I was sent a photo recently, sadly showing the previously much loved boat neglected on the side of the road.

   "Where is my cheque book!"?

Many years later, my wife and I bought our first boat (through convenience more than preference - it was an egg-beater). After a couple of outboards, my 'love affair' with Hamilton jets rekindled around 1995 when I bought this restored Hamilton Gemini powered by a Ford Capri V6 and a two stage jet. It was great fun for the family and provided many days of enjoyment.

Having a very shallow V hull gave the Gemini a fish tail feel when driving, but when you got used to it, gave the boat great manoeuvrability. Terrific for 180 -270 degree spins. We enjoyed the boat for many years and when Simon Taylor eventually bought the boat, he re-powered it with a Leyland P76 alloy V8.

This picture shows the Gemini 'Jet Set', by this stage owned by fellow JBA clubbies Simon & Lauren + 1/2 (at that time), and my Camero 2000 named 'Summer Breeze', side by side at Smiths Lake on the mid north coast of New South Wales. It's a great lake for jet boats - a deep section for water skiing and a shallow section where the average depth of water might only be 300mm depending on how much water is in the lake. On this day the older boat was caught in 50mm of water (yes it was planing over 50mm of water until 50 became 40 .. 30 .. 20 .. 10 .. Whhooahh "Hang On!"), and the Camero had to come to the rescue. After several failed attempts to pull the Gemini clear, we headed back to the ramp to collect the 4WD gear. Snatchum straps and D-shackles gave us the required length of rope to get the Camero into deeper water and let the 350 Chevy do the work. A great day - 4WD recovery techniques on water!

The Camero Strada 2000 is a 6 metre bowrider built by the now defunct Camero Boats in South Australia. (the name lives on with the boat moulds being bought by Sterling Marine in S.A.). It is an 8 seater with a split screen walk through bowrider section, an island engine hatch, comprehensive instrumentation including depth sounder, a deep V planing hull and a 350 cubic inch Mercruiser (twigged to 280HP with Roller Rockers). It is great fun!

I've been a member of the JET BOAT ASSOCIATION of NSW for a number of years now. They welcome all newcomers and offer not only friendship and good times, but also interesting and exciting events for the jet boating enthusiast. They are a social club and although they have ties to Jet Sprinting, they are not officially involved in that sport. They organise day or weekend outings around NSW looking for rivers and lakes which provide waterways not normally navigable by an ordinary boat. eg: rapids, sandy rivers, etc. There is an excellent article written on the Club by Graham Lloyd of Australian Powerboat in the February/March 1997 issue. 

Anyway, many fine weekends have been spent jet boating in places such as Wallis Lake, Smiths Lake, Georges River and Botany Bay, Port Hacking, the Shoalhaven and many other waterways. Lakes Entrance (Vic.) was a pleasant surprise. Goolwa at the mouth of the mighty Murry River is our favourite destination and Coffin Bay near Port Lincoln was a magnificent and pristine gem in a desert wilderness. (As put by a Sydney, NSW resident) We'll be going back soon.

C O F F I N    B A Y,    S  A 

Any other suggestions for waterways which promise good jet boating (sand - no rocks) then please email me. All suggestions seriously considered, but it'll be hard to beat the beautiful inland 'coastline' of Port Douglas at Coffin Bay. Just fantastic!

The year 2004 came by too quickly and we found ourselves trading the 8 year old Camero for a bells & whistles 'Sugar Sand' jet boat. To remind us of the many great days on the water in the Camero, we compiled a tribute to the Camero. It is a Windows video file (WMV - 8mb) and we recommend you have high speed internet connection before clicking on the link.  The file is of our family enjoying the Camero in the pristine waters at Farm Beach in Coffin Bay, SA.

If you're happy receiving this large file, click HERE!

Needless to say the video is copyright GVHULL 2005. Thanks to New_Order for providing an inspiring piece of music called 'Slow Jam'.

Please consider buying their 'GET READY' CD at AMAZON

  ...... but honey, the ad said "weekend cruiser, no trailer, cheap!"

Keep on jet boating!

 S O M E    B O A T I N G    L I N K S . . .