V8 driver Todd Kelly will ride a jet ski to Tasmania: Exclusive

Take one stock Kawasaki Ultra LX Jet Ski, include a few custom mods like an extra fuel tank, then add V8 Supercar driver Todd Kelly with an audacious plan to cross Bass Strait and return.

Yep, you heard it right, the motorsports boss from Mildura — and carsales.com.au racing team driver —  has just announced his next big challenge. But unlike anything this high-profile V8 Supercar driver has accomplished before, the jet ski odyssey comes out of left field or, rather, the backseat of a road trip with mates.

Todd says he was tossing up ideas for his next big life challenge when he hit on a Bass Strait crossing with a jet ski. He will be joined by cohorts Robert O’Brien from a Victorian engineering business, and Bryan Hands from Hands On Kawasaki in Lilydale.

With a fuel stop and overnighter at Flinders Island, it’s going to be a four-day trip travelling 350-400km one way and that far back again. The departure point will be Port Welshpool and the ‘top mark’ will be the Tamar River.

THE MOTIVATION
Why put yourself through a Bass Strait ‘washing machine’ crossing for four days straddling a jet ski?

Todd says it’s simply the challenge that motivates him. As we tour his ‘man shed’ in Chelsea Heights, squeeze past classic cars, hot bikes and his V8 ski-race ‘superboat’, we arrive at the Kawasaki Jet Skis in build.

"It’s a whole new discipline. Not too many have been there and back on a jet ski.

"And I’ll raise money for the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard… Who knows, I might need them," he quips.

THE JET SKI OF CHOICE
The Kawasaki Jet Ski of choice is the Ultra LX model. For several reasons…

"Going the fastest is no use," Todd says, almost unbelievably. "This has the same basic engine as the 310hp supercharged model only it’s naturally aspirated. We’re going for reliability and economy."

That said, Todd has clearly been busy modifying his Kawasaki Ultra LX Jet Ski to safely make the long journey to Tasmania and back.

He has added a custom 60-litre fuel tank on a rear rack to boost the standard 78-litre supply. The roto-moulded poly fuel tank sits tight in a stainless-steel frame, with an easily-accessible electric switch to a transfer tank on the dash.

In addition to the ski’s existing 220-litres of inbuilt storage, Todd’s added a custom waterproof case to the rear rack for the essential gear he needs to keep dry. This includes an array of spares.

He has also mounted a bilge pump in the hull with float and dash switch.

SAFETY FIRST
A fully waterproof Lowrance VHF radio with AIS (the automatic identification system used to track ships) is mounted on a custom aluminium billet dash panel.

Below this is a Lowrance Hook 4 chirp sounder and GPS plotter, which has IPX7 waterproof rating and includes Australian charts.

Of course, there will be EPIRBS onboard and each rider will have a personal beacon, plus a satellite phone, and possibly helmet cameras.

"We’ll be wearing full-length wetsuits and PFDs with head support," Todd adds, as he straddles the saddle, and looks keen to go.

But at this point there’s a fair bit left to do, not least some open-water test riding.

PICKING A WEATHER WINDOW
"I’ve undertaken four runs in the bay (Port Phillip) to date and been through The Heads once. Each test run has been four hours. If conditions are bad it will be a challenge, but we’re all quite sensible about the magnitude of the task," he says.

Todd says he’s engaged three top weather experts to identify the right window for his four-day jet ski odyssey. So when is he leaving?

"We’re not locking in a departure date. We’re dictated by the weather. But it will be in early 2017," he says, with his arms on the handlebars of the Kawasaki Ultra LX Jet Ski.

Bass Strait is twice as wide and twice as rough as the English Channel. With an average water depth of just 60m, the infamous Strait is known for its huge swells and storm-force seas.

But while it has been crossed by motorboats and yachts, a Laser sailing dinghy and rowboat, sea kayaks and windsurfer, to the best of our knowledge, no jet ski has been there and back. Watch this space for Todd's next big adventure.

More on the Kawasaki Jet Skis in Australia at www.kawasaki.com.au/jet-skis.