Let’s Go Play in the Water

This past summer I had the chance to return to San Diego with the family. Although we did a repeat on Legoland and Seaworld, it was the water adventures this time that stood out. Here’s a story about a surprise adventure that ended up being the highlight of our trip.

On one particular day during our visit to San Diego, we took on three water-esque activities. I want to share with you first the story of the last one we did that day as it was the most memorable.

We had purchased a 4-Day San Diego Go Card which gave us a whole ton of attractions we could take on for a single price. The card made it a lot easier to do many of the things in the area without having to buy individual tickets. One of the items listed was “San Diego Speed Boat Adventures” (shown on the map above). Based on the description given, it sounded like we would get to ride in a speedboat out in the bay.

We arrived at the given address on time and went through the orientation which was where the biggest surprise was revealed to us. The adventure was not going to be in going on a tour with someone else, but actually driving the boats ourselves. Each boat could carry between 2-3 people and we would be guided around the bay area by radio. I would be doing the driving in one boat with my son and mother-in-law while my wife would drive the boat with my daughter.

As you can see from the photo here, the boats really are just big enough to fit a few passengers. Neither my wife or I had ever driven a boat, let alone a speedboat, but today would prove to be pretty amazing.

The ride started out pretty simple as we drove pretty slow out of the dock area and into the bay. There were 5 or 6 boats I think in all but our guide had warned me that the boat I had (seen above in blue) had a bit more kick to it than the others but I would still be fine to push it to the max as we got out into the water.

There was a radio in each of the boats that the guide would call out to us from. He would give us instructions about when we could speed up or slow down. The idea was for each of us to follow the boat in front of us and essentially stay close together but not so close that you’d bump into each other.

When we got out into “open water”, our guide told us to slam on the gas and away we went. At first it was a little scary but as long as you paid attention to where you were, and what was around you, it was a ton of fun. When you’re just putt-putting around you don’t notice the waves or the water. But as soon as you put some gas on it, the boat would feel like it would “hop” or “skip” along the water. Bump, bump, bump and often we would wonder if it was going to flip but we were assured by the guide it wouldn’t happen.

Funny thing about driving a speedboat, especially at higher speeds is the fact that the nose goes WAY up in the water and for a few moments, you can’t see a thing in front of you. I had both my mother-in-law and my son sticking their heads out to the side to make sure I wasn’t anywhere near someone else. Eventually, even at high speeds, the nose does finally come down and you feel a bit better about where you are going. But at first, it freaks you out a little bit.

We went west from the dock down to Smugglers Cove and then turned around and made our way to “downtown”. We had already been to the deck of the USS Midway museum that day but didn’t expect to see it from the water.

Shown here, this is the front of the boat as we slowed down towards the USS Midway. The USS Midway is a full sized aircraft carrier that serves as a museum now in the San Diego Bay. While out for our cruise, the guide brought us around and we actually pulled right into the port side of the carrier and drove our boats almost close enough to touch the carrier ourselves.

From there we went onto the other side to catch a few more sailing ships before heading back to the dock itself.

One fun fact I learned about driving a boat is that there are no brakes, at least on those boats anyway. To slow down you literally just release the throttle and the resistance of the water is enough to stop the boat rather quickly. On several occasions while out on the water we’d be told to slow down or stop and it was amazing how quickly the boat comes to a halt after turning the throttle off.

After having to slow down considerably to return to the docks, our guide hauled us back onto land and it was over.

The entire experienced lasted a couple of hours and was definitely the highlight of the trip for all of us. I cannot tell you how much fun it was and would absolutely do it again. If I thought I could afford it and sustain it, I think a business like this would do great in Shediac over the summer months.