> SkiSurfing News: Randy Laine Article

12/11/2005

Name - Randy Laine
Nickname - The Mayor
Profession - Jet Skier
Birth date - Jul 17, 1968
Current Residence - Carlsbad, CA / United States of America


© Sean Davey     

Freeride and Tow-in Jetskiing

Randy Laine is a modern-day Captain Ahab, searching the broad expanse of the ocean for an elusive giant. But the giant he’s looking for isn’t a monster whale named Moby Dick. It’s a monster wave: 100 vertical feet of salt water, to be exact. Laine plans to ride it on a jetski. A pioneer in two sports – freeride jetskiing and tow-in surfing – Laine has earned the nickname of “The Mayor of Watercraft,” and his services are in constant demand by pro surfers, film crews, and event organizers. But he still loves nothing better than to ride for himself, and if his world-record run on a 72-foot wave is any indication, he’s just the man to tame a 100-foot crest.

© Robert Brown                   

Natural waterbug

“I was born in North Carolina, but I grew up in California, where I started swimming at age 4 and ended up competing in waterskiing, too. I was always a waterbug,” Laine laughs. As he matured, Laine turned to surfing and took part in the pro circuit (as did his younger brother, Wes).

Around 1978, Laine started riding a jetski, and he was immediately stoked about the possibilities. At that time, most people were using jetskis on flat water, never imagining that they could work on the ocean. That’s where Laine’s many years of surfing and waterskiing experience came in.

“I can honestly say that I was one of the first guys to tow a surfer. I had a stand-up ski and I dragged Wes around on his surfboard,” Laine remembers with a chuckle. “But the jetski wasn’t powerful enough, and if we hit the wave wrong, the surfer could yank the jetski out of the water!”

Jetskis would need to progress before tow-in surfing could become a reality, but in the meantime, Laine led the freeride movement. “Riding a jetski seemed like the perfect cross between surfing and motocross,” Laine remembers. “The term freeride watercrafting was coined in the early 1980s to refer to a pilot who rides the ocean and doesn’t conform to the rules of racing. It was a whole new sport.”

Laine was that new sport’s acknowledged Mayor. In 1984, Surfing Magazine raved, “Randy jumped, slashed, carved, and outran waves . . . that made the top pro competitors look like they were surfing on sedatives in comparison. . . . [He] is virtually unbeatable.” Laine also pushed for the evolution of watercraft, encouraging manufacturers to design jetskis that were cleaner, quieter, and appropriate for ocean conditions. As a result, stand-up skis especially for ocean riding evolved, and heavy, sit-down craft (butt-boats, as Laine calls them), were developed for tow-in surfing. Both surfers and waterski pilots faced a whole new world of opportunity.

© H. Selwitz

Natural pioneer

Today, from his home base of Carlsbad, California, Laine travels the globe doing freeride demos, coordinating equipment and water safety for events, and towing surfers into the largest waves on the planet.

“The ability to tow in enables a surfer to whip into a massive wave at 40 to 50 miles per hour,” Laine says with excitement in his voice. “It’s a team effort, and the driver is critical. You need to put the surfer on the right wave, at the right speed, with no wake – and you’ve got to stick around to get him out of the impact zone quickly if something happens.”

Because Laine is one of the best in the business, lots of folks want him to be part of their “team,” and he always seems willing to accommodate. He even worked the Red Bull Ice Break competition in February 2004, where the Nova Scotia air temperature was 25 degrees below zero and icicles formed on his ski. He has appeared in countless TV shows, commercials, videos, and movies, including Step into Liquid and the recent Billabong Odyssey, for which he also served as marine coordinator.

“Billabong is funding a multi-year expedition in the hope of enabling a surfer to ride a 100-foot wave for the first time, and I’m thrilled to be involved,” Laine explains. “Riding a 100-foot wave has been my own personal goal for a long time, too. I like towing surfers and driving cameras, but freeriding is what I love best of all. It’s just a matter of finding that wave.”

Actually, he clarifies, the trick is first finding a storm several days out to sea that’s powerful enough to generate a 100-foot wave in calm local conditions – and then getting to the location, wherever in the world it might be, on a moment’s notice. Laine’s amazing ride on a 72-foot wave on the Cortes Bank (about 100 miles west of San Diego) in 2001 came close to his dream, but it wasn’t the triple-digit grail.

“I have full confidence that it’ll happen in the next couple of years,” The Mayor nods. “In the meantime, I’m enjoying life. I pay the bills doing something I love, and I’ve pioneered a couple of sports in the process – even though I didn’t realize I was pioneering anything at the time!”

He shrugs with a quiet smile, “It just seemed like the natural thing to do.”

Randy's website - www.jetskistunts.com
Randy - Photo Gallery - http://www.jetskistunts.com/gallery.htm

by: http://www.redbullusa.com

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