Lost a friend

[220]

Lost a mate on Saturday, received the news while we were attending the local agricultural show, his wife and his youngest son were also at the show.
Still struggling to process the news, Matt was a keen water ski racer and was killed racing in the Robinvale 80, he was doing what he loved.

Not sure if water skiing has much of a following in the USA, it is quite a popular past time down under and like anything with a motor people will race.
The top level is really quite insane, over 2000hp boats pulling skiers at speeds up to 120mph for 50miles down a river.
A little bit of an explanation and footage of skiers in this video from the southern 80 4 weeks back. Not Matts team but gives you and idea, tragically if you watch to the end you will see they didnt get any footage on race day. The event was red flagged due to the death of another competitor, I know Matt gave some serious though to giving it away over the last month but choose to continue racing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvK2V3jr-zs

[JEBar]

hate to hear of the loss of your friend ... I've watched that level of skiing once .... that was years ago just east of Las Vegas .... those competitors have a level of skill and courage that I can only admire

[HenryFan]

That's sad. My condolences to his family and you.

[CT_Shooter]

Lost a mate on Saturday...

That's such a challenging, dangerous, and adventurous sport; particularly in a river. My condolences. I'm sorry you lost your friend.

[Sir Henry]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

[markiver54]

Very sorry for the loss of your very brave friend doing what he loved...

[BrokenolMarine]

Extreme sports competitors know the risks and live for the rush as well as the win. Skydiving, rock climbing, parasailing, and more... Sorry for the loss, but as they say... He died doing what he loved, not sitting behind a desk. I fully understand.

[The Wiz]

sorry for your loss of one crazy dude.

[John E Davies]

I feel for you and your mate's surviving family. I have watched local sprint boat racing a couple of times,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGvAB6dXPek

That is insane enough, but the driver and navigator (forward facing!) are not exposed to hazards such as floating debris like your ski racers.

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I have a really hard time understanding how a father could do this to his wife and child.... it is completely mind boggling. OTH, live by the sword, die by the sword. Bad things happen to people who do really stupid things. I am sure he had no insurance that would cover such an extreme and deadly sport. I hope this doesn't come across as too harsh. I am pretty sure I am not the only one here who feels this way.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

[mlrifleNY]

Very sad news. I can assure you that he wasn't thinking when he was racing about getting hurt. Back in my youth I used to race Speedway motorcycles and never thought about getting hurt untill I was hurt. I had a few broken bones and after a few years of it I smartined up and quit raceing. I had a wife a young boy at the time.

Jim