The Jet Boat Ride, afternoon of July 20

The group decided they all wanted to do a Jet boat ride which goes up to the Whirlpool through the devils rapids.  I was a little leery not only because of the cost, but because it seemed like a touristy thing to do.  When I found out the ride would be around 50 minutes, I decided it would be fun and probably worth the money.  Ernie and Wanda called the provider and told them there would be about 20 of us and they gave us a group rate.

We arrived the required 45 minutes a head of time for the orientation.  Wow, was it ever hot!! You can use ponchos on the boat if you want to stay dry, but it was so hot I don't think anyone used the ponchos that were offered to us.  We were told the first three rows were considered the power rows and it was guaranteed that no one would stay dry in those rows.  We were also told that cameras would not stay dry, sunglasses could be removed from the rush of the water, and hats would be lost.  What did I get myself into??

Joel took his camera (I'm down to my IPhone and no way it is going to get it exposed to any water) but he promptly put it away and the soft dry bags attached to the seats after launching.  There is a camera on deck that takes pictures which you can purchase after the ride.  Sharon, our club president graciously shared some of the pictures she purchased. Thanks, Sharon

Here we all are nice and dry and ready to go!

It was quite a ride. I'm in the second row in a white hat. and Joel is on the outside seat.   I removed the hat shortly after we did a "180" in the water. The deck hand did a great job of narrating the ride and keeping everyone "pumped up" . Thumbs up meant we all wanted more action and a tap on the head meant we were in distress.  Everyone gave a thumbs up.

 OK.  There is no staying dry in the first few rows!  Whew did that feel good.

 We are going through some Class V rapids.  The Jet boat is the only boat that is certified to go through the Class V rapids on the Niagra.  There are some Class VI  rapids but the boats are not allowed to go through them as it is considered staging and there is a $10,000 fine.

 Wow, this one was big.  Our pilot seemed to be having a difficult time hitting the water just the right way and she kept returning and giving us more thrills.  I think we got our money's worth.

 Well, it was fun and a great way to cool off  and a very fun ride...well worth the money.  The day time temperatures reached at least  100 degrees and with high humidity it felt like I was entering a sauna every time I went outside. I don't think I would want to do this ride in the winter, though

It was a fun, busy day.  You gotta love this life style!!