The annual Blowsion Beach Bash, Jetman received the golden

beach
bash
The annual Blowsion Beach
Bash, Jetman received the
golden ticket…
Y
ou will be familiar with Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory, the story of
Charlie Bucket finding a golden ticket
which allowed him to embark on a truly
wondrous adventure. Willy Wonka was the
largest producer of chocolate in the world
and, similarly, Blowsion Kustoms are one of
the largest producers of sweet watercraft
bling. And every year Blowsion hold a
momentous beach party on the northwest
coast of America, unofficially known as
the ‘Beach Bash’. Recently, I found myself
in Charlie’s shoes when a golden ticket
dropped onto the mat of my inbox – a
personal invitation to join parishioners of
the Oregon surf church for a weekend of
unholy Communion.
For those of you unfamiliar with the
company, Blowsion are the world’s largest
stand-up specialists and masters of showstopping ski designs. The Beach Bash is
not a publicly advertised event, in fact
it’s not an event at all and Blowsion chief,
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John ‘Wonka’ Dady and his team of Oompa
Loompas refer to it as a family gathering.
Now, Oregon is quite a trip from the UK,
especially as the party is only a one day
affair. But over the 17 years it has been
running, traditions have meant that it
evolved into a weekend or longer for staff
and regulars. Originally, it was a New Years
celebration with Randy of WatCon fame but
they soon realised it would be better with
more bikinis in attendance, so moved it to a
warmer time of year.
The madness started with our airport
pick-up turning into a D.I.Y affair when
Blowsion upholsterer and our driver, Andrew
Cutlip, handed us keys to our car and
disappeared into his own. I knew there was
a reason they had sent me maps, which of
course I hadn’t printed. Soon I was hot on
his tail in the Subaru, which wasn’t any old
Legacy but John’s personal dune rider. The
all-wheel-drive may have covered enough
miles to reach the moon but was more than
capable of making the round trip. Leaving
Portland we shortly arrived in Sherwood to
the southwest, pulling up at Blowsion HQ.
An assembly of people and vehicles were on
site loading supplies and watercraft or just
hanging out. IFWA Freerider Ross Champion
Sell your ski now at www.jetskier.co.uk
was in the workshop reassembling his
freshly painted competition ski, while
a group had gathered around a 1970’s
Cadillac hearse, unseen for eight years
since an incident involving freestyler Lloyd
Burlew, an FX1 and a broken windscreen!
Well, it’s getting a makeover this winter and,
before fitting some new boots, mechanic
Dave felt it appropriate to remove the old
rubber with his right foot.
Much silliness later and with everything
loaded, it was time for the convoy of cars,
trucks and toy haulers to leave for the party.
We headed west on a two hour drive to
Pacific City in South Tillamook County, the
land of cheese, trees and ocean breeze. On
our short journey to the coast we passed
large expanses of farming land before
climbing hills and heading into forest,
where we crossed rivers with bald eagles
circling above. The scenery was stunning
but nothing prepared us for the first sight
of Haystack Rock. As the hills and forest
gave way to the coast, above everything
else towered the 327-foot sea stack, a mile
offshore in Nestucca Bay. The huge rock
seemed to watch us as we arrived in Pacific
city, its gaze following us as we cruised
downtown. Pacific City has managed to
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keep its small town charm, it is secluded
but not isolated and the one blinking
stoplight at the main intersection in town is
actually quite soothing.
The early arrivals were already out
catching some waves at the mouth of the
Nestucca Bay. Three miles across the deep
sandy beach where the Nestucca River and
its smaller relation the Little Nestucca River
meet was the destination for the Beach
Bash faithful. We met up with them that
evening, as another tradition is dinner at
the Los Caporals Mexican restaurant. It was
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good to see familiar faces as other industry
and media family arrived and not forgetting
the Blowsion Air Force Riders. Fajitas and a
few margaritas later it was time to get some
rest ready for the long day ahead.
Party Time
Saturday, party day and an early start.
We woke to the spectacular sight of the sun
illuminating Haystack Rock from our ocean
view room at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda. As
the dories set out for a day of fishing from
the slip opposite we headed to the north of
the Cape to Tierra Del Mar, a huge expanse
of beach with permitted vehicle access. The
Blowsion gang were onsite by 8am to begin
preparing for the day ahead. The barbeque,
a Sheik Elite III Monster custom, capable of
cooking 600 lbs of ribs at a time, had been
set up and animal man, Dave Meshishnek,
was being assisted by Howdy Doody and
G-Wally (aka Thad Metzger and Greg Wall)
in loading it to capacity.
