My wife and I are planning a trip of approx 70 miles from St. Petersburg, FL to Homosassa. I will be on my '01 GP800R and she will be on her '99 Tigershark TS1100R. This will be the longest trip we have made. Any suggestions or tips? Anyone else gone this distance or this route? Thanks!

didnt take that route but did go from laughlin nevada to havasu arizona 130 mile round trip. 120 degree heat. Had a great time. take and use lots of sunblock good sunglasses lots of water to drink and remember marina gas isnt cheap. I spent close to 160 dollars for gas that day. It was worth every penny. I would also suggest that you make sure your skis are ready for this trip. Take extra 2 stroke oil, sand anchor, tow rope. The biggest thing is to take your time and have fun, Thats what this sport is all about. good luck and have a safe pleasant journey

Be carefull how you pack your oil especially in your 800. I had a gallon jug and it blew up and got in my footwells.Couldn't stand in rough stuff and got beat up.Take qts,and packem tight,youll be fine. Went on same run with GP1200R San Diego.It was still cool. good luck,
Steve

I assume that was all lake riding. Have you ever done it in the ocean. We will be in the Gulf Of Mexico. I will make sure I am full with oil although I will have to bring some for my wife's premixed Tigershark. Thanks for the advice.

[ 07-27-2003, 07:49 AM: Message edited by: Kipkay ]

be careful because there is alot of shallow area's once you go past tarpon springs. & the sea weeds are really bad i ride in tarpon area and i am jumping in and cleaning weeds constantly.

take quart bottle of oil and duct tape the tops for extra safety and no mess also make sure u have a cell phone and tow rope and make sure someone knows were u are leaving and going to just in case especially in the ocean also make sure u know were to get extra fuel

Dude 70 mi is nothing

With the following set up I can run to my camo & back and have a 1/2 a tank left.
There & back Is 40 miles.

My set up

Around 100 skis leave Knoxville sometime in July/August for the Tennessee 600.

It's a 600 mile, 4-5 day ride on the Tennessee River from Knoxville to Paris Landing. It takes you 3 states and several locks.

Now that's a ride!!

They would have haul my butt back on a flat bed!

Think it's for a charity.

The following is what I wish I had when being stranded in the Everglades for 5 hours. Take a cell phone with a charged battery (never ride with the phone on … the charge may be needed later), flares, a method of siphoning fuel from 1 ski to the other, extra cash, emergency food (candy bars), drinking water, long pants and shirt (to protect from mosquitoes), lighter, tow ropes, a method of clamping of the intake water hose to keep water from flooding the engine while towing a Yamaha, and don’t forget that most marinas close between 5-5:30pm.

Greg - I'd add a portable VHF & GPS to that list. Especially for ocean riding, just in case you get out of cell coverage, you can tell the coast guard where you are.

I also found out that the CG requires you to carry day time flares if you are going to be in the Gulf.

When riding in the Ocean or the Intercoastal, I keep the following onboard my GPR.

Flare-Gun w 2 flares (night use)
2 Hand-held Flares (day use)
bottle of water (keep from dehydration)
Cell Phone (shut off in waterproof bag)
Motorola Talkabout GMRS Radio (also shutoff in wpbag)
Bug Spray (as good as using long sleeve pants and shirt)

EPIRB (registered with NOAA and US Coast Guard) I set that baby off and coast guard cutter will be out looking for me in 15 minutes. its a nice device that links up with 3 satellites, notifies the coast guard, and gives them your info, including the type of craft your running

70 miles sounds like a lot, but Sunday I rode for a little while with my new GPS. Just kind of screwed around for a little over an hour, all by myself. I was shocked to find that the GPS indicated that I had travelled 29 miles! I would think 70 miles is nothing. Bring some duct tape, though! And a pair of fins, in case both skis die and you need your wife to pull you back in.

you can rent an epirb for 50 bucks a week from here..
Call (888) 663-7472 for information and reservations, Monday - Friday Eastern Time, 12P.M. to 5P.M.

We will be leaving St. Pete at around 7am so I don't really think an EPIRB is necessary. Should be only 1/2 mile from shore at the most the entire time. There are marinas most of the way up the Gulf. We will have our GPS and flares and cell phones. Seatow and BoatUS is always a phone call away.

[ 07-29-2003, 09:12 PM: Message edited by: Kipkay ]

Kipkay, did you make the trip?

No, The weather was nasty last week so we cancelled. Rescheduled for October 11th. Anyone in the Bay Area want to go?

This Friday, my wife and I and a couple of friends are taking our first trip of any distance on our skis - 100 miles round trip on the Cape Fear River to Wilmington, NC. Can't wait. The weather reports are shaping up nicely, and the river has dropped back down to almost normal levels, and should be normal by Friday morning.

Well, our river trip yesterday was about the best time any of us has ever had on pwc's. We traveled about 110 miles total, based on the mileage on the Army Corps of Engineers map.

The river was still muddy from being 3-1/2' higher the week before, but the water was smooth as glass. You could see the reflections of the other skis in the water as you were riding along.

The Cape Fear goes through some very remote areas, with no civilization along the way. We would only take that trip in a group. The funny thing about riding on a river is that if you stop for a break, you don't sit still. You float along. That don't happen on our local lake.

It was nice to find out that our ski burns about 7 gal. gas in 50 miles, at about a 35 mph "speedo" cruise. We ran closer to 40 coming back upriver, but I haven't filled up yet to see how much we used. My gauge was still showing 1/2 tank.

Many of you live in areas where you can do this anytime you want, but we don't....it was fun to pull up to the docks in Wilmington and go into a restaurant and have lunch on the river. Also, the USS North Carolina battleship is moored there for tourists to see. I've been on it before, but to be able to ride up very close to it on a ski is pretty cool.

Thought I'd share our trip....