2013 Jet Boat Races in Riggins, Idaho

[Mopar1973Man]

Well I'm back from the jet boat races. I was manning a safety boat so if there was any wrecks, stalls, etc. We could get out on the river and save the boat crew and the boat if possible. So this year 1 boat wrecked on test and tune day (Friday). He broke his steering and launch right up the river bank and rolled it back into the water. Both driver and navigator were fished out of the boat. The navigator got a bit injured and is at Boise, ID in the hospital. Then on Saturday races started and where quite fun to watch happen from the river bank. We had two jet boats power by Jet Turbine from helicopters. Average speed of the course was about 120-125 MPH clearing 8 miles of river in about 3.9 to 4 minutes. Remember this is not straight river or flat water. Where I was stationed at. http://goo.gl/maps/VQrdr Facebook page of it. https://www.facebook.com/SalmonRiverJetBoatRaces The link provided give you a good view of the river course which started at Island Bar and went to Lucile, ID. Still on Saturday we had another boat sink to the bottom of the river. Driver was getting hosed by the leading boat roost coming off the lead boat. Sunk that at time zone bridge. Even after Sunday our crew went down to see if we can even spot the boat. No luck the hole is deep and the water is murky. Saturday night I got into fire turnouts and took a jet boat ride across the river and watch the fireworks. We where setup to chase fire if the stray spark or rocket created a problem. No problems so we just enjoyed the show. Sunday was a quick day with 2 up river runs and 2 down river runs. Rather uneventful and relaxing. Knowing that all this mess was going to pack up and bail out of town ASAP. I just stayed camped in town for the night in the RV. No since getting into the mess with the rest of the fools rushing home. It was nice to haul my RV down to Kelly's Grandma's house and park it there and it made it so easy to get back and forth to the safety boat which was a little more than a mile away. Then being able to just walk town and enjoy the sights. I've got some videos off Kelly's smart phone since I was forgetful and forgot all my camera all together. :banghead: So give me some time to get it compiled and posted. Oh some of you were asking about Kelly he's a member here. http://forum.mopar1973man.com/members/172-Taz

[diesel4life]

How deep is the water that they cant find the boat? Were they using sonar or any type of tracking device to try to locate it before diving?

[Mopar1973Man]

This river ranges from 40-100 feet deep. In some areas its can be only waist deep. Yeah a fish finder or sonar would be a good idea.