So we got back in town yesterday from the 2008 Hipp Marine River Rendezvous, and it was an awesome time!  There were a good 10 WBSD members out for the trip, and the good times were in full effect.  Myself and Dani rolled out around 6pm on Thursday night, Gary, Chad, Jenny, Steve, Ryan, Mike, Metis and Steve were already out on wednesday, and Evan and Jamie headed out friday night.  

We showed up around 10:15 on thursday to find Gary, and Ryan pulling up to meet us in a golf cart, and had already been celebrating for quite a while.  We unloaded at the trailer and headed up to the house to start the party as well.  Some beverages were enjoyed by all, a game of human Jenga was played when Jenny passed out, and Gary played about 15 hours of Wii Fit.  After a late night offroad golf cart ride, we passed out for a couple hours of sleep before getting up to wakeboard Friday morning.

We hit the water friday morning and got some decent sessions in – the water was glass and there was no one out other than us and a few border patrol agents doing training.  We rode for an hour, then pulled out the wakesurfer, which was awesome until I took a pull and Gary plowed my boat onto a sandbar.  Some damage was sustained (I think ALL of our boats sustained quite a bit of damage this trip – the DBG Kayot, M&M’s Calabria, and ours as well).  Thats the risk you run when running the river I guess.

We had a meeting with the Hipp Marine staff around 3 on friday, and figured out the plan for the Rendezvous on Saturday.  We (DBG, WBSD, and Wakesports) were to man stop 5 on the rendezvous – which was basically to camp out at Ferguson Lake all day.

We headed out to Fergusons around 8:30 am on Saturday and got up there to some pretty decent water.  A few boats were out riding, but it was pretty decent conditions.  We anchored the Kayot with a flag up for people to see, and then took a few pulls behind the Wakesports Pro-V 2.  People started showing up after a couple hours, and then the party got started.  By 3pm everyone was up there, about 15 or 20 boats just anchored up, blasting music, and partying.  It was a great time!

Headed back to Hidden Shores and showerd up before dinner and awards around 7pm.  A few hours of laughs, drinks, and nicknames (Mercury Mike, Slingblade, Tubs, General Really Good Guy, Gumdrop) and then we dispersed to get some serious partying done.  It was  a late night, when we finally wrapped up around 3am…the morning came too soon.  Everyone packed up, hit the road, and we stopped by the Roadhouse Cafe in Yuma for some ribs before the long drive home and starting up the week again on monday.  

After work today…I miss the river!  Looking forward to helping Hipp Marine out next year at the 2009 Rendezvous!

A bunch of WBSD members are heading out this week for the Hipp Marine River Rendezvous out at the Colorado River.  We are staying at and around Hidden Shores, and from what I have heard about that place – it should be a great time.  I haven’t attended their Rendezvous yet (They started it with the first one last year I believe), but have heard awesome things about it.  With about 10 or so WBSD members going, I have no doubt it will be a great time!  Stay tuned for pictures and stories as I’m sure we’re going to have plenty of both when we get back on sunday!

More info here!

So I’m at the river, safe on our little piece of dry land with my E-Z up, beach chairs, bbq ice chest and nice bottle of mojitos and all of a sudden a boat and 4 jet skis invade. Really I was cool about it- I share pretty darn well. The boat beached and they got out some drinks, chairs and set up a horse shoe toss and all might have been peachy except for the one jerk off.

There’s always one in a group of jet skiers and this group was no exception. His friends were out in the water relaxing, talking, drinking, staying cool and he was spinning donuts until the fuse in his brain fizzled and he sped directly at the bunch of his friends and right before impact he jumped off. He did this repeatedly like a one trick pony accept it wasn’t really a trick.

Last Saturday I was at Mission Bay. The morning had been amazing— the water glass and I was catching air. As 9 o-clock comes, I’m getting out of the water. The truck has backed down the dock, the trailer is in place, I’m 10 feet off driving up slowly when a jet skier pulls right between me and the trailer. I shit you not. In the boat I’m yelling at him. He’s oblivious. He’s just looking at the truck and the trailer missing what’s in the water completely.

Perhaps if there was a license for jet skiing; if there was a big insurance policy you had to buy before you got to ride; if there was a blow test for alcohol and a Darwin test for common sense and survival— maybe then I’d be a little more understanding.