Freestyle Asylum has been putting on jet ski display shows for some years and their fame has been building. This year’s Sports Boat and RIB show at Ocean Village in Southampton at the end of May saw a tremendous jet ski display in front of thousands of personal watercraft fans. Sue Baggaley was there to ask them how they train, what makes them special and why they do it….

Who is in the Freestyle Asylum team?
The Team consists of three riders; Jaimiee ‘Downtown’ Brown, Paul ‘Smiffy’ Smyth, and Darren ‘Oggy’ Ogden.

How long have you been riding together?
Oggy: Jaimiee and myself have been riding together recreationally for up to 10 years. I have been doing the jet skiing shows for around five years.
Smiffy: I’ve only been riding in the team for a couple of years, but I’ve been riding jet skis with the
other riders for 4-5 years.   
Jaimiee: Roughly 10 years recreationally, but been doing shows with Freestyle Asylum for three years.

Where do you train?
Oggy: Nitrojet Action Sports in Oxford are my sponsors along with AirTime Products so that is where  I do most of my jet ski training.
Smiffy: I’m also proudly sponsored by Nitrojet Action Sports and Airtime Products and can be found training on my jet ski down there.
Jaimiee: Herne Bay and I try to get up to Nitrojet to practice prior to the shows.

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Last issue we we looked at buying a jet ski for £3,000. This month we are looking at buying 2-stroke jet skis that are good value for those of you looking to buy a second hand jet ski. Marcel Diner gives us his opinion on what’s good value and what to look for when buying your next used jet ski...

Is there a difference in 2-stroke sitdowns? Oh yes there is. Each model of jet ski, even with the same engine, rides differently. Some with a sporty or flighty feel, some with a stable, more predictable ride, some sedate, some aggressive and everything in between. When looking to buy, your budget is obviously high on the list, which will usually dictate the age and condition of the jet ski. Secondly the size and type of jet ski will be dependant on your physical size and use. For instance, a family will benefit from a less powerful but stable and easy to ride jet ski such as a Sea-Doo GTI. Don’t forget that the more powerful the craft, the more juicy it will be on fuel, as economy may have a bearing. Handling is a factor too.

Top guns for speed and sportiness are the Yamaha GP1200R and 1300R and the Sea-Doo XP Ltd. Both top 60mph but are capable of more by adding some tuning goodies (some 1200R’s have been mod’ed to top 80mph!). Both can feel a little unstable at times but both are good for family use and are 9ft long. There’s less seating capacity on the XPL but it can be a slightly smoother ride on chop with the suspension seat. Both are good wave-jumpers, both ‘bite’ on turns, not spinning out easily but turn sharper. I f nd the GPR seats a little wide and prefer the XPL handling. Expect to pay £2500-3500, or more for the 1300.

The best fast stable ski’s are the Yamaha XLT1200 and Sea-Doo GTX Ltd. Both can seat three, both top 60mph. You could fi sh off the back of either or take to choppy water at speed. Plenty of storage in both, ideal towing machines for infl atables etc. , stable enough for family rides but powerful enough for a good blast. Good all-rounders- expect to pay £2-4k.

For those on tighter budgets, some of the older skis come into play. The most flighty skis like the two-seater Sea-Doo XP96/ SPX97 can be bought for £1500-£2000, but beware when the price goes down and the age goes up, more problems start to show, and some can be very costly. The older XPs have 8ft hulls, are very light and they take to the air very easily. They are very nimble, with the 110hp ‘96 having quick acceleration and will do up to 60mph. They are not ideal for larger people as they tend to tip at slow speeds. They are very good on fuel with less weight.

To read the full article pick up the Sept/Oct issue of JS&PW or subscribe here