My brothers loved to tease and play rough with me. We closed the rental when stormy weather hit and pulled the skis out to ride the waves. We were used to choppy ocean water and strong currents in the middle of the passes dividing the gulf from the bay. We loved exploring all the surrounding waterways. That is where my brothers, Rick and Tim and I spent our childhood riding. He expanded his business to other locations including South Seas Plantation Resort on Captiva Island, Fl. The resort guests found the Jet Skis to be fabulous and the rental became a great success. The management at the CasaY Bell Resort on Sanibel Island agreed to give him a chance to set up an entertainment service for their guests.

He found the environment and water conditions better suited for his risky rental business. He made a wrong turn and got stuck on the causeway bridge forcing him to cross over from Ft. The resorts on the east coast of Florida were not willing to try this risky business so he drove to the southwest coast. The winter was much colder than dad expected, so he packed up his van and a huge trailer with everything he owned and drove to a warmer climate, South Florida. We all rode the company equipment as a family. I was seven years old the first time my brothers and I visited our dad there for our summer break. Soon my dad was the new Jet Ski rental owner/ operator at Lakeway Resort. He is a handy guy similar to MacGyver (an old 80’s show for the young audience who wouldn’t know.) He used to maintain yachts and boats of all sizes so he was confident he would figure out how to rebuild the broken down Jet Skis. My dad offered him a hundred dollars per ski, took them to his garage and began tinkering. One by one the fleet of Jet Skis broke down, putting the brave guy out of his unusual business. They were attractive but difficult to ride and maintain.

Jet Skis at the time looked like sci-fi vehicles off of a 007 movie. While selling condo timeshares at Lakeway Resort on Lake Travis, he watched a guy attempt to operate a Jet Ski rental. My dad, Richard Carlson moved to Austin Texas in 1977. Motor Action Media: Could you give me some background as to how you got involved in the sport? Motor Action Media gets an exclusive interview with the “Blonde-Bombshell”, multi-time world champion and founder of HEAL Alabama, Christy Carlson-Swaid.

Brenda burns professional jet ski racer