Jetboat Scene 1

This post is the first in a two-post series on the newest way to be scene on the Niagara River, in Whirlpool Jetboats. The lower Niagara River is home to several huge rapids, including a Class VI rapid, which is the highest ranking whitewater in the World. I found a video on YouTube about these rapids, which was filmed back in the 1970’s, and hosted by Bob Beattie, my Father’s buddy from college who also covered the 1980 Winter Olympics. This video reports that some of the waves reach 20 feet high! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89dDpHpMhYQ . Around this time large river rafts powered by 100 hp outboard engines would take passengers through these rapids, until one capsized and killed several people. In the many years following the capsize, it was illegal to run the Niagara Gorge.

Recently, a new kind of boat was introduced to the Niagara Gorge to brave the lower Niagara; Whirlpool JetBoats. They are equipped with twin jet engines having a combined 1,500 hp of thrust, and can travel up to 60 mph. Check ‘em out: http://www.whirlpooljet.com/ .

We rode these boats this past Summer; what a thrilling & wet ride indeed; too wet for the camera. It was enjoyed so much that Doug, Natalie, Billy and Caitlyn wanted to ride it again on a different day. To capture it, I snatched up the lens and hiked down to the base of the lower river with Matt and we sat on the rocks awaiting their arrival. The seagulls seem not to care about the noisy roar of the boats, and you can see the Hydro Electric Power plant down river. In one shot, the depth of the valley in the Class 5 rapid appears to swallow up the fully loaded Jetboat. In others, Matt waits for some boats to arrive.

This first of two posts about the Jet Boats simply shows the scene; the next post our friends.