The logistics for entertaining and
feeding the expected 150 people were
huge but as trucks, Hummers and 4x4s
arrived, everything was in place for their
enjoyment. EZ ups had been erected,
tables laid out and a beach volleyball court
marked. A sound system came to life with
speaker stands dug into the sand, as the
back of a truck became the DJ booth. The
temperature soared into the 80s although a
gentle breeze kept things comfortable, but
if you did find yourself getting warm there
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JS&PW
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was always the Pacific Ocean to cool off in.
Soon, the local Sheriff arrived and
mingled with the riders. He offered
helpful advice and carried out
safety checks on the watercraft.
Those who met the local
regulations with the appropriate
registration numbers, fire
extinguishers and noise-making
devices were issued stickers to save
them being checked again once out
on the water. This good example of a
proactive approach to policing ensured that
no tickets were issued on that day.
Conditions weren’t the best that can be
expected from the Oregon coast but the sun
more than made up for it. With the tide low,
some nice one to two metre waves provided
a good playground, especially for the newer
riders just starting out in the surf. There
was a good mix in attendance spanning
several generations, making it a real family
affair. A shout of hotdogs from DJ Earl
Forster and all the youngsters were soon
assembled giving parents a short breather
whilst the kids had some lunch. With many
years hosting the bash, everything is taken
care of and nothing is too much trouble for
the Blowsion crew.
When the tide turned the waves became
bigger and more powerful, so was time for
the Air Force riders to take to the water.
Local US riders Ross Champion, Randy
Laine, Darin Anderson and Zach Waddle
were there, as well as 2006 IFWA StandUp Freeride Champion Pierre Maixent,
who made the journey from France. On
board John Dady’s Superjet ‘The Liberty’,
adorned with a stars and stripes and Statue
of Liberty paint scheme, Pierre soon had
everyone on their feet at the water’s edge.
This was the first time he had ridden the
ski, in preparation for a ride with Freestyle
Motocross legend Travis Pastrana the
following week in Mexico. Blowsion were
just finishing off a custom watercraft for
Travis for the filming of ThrillBillies, the next
instalment in the Nitro Circus film series.
As the sun slowly sank towards the
horizon and the watercraft were packed
away it was time to roll out the food and
drink. Ribs, beef, chicken, stir-fry, pasta,
salad, the list of food on offer was endless.
A huge queue formed to be served whilst
others stood in line at the beer truck. Once
again the boys in blue, or should I say
brown, joined us but in greater numbers.
Word had obviously spread that the food
was ready.
It was after dark when the last person
left the beach but the night was nowhere
near over. Another Beach Bash tradition is
a visit to the Nestucca Bar and Grill. More
food, lots more drink and when everyone
was ready, a bad Karaoke session. This is
where things really heated up.
Beach Bashed
Before I’m completely out of column
inches I must tell you about the raffle and
the good cause it
and other fundraising
supports. Devin
Michael Hoffmeister
is a local two year
old fighting against
Acute Lymphatic
Leukaemia. The
family has limited
24 JS&PW
resources to deal with the growing medical
expenses at Doernbechers Children’s
Hospital and his plight was brought to
John’s attention by teacher Karin Delgado,
who oversaw the handling of the funds for
Devin. Throughout the weekend and online
in the run up to it, tickets were sold for
the annual raffle. A one-dollar ticket gives
you the chance to win prizes generously
donated by a huge array of supporters,
including JSU, Western Power Sports,
Fiberlay, Hydro Turf and Worx Racing USA
along with Jetpilot, the IJSBA, Nike Oregon
and, of course, Blowsion. The list of prizes
has become so large it can no longer be
transported or drawn on site and you’d have
to be very unlucky not to win anything.
More importantly 100% of the funds raised
went to help Devin and his family. Since
the Beach Party, Devin is showing signs of
improvement from the treatments and is
hoping to have his hair back soon.
John and the Blowsion crew would
like to thank the following that help to
make the Beach Bash happen.
‘Animal Man’ Dave Meshishnek and
Jason ‘Half Slant’ Setera for the Rib
Feast cook off.
Earl ‘DJ Snizzle’ Forster from Omega
Audio for the Beach Tunes and
colourful commentary on site.
Mike Lobey from Food Services of
America for the grub and eats hook up.
Sam Caruso from Caruso Produce
(Team Sam Fam Corn and all fresh
veggies).
Chris and Sissy Johnson of Nestucca
Lodge/Tidewater (Evening bar party).
Josh “Chippy” Dale from Frito Lay
(chips, chains, taters and whips).
Ben and Sharon Johnson for the
Portable Bathroom hook up.
Scott Macindoe from Fiberlay for
helping out with the refreshing liquids
and party sponsorship.
Sell your ski now at www.jetskier.co.uk
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Related Links
www.blowsion.com
www.pacificcity.net
www.innatcapekiwanda.com