Jetboat Trippin' Aims To Set First Great Lakes Crossing Record
By Ryan Schlehuber

Paul Rigney hopes to establish a record of traveling 1,200 miles from East Chicago to Alexandria, New York, in his selfbuilt and designed jetboat, Trippin', which is 27 feet long, six feet wide, with a single 800-horsepower engine. The craft is topped with a 16-foot wide wing to help it glide across the water. (Photograph courtesy of Connie Johnson)

Paul Rigney of Grand Rapids will once again try to be the first to drive a jetboat across the Great Lakes in the fastest time possible. He and his co-pilot and longtime friend, John Noel, will attempt to make a 1,200mile run in a 27-foot-long, sixfoot wide aluminum racing boat, built and designed by Mr. Rigney. If they average a speed of 70 miles per hour, they would finish in 18 to 20 hours, he said. They plan to refuel in St. Ignace.

The jetboat Trippin' is powered by a single 800-horsepower inboard engine that provides thrust through a water jet, spraying a long rooster tail of water behind it as it goes. The 1,950pound boat carries 1,900 pounds of fuel in two tanks mounted in front of the crew cockpit.

"This is something that has never been done before so we're hoping and estimating that we will finish within 20 hours," said Mr. Rigney.

This is the second attempt by the duo. In 2003, weather prevented the trip. Trippin' needs calm weather and waves no higher than three feet, said Mr. Rigney.

"We're ready right now," he said. "All we're waiting for is a green light from our personal meteorologists, who said we need a window of three to five days of stalled weather."

In 2004, Trippin' was damaged during a test drive when its 16-foot-wide wing, which helps the boat glide across the water, caused the boat to swing. As it came down on the water, it landed on its side and cracked a hole in the body. The wing tip broke and cut into the boat's canopy.

The kinks have been worked out and the jetboat is ready to race, said Mr. Rigney.

Trippin' will start at Patricks Marina in East Chicago and travel up Lake Michigan, pass under the Mackinac Bridge into Lake Huron, and stop at the St. Ignace city marina to refuel.

From there, the jetboat will make its way to Detroit, refuel, then cross Lake Erie to Port Colborne, which is the entrance to the Welland Canal.

"We'll have to pull the boat out of the water and onto a trailer at that point," said Mr. Rigney, who said the recorded time will stop until the jetboat is put back into the water in the harbor of Hamilton, Ontario.

Once back in the water, Trippin' will go up the Hamilton Channel and head into the last

leg of the race, the St. Lawrence River, with Alexandria Bay in New York as the finish line.

A speed record from Chicago to Detroit was set originally in 1983 by Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan. Since that first recordsetting run, the record has been lowered from about 12 hours, to eight hours, 10 minutes. Many glamorous names have since attempted the Chicago-toDetroit record, such as actor Kurt Russell, the late Walter Payton, a Hall of Fame running back for the Chicago Bears, action hero Chuck Norris, and actor Don Johnson.

Attempting a challenge that has never been done before, and working within a budget are the main reasons Mr. Rigney likes the trans-Great Lakes challenge rather than attempting to break a record already established.

"There's been so much huge money thrown at the Chicagoto Detroit race record," Mr. Rigney said. "So much so that it's really out of our league."

Mr. Rigney and Mr. Noel have teamed with Connie Johnson to revive the former American Jetboat Association, based in Grand Rapids. The association will have a team in a truck monitoring the jetboat as it races along the water. Trippin' will be equipped with several computer monitors and, possibly, cameras, which will be relayed back to the truck. Ms. Johnson will be the liaison for media during the race.

"I'm excited for this because it's someone realizing a dream," said Ms. Johnson, who is now the president of the association. "It's never been done before. We're just your average blue-collar, 'old Joe' team that's trying to create something really special."

Racing on the Great Lakes in a fast boat may sound fun, however, doing it for 20 hours in a jetboat with not much wiggle room can be challenging.

"The hardship is staying alert because you're doing the same thing over a long period of time," Mr. Rigney said. "You're maintaining a constant speed and always watching your instruments."

Mr. Rigney, a licensed captain, has spent a lot of time on the Gre0at Lakes. He also races jetboats on Idaho's white water rivers.

He and Ms. Johnson are forming a company to move, deliver, and relocate boats and yachts.