Clad in bell bottoms and plaid and sporting handlebar moustaches, the group pushed full-throttle to catch up to the SS Princess Marguerite as it travelled from Seattle to Victoria.
The two power boats, one pulling three water skiers behind, caught up with the ferry as it passed near Whidbey Island.
As the power boats approached, a co-conspirator on the ferry threw a 500-foot line with three handles attached out a porthole on the shipsa国际传媒檚 deck.
The ski boat held steady and everyone held their breath as the three skiers worked to transition from their original lines to those attached to the ferry.
| The water skiers work to transition from original lines to those attached to the ferry on Aug. 21, 1976. (Submitted Clarke Whitney) |
Two successfully made the move to the delight of the growing crowd on the back deck of the Princess Marguerite.
The prank made the front page of the Seattle Times, said Clarke Whitney, a Bremerton accountant reminiscing about the August 1976 prank sa国际传媒� he was the driver of one of the boats.
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A newspaper clipping from the time, said the sa国际传媒減assengers on the ship cheered and wavedsa国际传媒eeing three water skiers happily traversing the 369-foot shipsa国际传媒檚 large wake.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚t was like mission impossible,sa国际传媒� said Whitney. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檇 never be able to pull that off now.sa国际传媒�
While it may have looked like a spontaneous prank, the plan had been in the works for months if not years.
Whitneysa国际传媒檚 college roommate, Bruce Amundson, was first to hatch the plan. Whitney and Amundson originally tried the prank on the smaller Seattle to Bremerton ferry and when that was a success, they set their sights on the Marguerite.
sa国际传媒淚t was a much more sophisticated event, with the three skiers. I believe, all total, it took 12 individuals to make this happen,sa国际传媒� said Whitney. sa国际传媒淟ooking back at the photos, itsa国际传媒檚 like something out of Starsky and Hutch.sa国际传媒�
The group got together recently for a 40-year reunion of the adrenaline-fuelled prank.
Eight years later, another young man would find himself in sa国际传媒淢aggiesa国际传媒檚sa国际传媒� wake.
| A newspaper clipping of 19-year-old University of Victoria student Brad Sherwin skiing behind the Princess Marguerite in 1984, as part of Thrill of a Lifetime TV show. (Submitted Brad Sherwin) |
This time the adventure was with permission and organized by the producers of Thrill of a Lifetime, a popular TV show in the 1980s.
People were encouraged to write in to the show to let the producers know what their biggest thrill would be. The program would then choose their favorites, arrange all the details for the adventure, and film it to be featured on the show.
In 1984, 19-year-old University of Victoria student Brad Sherwin wrote in.
sa国际传媒淚 told them my thrill would be to water ski behind a ferry,sa国际传媒� said 54-year-old Sherwin from his office in Vancouver, laughing at the memories of the event decades earlier. sa国际传媒淚 can remember almost every detail. I put it in an envelope because well, it was 1984.sa国际传媒�
Ten days later, Sherwin sa国际传媒� who grew up water skiing at his parentsa国际传媒檚 cabin on the Sunshine Coast sa国际传媒� got the call.
sa国际传媒淭hey said, sa国际传媒業t looks like we got a boat. It looks like the Princess Marguerite,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� said Sherwin.
The show also brought on board some experts sa国际传媒� Ian Tostenson and legendary water skiers Greg Athens and Steve Bush.
On the day, their powerboat sa国际传媒渨ent like hellsa国际传媒� to catch the 15,500 horse power ferry, that Sherwin said was going about 25 knots.
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sa国际传媒淭he adrenaline rush was amazing,sa国际传媒� said Sherwin. sa国际传媒淭hey dropped a life-ring off the back of boat. The guys reached out and grabbed the line, gave it to me and all of a sudden I was 300 feet behind the Princess Marguerite.sa国际传媒�
Sherwin skied for what felt like 30 minutes before he dropped a ski and went slalom.
sa国际传媒淚 started heading for the wake and it was so far away I just kept going and going,sa国际传媒� he said.
When it was over, the ski crew pulled up alongside the Princess Marguerite and the passengers on board were all cheering.
sa国际传媒淚t literally was a thrill of a lifetime,sa国际传媒� said Sherwin. sa国际传媒淓veryone gets their 15 minutes of fame. I got like three days.sa国际传媒�
As a memento, Sherwin was given the life-ring of the SS Princess Marguerite. To this day, it hangs in his home office, a reminder of his unforgettable thrill of a lifetime.
keri.coles@blackpress.ca
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