One of the best and unforgettable highlights of my life was the very first time that I participated in and won a jet boat racing competition. The feeling I had after winning was exhilarating.
I was with some of my friends in a bar close to the docks. We were chatting about the last football match between two of the best and popular teams in the English Premiership.
Somehow, our conversation shifted to boats, and I mentioned the new jet boat that my dad sent to me just three weeks before. My dad is in the boating business, and when he learned that I lived close to the lake, he asked if I needed a boat.
He asked if I wanted a pontoon boat or a jet boat. I chose a jet boat, and since it arrived, it had proved very useful not only for me but also my friends, Dan and Brad. Both of them have been wanting to try jet skiing for a long time.
Since I had dabbled in a lot of jet skiing when I was a kid, I was in the best position to teach them how to do it.
They took turns in riding the waves while I piloted the jet boat on the lake. Times like that were always full of fun.
While we chatted in the bar, we had no idea that a man was behind us listening, not deliberately as he said, to us.
When we laughed to a joke that Brad had said, the man walked up to us.
“Hello, gentlemen,” he said. We replied and greeted him.
“My name is Hawkins Reynolds. I am so sorry, but I inadvertently listened in to your conversations about boats, and I couldn’t stop myself from listening.”
We laughed. “It’s no problem,” I told him.
“May I have a seat?” he asked.
“Of course. You are welcome to join,” Dan said.
Hawkins sat down. “You see, I am a boat enthusiast, and whenever I hear about boats, I am willing to talk from morning to night.”
He saw the looks on our faces and raised his hands. “Hey, hey, I promise not to talk too much.” We all laughed again. “I wanted to ask if you would be interested in a jet boat competition. The winning prize is so huge that you won’t be able to resist trying your luck.”
“What is the winning prize?” Brad asked.
When the man told us, we all whistled at the same time. I thought about the amount. It was enough to tide me over for a whole year. I would even have the chance to purchase the engagement ring I wanted to buy for Stella.
I looked at my friends and saw the same looks on their faces. I knew that they were thinking about the same thing that I was even though I was the one with a jet boat.
“I am interested,” I told Hawkins.
“Great!” He said. He shook my hand and those of my friends. Then he told us about the location of the place where the competition would take place. The competition would take place on the lake where there will be no interference.
He also told us about the many sponsors of the competition which was why the prize money was so huge. I would be competing with five other people.
Immediately Hawkins left, my friends and I began to deliberate about the coming competition.
“Have you ever participated in a jet boat racing competition before?” That was the first question that Brad asked me.
“Of course,” I said.
“Really?” Dan said excitedly.
“Yeah, but only in my dreams.”
We laughed hard.
“Well, I have an idea,” Brad said. “We need to check out everything that can help us win this competition.”
“Like what?” Dan asked.
“Books, videos, every asking people who had done it before.”
“Good idea,” I said. “Let’s begin that right away.”
The competition was four days away, so we got to work. We went to the library and checked out everything we could find about jet boat racing. We downloaded a lot of videos and spent nights watching them.
Dan suggested a little gym time also. I had always hated going to the gym and doing anything there, but the prize money was a great motivation. I followed the guys to the guy and did a lot of training, from lifting weights to squatting and a lot of aerobic exercises.
I wanted to faint and give up several times, but Dan and Brad kept motivating and encouraging me.
The next thing we did was go to the lake and raced the jet boat against set times. Dan held a stopwatch and checked out how fast I could be. As the day of the competition came close, I began to confident that I would win.
The night before the competition, I couldn’t sleep well. All I could think about was the competition. The little sleep I had, I dreamt that I won the competition. That gave me a little more confidence also.
On the day of the competition, my friends were at my doorstep by dawn. We dressed and drove to the docks where the boats were the kept. There were lots of spectators waiting to watch the competition.
Hawkins was there, and he introduced me yo the rest of the competitors. Then he told us all the rules that mattered in the competition. A few minutes later, the rest of the competitors and I were at the starting point.
Hawkins himself acted as the umpire. He held a toy gun in his hand and asked us to get ready.
We all started our jet boats and listened to the sound of the gun.
Immediately, Hawkins fired the gun, we all sped away. The spectators cheered, and the noose they made covered the sounds of our jet boats. I tuned out all the noises and concentrated on the race.
Five minutes after the competition began, I was already in the second position. I increased the acceleration of my jet boat and sped past the guy on the first position. That was how I won the competition.
My friends were even happier than I was even I got the prize money which I shared with them.