The starting line for the drag races.Snowmobile Watercross 9/27/2003
This is an annual event that takes place on a private competition ski lake near Winlock, Washington. This year they reversed the start/finish to opposite sides of the lake, I'm guessing to give them more room to stop after finishing as last year many of the sleds ended up in the bushes. The staging area is now around the end of the lake. The biggest news this year was the addition of a sled jumping contest which proved to be quite entertaining as the pictures will show.
Click on the image for a larger view.
The starting line for the drag races.
And the race is on, just don't let up on that throttle!
This is what happens when you lose momentum.
The finish line was a bit harsh on man and machine.
Yes Martha, this skier is being pulled by a snowmobile and is skiing barefoot!
And can you believe he is 67 years old.
The crowd waiting to cheer them on.
Hot Toddy and King Kong strutin' their stuff.
The oval race is always entertaining to see as turning these things on water is
a challenge.
As this guy found out the hard way.
Last year the oval race was the thing to see, this year they had a new event, a jumping contest. They started at one end of the lake to get up enough speed to hit the ski jump and just hoped for the best. The landings were brutal and not many made it without incident.
Ouch, I feel the pain just watching!
He kept her pinned right to the end but flotation proved to be a problem.
This guy rode his out but not by the sleds power.
He was out of control but held on to the very end, thats dedication!
This sleds rear suspension has been seriously compromised after that jump, see
the track hanging down.
This was perhaps the most spectacular jump of the day, a superman on a sled!