Fort St. John crew win back-to-back jet boat racing world titles

TAYLOR, B.C. — Fort St. John’s Gord Humphrey stood at the top of the World Jet Boat Championships mountain for the second year running. 

However, this year was different – as he did it at home. 

Humphrey and his navigator Jason Palfy, the 2024 unlimited-class world jet boat racing champions, took the title this weekend after 15 stages piloting his boat Unnatural Disaster – with the last three held at Peace Island Park in Taylor.

He won the unlimited class once again, with his combined time of four hours, 35 minutes and 20 seconds easily outpacing New Zealand’s Kevin Hyde, who came in second with a time of four hours, 59 minutes and four seconds.

This was Humphrey’s third world title, his first coming in 2015.

Watch Humphrey and Palfy celebrate in a video posted to Facebook, here.

Elsewhere, Fort St. John’s Trapper Wolsey – who piloted Leroy – finished seventh in the CX class, which was won by Hay River’s Tanner Froehlich. 

The 2025 World Jet Boat Championships featured the best boat racers from around the world, including crews from Mexico, New Zealand and the United States. 

It was held from June 20th to 29th and was co-hosted in Alberta’s Peace River and Grande Prairie alongside this weekend’s final leg in Taylor.

More details are available at Jet Boat Racing Canada’s Facebook page.

Energeticcity.ca reached out to Peace Country River Rats, which hosted the event at Peace Island Park, but did not immediately receive a response.