to hear these stories because then you realise you're not the only one sore from head to toe and struggling with the hotel stairs.

Every rider has a grab bag of painkillers, gels, ointments, anti inflammatories, you name it.

Over the week I ended up spending as much at local Chemists as I did on food.

If you can find a sports-physio massage joint in the towns along the way, the next battle is getting an appointment. The veterans of the sport have booked ahead and most are booked out.

I found someone in the Yellow Pages who could squeeze me in. There were certificates on the wall but they must have belonged to someone else.

I asked for help with my shoulders, arms and neck and she started randomly poking my tummy.

Then she had me lie on the floor and she started shoving me with her calloused feet.

Then she bent my arm as if she was about to break it. When I politely indicated I was uncomfortable she said "good, that means it's working".

The only thing that was working was her scam to fleece unsuspecting punters. I left in more pain than when I arrived, and $60 lighter.

BACK FOR MORE IN 2019
As for jet ski riding in the rain, it's actually a relief to taste fresh water instead of the constant spray of salt in your mouth.

They key is to drink as much water as possible to combat the effects of dehydration from the salt. I went through two to three litres of fresh water a day — and, er, about 10 litres of salt water by my reckoning …

Despite all of the above, I will be back for the Yamaha Variety Jet Trek in 2019. That's because while you may experience some of the worst conditions you will ever ride in, you will also experience the best — and do so with a great bunch of people who are just as mad as you are.

There are plenty of other opportunities to get involved and ride in the Yamaha Variety Jet Trek interstate in 2018. - Jet Ski Josh.

Mid-race 2018 Yamaha Variety Jet Trek race update by Jet Ski Josh.
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