We are still on top of the world after the success and support of the first ever Jetskifishing CannonBall Run. I have been enjoying the sport and inspiring others to get involved with this fun and exciting lifestyle for over 7 years. Now I’m proud to achieve the milestone of our latest 100th Jetskifishing report. For something different, some of the more passionate Jetskifishos, enthusiastically got behind the Heart Foundation cause.
Personally I spend many hours on the water, educating others to get out to enjoy what Jetskifisho’s call, “living the dream”. You can’t beat the tranquillity and freedom we experience with Jetskifishing, and in one of those moments out on the water, thinking of the many years of pleasure that I have enjoyed, I wondered how I could somehow give back from the sport to a charity.
Back in October 2012, I unexpectedly suffered a Heart Attack, which was close to being fatal. After being misdiagnosed repeatedly, I eventually admitted myself to hospital a day later. Fortunately, everything worked out for the best after an urgent coronary admission and a team of staff who gave me the best care possible. With so much uncertainty over my future, I was still more worried about everyone else than myself. During this time, I decided that if I returned to full health, I would try and do all I could to raise awareness of the risks associated with heart health. At one stage, I was unsure if I would even be able to ever Jetskifish again! My ill-health was largely due to hereditary genetics and fortunately after two stents and ongoing care, I am on track for a strong recovery. After a very positive outcome, it was easy to find a worthy cause that we Jetskifisho’s could support.
The format of the charity ride was kept simple, so that the charity would receive 100% of the proceeds because the fundraising would not involve any unnecessary expense, just our participants’ commitment and involvement. As a group we raised money with each individual rider’s campaigns in three different class’s, raising awareness with their own personal take of why they were involved.
Being an endurance ride on a 25 mile course, including a sprint running start and finish, the riders left in 30 second intervals with a goal to complete their own personal best time as individuals.
The fundraisers in each class who raised the highest amount of money for our charity, chose which starting order they preferred.
Our charity ride was all about having fun and involving any on looking public. This included an entertaining running sprint on the soft sand, to finish the individual times with a cool cup of Spring water.
Our long time Jetskifisho, Brent Martin chose to start first, after raising the most ($935) in the Master’s Class (50+ age bracket). The start was greeted with applause from the many sponsors who came down to Eastern Beach to support the riders.
A few of our riders starting...
Normally I don’t participate in the events I organise, but after the challenges of my recovery, my comrades got into the spirit of the cause giving it their all to raise the money with lots of fun and competitive spirit against each other.
Fortunately we had a great day’s riding in brilliant conditions, with only a slight chop in parts of our predetermined course and the occasional ferry and boat wakes to negotiate. The event was council/maritime endorsed and we also included support boats with marshals at the main beach.
What a fun ride at full throttle, with each rider trying to get the edge over their fellow Jetskifisho’s. The skis themselves did not have a big variance in speed on the overall course, with the real difference being the dismount at the beach and the finishing run section. I knew I had the New Zealand Jetskifishing Club VP, Dave Johnson, hot on my tail the whole time, but I was determined not to let my sponsors down by putting in a committed effort. All our riders had the same desire to put in a full effort to make the event successful and to raise money for the Heart Foundation. Therefore, it was a win-win for everyone on the day.
The video of some of the more memorable dismounts is well worth a look! And I am sure everyone would agree, that this is one of the best days we’ve enjoyed as a group on the water!
Here are the full results of the team showing them giving back to a wonderful cause for the community. I know many of these guys are mates who dug in deep for me personally. It means a lot to me having seen what the riders and all our individual sponsors did for the cause. This is a credit to all, with every cent making a difference, from the riders who signed up at the last minute, to the massive campaigns like Mark’s raising $3,381!
MASTERS CLASS
Brent Martin $935 FX HO 0:29:32 1
Bruce Clarke $680 SHO DNF 6
Stu McMillan $390 FX HO 0:29:45 2
Kobie Nortje $320 VX 0:51:17 5
John Simich $250 Sea-Doo Gti 0:37:59 4
Richard Scown $235 Sea-Doo Wake 0:33:52 3
NATURALLY ASPIRATED CLASS
Andrew Hill $1,335 FX HO Cruiser 0:28:50 1
David Johnson $1,050 FX HO 0:29:12 2
Peter Jacobsen $645 FX HO 0:31:16 5
Matthew Wales $466 FX HO 0:29:37 3
Eddie Braun $430 Sea-Doo Wake 0:33:34 9
Anthony Nel $375 Sea-Doo GTX 0:33:19 8
James McNeill $270 FX HO Cruiser 0:30:45 4
Peter BG $210 Sea-Doo GTX 0:32:06 7
Bryan Simpson $100 FX HO Cruiser 0:31:54 6
Shanon Hope $50 FX HO Cruiser DNS 10
OPEN CLASS
Mark Greenfield $3,381 SHO 0:27:42 1
Andrew Howard $1,145 Sea-Doo RXT 0:35:13 2
TOTAL GROUP FUNDS RAISED $12,267
Some great prizes were presented courtesy of the team at Logitech which were the new BOOM’s. They are a fantastic new product and now available at Jetskifishing Store.
After a physical day on the water, it was great to finish it off with a BBQ and relaxing in the spa!
It was a memorable day for all. It was great being part of a fun event that gave so much to a very worthy cause with the support of my fellow Jetskifisho’s. I appreciate the support from our Jetskisfishing network with loyalty to my specialty products and services, so that we can continue to support community based projects.
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Andrew Hill
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