Battling to raise Poseidon’s trident
Hydro flight athlete Brian Grant heading to Australia for extreme watersport competition
If there is a level of risk involved and some fun to be had, avid thrill seeker Brian Grant is ready to take it on.
So preforming acrobatic feats while being thrust 65 feet into the air at the end of a fire hose seemed totally doable to the 35-year-old Wainfleet native.
As extreme sports go, hydro flight while relatively new, already has its advantages, says Grant.
“If you wipe out, it’s only water,” he said with a smile.
In April, Grant will join extreme athletes from all over the world to compete in The Poseidon Games in Australia.
Grant is the owner of 905 Rentals which is located on Lakeshore Road at Long Beach in Wainfleet and has been renting the Jetovator for about three seasons. He also has a rental operation at Sherkston Shores.
Hydro flight first appeared less than a decade ago and the first competition was held in 2012. Some manufacturers use the jet bike and others a hoverboard or jetpack-style device.
The first time Grant saw the sport about four years ago, he was hooked.
“I said ‘oh my gosh, I need this!’” he remembers. There was already a distributor in Canada. His company, 905 Rentals because the second to rent the jet bike made by Jetovator.
The Jetovator doesn’t come with its own water pump so it requires two people to operate. Hydro flight uses the power of a personal watercraft engine to pump the water through the attached hose and supply enough pressure to lift the rider into the air. The hose is attached to the watercraft through the use of an adaptor. The hose acts as a towing connection to the craft so wherever the rider turns, the power unit is towed behind. The rider is generally unaware of the unit following behind.
“There is a balance between the jet bike rider and a seasoned operator,” said Grant. “A good operator makes all the difference.”
He is hoping he gets to choose his own operator for the Games but hasn’t yet heard the final details.
The operator on the personal watercraft controls the throttle and the powerful stream of water; the hydro flight rider controls the direction and angle of the flight with two joysticks in hand. Classic jetpack physics invented in the 1950s is still in play here. By moving the joysticks, riders can do forward and back flips, corkscrew sideways, and dive in and out of the water. Grant has a move where he skims the surface of the water diving and resurfacing like a porpoise riding through the waves.
Keeping control is key, he says.
“Don’t let go of the joysticks! Number one rule,” he said.
Last year’s Battle on the Rock competition in Bermuda really got Grant thinking about competing, so late in the fall he decided to take the plunge.
The Poseidon Games is a four-country International Hydroflight Tour Series presented by Savvy Entertainment, which will feature the best hydro flight athletes in the world. Formatted as an open competition featuring jet boards, jet bikes and jet packs. Competitors will be judged within each discipline based on style, technique, risk and energy. Athletes will accumulate points at each event within the series leading up to the awarding of the Trident Cup.
There will be some adjustments needed before Grant competes but he will have time to take a practice flight.
“I am used to being about 65 feet in the air,” said Grant. In Australia he may reach heights of 80 feet or more but he doesn’t see that as a challenge. “You just keep spinning until you reach the top,” he said.
There is another significant difference that Grant is looking forward to. Thepersonal watercraft’s 215 hp motor used to propel his Jetovator means a limited amount of lift for a guy weighing in at 200 pounds and standing 6-feet-2 in height. In Australia the motors are 475 hp.
“That’s going to be very exciting,” said Grant. “I’m a big guy. I can’t wait to see how much better I am with all that power beneath my feet.”
Although there is also a seat on the jet bike Grant doesn’t recommend it. “Stability goes right out the window if you use it,” he said.
To qualify for The Poseidon Games, Grant had to produce and submit a twominute video of himself in flight. The freezing cold temperatures and ice-covered surfaces of December weather were actually pretty manageable.
“Those guys in Russia and Finland train year round, they gave me the idea of flying in the winter,” said Grant.
Dressed in a full body, insulated surf suit, he and some friends headed to Port Maitland in Dunnville on Dec. 23 with the watercraft, broke through the ice and did some flying. The resulting video qualified him to compete in Dubai as part of a world tour. When the Dubai leg of the tour was cancelled, the event co-ordinators offered the pre-qualified competitors five nights and their airfare to Australia and Grant started celebrating — and packing.
The Poseidon Games Tour kicks off April 6-8 in Gold Coast, Australia with Battle at Sanctuary Cove where the first champion will be crowned. The final event in the series will be performed in Bermuda in September.
Grant will be flying in a few days early to spend time with friends. Australia is in early fall after a summer of record-breaking heat so water temperatures will be optimal. He is hoping to finish in the top 10 and earn enough points to move on. The Games will continue in June in Singapore, in New York City in August with the final in Bermuda in September.
Grant will be facing competition from fliers from the U.S. Colombia, Iran, Russia, Canada, Maldives, Argentina, the Czech Republic and Australia. The Poseidon Games has both male and female divisions.
As far as his plan for what he will do once he is in the air, Grant is mostly going to wing it.
“I’m going to go in fearless and try some stuff I have never even done before,” he said.