Mercury News

Mercury Marine-powered Water Ski Team presented with Guinness World Record

Fond du Lac, Wisc. – The Rock Aqua Jays water ski team in Janesville, Wisconsin – with triple 300hp Mercury Racing outboards on the transom and help from two other ski teams – has established a Guinness World Record for the largest human pyramid on water skis. The team thanked Mercury Marine by giving the company a plaque with the award during a ceremony at Mercury’s global headquarters in Fond du Lac.

“This record shows how passion, talent, and teamwork can come together in a common goal to execute a remarkable feat,” said Kevin Ostermeier of the Rock Aqua Jays, who was responsible for putting together the record run. “The power of those Mercury engines made a huge difference for us.”

A total of 80 skiers in multiple four-tier pyramids traveled 1,148 feet on the Rock River – about twice the distance necessary to officially surpass the previous 64-skier record. Joining the Rock Aqua Jays were skiers from the Aquanuts team from Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, and the Webfooters from Fremont, Wisconsin.

A pair of tandem boats pulled the skiers from the dock area, but the lead boat released when they reached open water and the record run was accomplished behind a single boat. The outboards were equipped with Mercury four-blade 15-pitch Revolution 4 propellers.

The skiers initially broke the existing record with a 70-skier pyramid, then added 10 more individuals on a subsequent run to establish the 80-skier record. Guinness officially confirmed the record.

The Rock Aqua Jays, founded in 1961, have won 20 national water-skiing titles since 1975. They annually perform ski shows on the Rock River twice weekly from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Their shows provide a platform for teaching members and the public about safe boating and water-skiing techniques. They were the first amateur team to build three-tier, four-tier and five-tier pyramids.