Port Douglas will be ambushed by a fleet of jet skis invading the waterways next month – but it’s all for charity.

More than 60 Personal Water Craft will converge on Dickson Inlet on Sunday, April 28 as they embark on the 2013 Cooktown and Down Yamaha Variety Jet Trek.

A total of 140 participants will leave Cooktown earlier that day on their voyage past Ayton, Port Douglas, Yorkey’s Knob, Cairns, Green Island, Etty Bay, Mission Beach, Cardwell, Lucinda, Magnetic Island and arriving in Townsville on May 3 – a course of more than 600km over six days.

Event organisers say it will make it the biggest Yamaha Variety Jet Trek to date and is expected to raise thousands of dollars for Variety – the Children’s Charity of Queensland - and their mission to empower Queensland kids who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs.

Last year’s event saw 28 skis and more than $70,000 raised, so with this year’s event more than doubling in entrants, it’s expected the 2013 Yamaha Variety Jet Trek will make waves for Queensland kids with proceeds raised to assist in empowering Queensland children who are sick and disadvantaged, or those who have special needs, to live, laugh and learn.

Participants will travel through towns and communities, visiting children and schools along the way.

Motoring Events Director, Rob Goodwin, said while the 2013 Cooktown and Down Yamaha Variety Jet Trek was an adrenalin-packed fundraising adventure, the environment was also taken into consideration.

“The Yamaha Variety Jet Trek is an ideal event for like-minded people to come together and enjoy the open water in areas that may be difficult to access independently, while raising money for a great cause,” Mr Goodwin said.
“We’ve also got a marine biologist on board and we have all put countless hours into configuring safety precautions and systems for moving the Personal Water Crafts on and off boat ramps and limiting our effect on the environment.”

For more information, see http://www.variety.org.au/QLD/Events/Motoring-Events/2013-Cooktown-and-Down-Yamaha-Variety-Jet-Trek/