Fort Simpson's Mike Rowe, and his brother-in-law Danny Schaub, from Hay River, were eliminated from competition during the second day of the World Jet Boat Championships in Mexico last month.

"Mike was coming around a corner, going through the rapids, and he hit a rock. It spun the boat around and did some damage to the motor," said Ted Grant, who was the team's third man.

Rowe, a veteran of the event, entered his boat, equipped with a

600-horsepower motor, in the "C" class. He and Schaub had got off to a flying start on the opening day, making their way from 37th place overall -- their starting position was determined by a draw -- all the way up to ninth place.

"We would have done well if we hadn't had that little hiccup," Grant said.

They weren't alone in their misfortune. Grant estimated that only 24 of the 60 boats actually completed the race.

Just driving to and from this year's race site was a challenge in itself. Rowe, Schaub, Grant and Russell and Spencer King, of Hay River, drove a total of 15,000 kilometres.

"It's a long drive," Grant laughed. "It's not a holiday. I'm resting up now."

Driving in Mexico's mountains was also quite an eye-opener, he added.

"It's just like what I read in books over 40 years ago. I've got pictures of donkeys, goats, pigs and guys carrying handfuls of sticks and twigs for firewood," he said. "It's like going back into the 15th Century up there in the mountains. They're wearing the same clothes they've been wearing for several hundred years."

Racers converged from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.

The Kings, a father-and-son duo, won the "A" class, making them the world champions five years in a row.

Rowe's best placing came several years ago when he won the "B" division with Gerald Perron.

Next year's World Jet Boat Racing Championships will be held in Whitecourt, Alta., on the Athabasca River.