Lake District Sports - Lake District Jetskiing

An exhilarating cross between a motorbike and a snowmobile – on the water! Fast, highly manoeuvrable and usually powered by a jet pump driving an “impeller”, personal watercraft come in all shapes and sizes (Jet Skis, Sea-Doos and so on are actually trade names). You can slalom, jump and race them, cruise across the sea on them, or even take the family out exploring.

The Cumbrian coastline offers a variety of conditions and challenges. Good launching sites are available at Silloth, Walney Island, Whitehaven Marina and the St Bees Lifeboat Station slipway - at the latter, please launch swiftly and move your vehicle away immediately to avoid blocking this vital slipway.

Freestyle jetskiing is done on stand-up jetskis but mainly on Yamaha superjets as they are lighter and smaller than that of the Kawasaki SX-R. Jetski freestyle consists of many different tricks, including big air, hood tricks and technical tricks which, just like BMX and Motocross, are judged on the quality and skill shown in routines. The freestyle world is made up of different competitions into which anyone can enter. In the United Kingdom amateurs start with the FNT (Freestyle National Tour). In 2006 Luke 'Showtime' Stocks won the professional category and Stuart Hammer won the amateur. It is held around the main British lakes and coastal bays.

The next step up is the British Winter Series which again consists of pro and amateur categories. After winning this title it is possible to enter the British summer series. The British series is held on the official British circuit and has produced some of the world's champions, including Lee Stone (World Professional Champion), Ant 'Barrel Roll' Burgess (World Amateur Champion) and Dan 'Aircroft' Ashcroft (Junior World Champion, European Champion & British Champion).