Jet sprinting: Family just loves to go fast

Nick Berryman with daughter Ella Berryman.

The Berryman family love to go fast.

The Rotorua family of four have all raced or navigated in the New Zealand Jet Sprint Championships during the past seven years.

Ella Berryman, 17, is the latest to jump into the navigator seat and will race with her father, Nick Berryman, in Tauranga this weekend.

The John Paul College student said this would be her second time navigating in the passenger seat and she simply loved the speed.

"It is pretty fast," she said. "You get a big adrenaline rush from it."

As a navigator, it is her role to guide her father around the track, which is only 5m-6m wide and includes numerous tight corners.

"You have to memorise the track and use your hands to direct [the pilot]."

The Rotorua father-and-daughter pairing will race in a world first this weekend during the second round of the Jet Sprint Championships inside ASB Baypark Stadium.

Jet sprints have never been held in a stadium before. Nick Berryman said it was going to be an exciting day out on Saturday.

"It is an exciting undertaking from Tauranga District Council. A lot of people from around the world are watching this to see how well we can do it," he said.

Berryman said they were aiming for a top five position in the superboat division, which is the equivalent of the premier division of the New Zealand Jet Sprint Championships.

Berryman said his wife, Richelle, had been his navigator for the past six years but was taking a break this year.

The couple's best finish in the superboat division of the championships was third overall in the 2010/2011 season.

This year, the Berryman family are racing with a new engine in their boat, a V8 engine with a whipple supercharger.

The boat accelerates from 0-100km/h in less than two seconds and provides about 1000hp.

"It has given us so much more. We are also looking to put a new hull on it, which should shave off two or three seconds [on each run]."

The family also own tourism business New Zealand River Jet, between Rotorua and Taupo, so have plenty to do with jet boating in the area.

The New Zealand Jet Sprint Championships include six rounds with this weekend's round in Tauranga the closest to Rotorua. Berryman said they were the only Rotorua team in the championships.

Racing begins at 2.30pm on Saturday at ASB Baypark Stadium.
Berryman said they were the only Rotorua team in the championships.