The Airborne Club

[BigN8]

I'm starting the airborne club! Yesterday me and my daughter were headed back towards our Marina and I decided to run WOT. I don't normally do this because you can literally watch the gas gauge fall, but i felt a little froggy so what the heck. We were approaching a 34' Searay that was running about 15 mph so instead of slowing down I just kept it WOT. I hooked in behind the Searay to cut straight across his wake as we passed and I caught the first big roller square. Now I have hit some good swells and had the engines rev when the intakes come out of the water, but never like this. I had the entire boat out of the water when we hit that wake. I cleared the rest of the wakes on the landing and just kept it WOT! The look on my daughters face was priceless as she was catching her flip flops in mid air. I know I had the whole boat out of the water on that one!

 

[justason]

I'm in!! Bimini 2013 was a pretty brutal crossing. I don think a straight line was held for more than 50feet while trying to pick the next wave to glance off. I'd guess on about 10-12 hits we heard the jets suck air and took flight......3 outa 4 passengers enjoyed it

On the waverunner we've hit a few behind the wake boats. The command is simply "BAIL". We learned you dont want to be in that seat on landing after a certain vertical dimension..

 

[PEARCE]

I've gotten air a number of times out on Texoma. It's usually 3 out of the 4 of us that enjoy it on our boat too. My wife doesn't like it at all. Me and the kids have grins on our faces from ear to ear and want more.

 

[Wayloncle]

I'm a member!
I took my 8 year old son and my neigbbor and his two daughters out last summer, I wasn't quite WOT but was scootin along pretty quick. I came into a little rough area where several big boats had crossed wakes, I hit one and landed on the down side of another I guess because the landing was a lot smoother than I expected it to be! There were 5 out of 5 smiles that time! My wife wasn't with us, she doesn't like that stuff.

 

[jawsf16]

Been there, done that. The landing is a little hard on the tower!!

 

[ShesCrafty]

My sister took this picture, from the aft deck of my dad's Tiara, of me with daughter and brother-in-law. I know I've gotten higher than this, though... kids love it, wife loves it, step-kids love it... EX-wife hated it.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Did this by myself at lake of the ozarks. 3 big wakes and 3 jet pump unloads in a row. With the xr being in the air was common and almost every time out.

 

[Speedling]

Did this by myself at lake of the ozarks. 3 big wakes and 3 jet pump unloads in a row. With the xr being in the air was common and almost every time out.

Same with the exciter!

 

[Scuba_ref]

Great, another "air" related club I don't belong to!!!!

 

[justason]

Great, another "air" related club I don't belong to!!!!

Easier goal to reach. Or

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/25229231/the-mile-high-club-is-easy-to-join-aboard-the-love-cloud

 

[sysinu]

I'm in as well. Tour boats at Lake Powell with 3-4' rollers coming off them and the rest of the lake is glass. I thought the tour boat was long gone and his rollers didn't look present but right about the time I realized I was going into the trough of the first roller, it was too late. Had to throttle up or water would have come over the bow and we went flying. Like, the kind of flying that everyone hopes the tube with all the teenagers on it ends up doing... 2' out of the water, I'm sure. Fortunately I caught the next roller on the way down about midship and was able to turn and throttle back before going air born again.

 

[BigN8]

Awesome! Love these stories. I totally feel like I had air like @SleepyJean !!!! Great pic!!!

 

[smthng]

In... the LX launched the first time I hit a wake wrong (or right) on the intracoastal. Almost launched a few passengers as well, so most of my guests prefer I don't do that. :S

 

[ShesCrafty]

Awesome! Love these stories. I totally feel like I had air like @SleepyJean !!!! Great pic!!!

And, coming at ya!

I'm a child of the (early) 80's. Always will have a little 'Duke Boy' in me.

 

[Glassman]

It's strange, but I seem to remember all of my "Out of Water" experiences in slow motion...and the film stops when I look to my left and I see my wife looking at me with her eyes and mouth wide open, but no sound coming out (because she's frozen) and the first words are...ARE WE GOING TO SINK?

And then you hear me laughing with that diabolical laugh ...buhahahaha, yelling, NO WE WON'T SINK as I glance down to double check that the bilge pump is on...

yeah...kinda like that

 

[Julian]

Airborne club member too. First full launch was probably on the Loop Cruise on Lake Michigan. Another I recall was also on the intracoastal crossing a cruiser wake.

 

[PolarXJ]

I suppose I can be a member. Did it fairly often in the Sea-Doo. Haven't done it in the new boat....yet. Though around here it will be hard to find a wake big enough to get the 24 completely out of the water.

 

[tdonoughue]

I think my first out-of-water experience was on the test run before buying the boat. Got a little aggressive on our little choppy lake when the sales guy said, "Go ahead. There is nothing you can do to break this thing...". I love a challenge. Wheeeeeeee.

Of course, I turned in mid air (well, tried to), and when I landed it threw me completely out of the helm and onto the floor to port. Still WOT. Ow, while scurrying to try to get back to the wheel...