Next door bbq and beer drinking buddy had a jet boat with a If I remember correctly a 454 Olds. 2 seats, no windscreen, extremely hot crome exhaust about 2 feet behind your head. Sunrise on some northern Ca reservoir, not a ripple on the water and just floored it. Woke every camper for miles. I have no idea how fast we were going and I don’t think I ever want to know.
One time we almost hit a deer swimming between shores. Just flashed by antlers and all.
Just one of those moments engraved in your brain.
Sheer adrenaline rush before breakfast.
They are a blast (young man’s blast!). When I was young and dumb I used to water-ski behind boats like you describe. Never anything record breaking but I was clocked one time at 78mph...on a friggin ski!
Those were the days.