Water Power : 4,400 Go to an Extreme at Opening Day of Jet Jam

There was the rider who performed the “air chair”--a stunt in which a daredevil, towed by a motorized water ski, sits in a chair bolted to a hydrofoil and loops through the air.

Other skiers did headstands and went backward and some even went completely underwater, watercraft and all.

It was just another day at Jet Jam ’96 next to the Pond, where 4,400 people Friday watched the wacky water antics and other examples of “extreme” sports such as “reverse bungee jumping” and rock climbing.

Almost as intriguing as the water sports was where they were performed: a 1,000-foot-long, 360-foot-wide temporary lake created in the Santa Ana River by building levees and filling the basin with 15 million gallons of water.

“I think putting the water in the river was pretty impressive,” said J.V. Howell, 65, of Newport Beach.

In fact, organizers said curiosity about the instant pond will help draw about 80,000 to the event, which ends Sunday. The water will then be recycled.

“There is a natural curiosity involved when you put on an event like this,” said John Nicoletti, spokesman for the Pond of Anaheim, who hopes Jet Jam will become as popular as the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Stan Bacher, 35, of Aliso Viejo is optimistic about that.

“This is going to be the grand prix of jet skiing,” Bacher said, as he watched demonstrations and grabbed free stickers and posters offered by vendors. He intends to come back for the weekend to “party on the water.”

The extreme sports lured Derek Bell, 14, of Fullerton, who enjoyed the in-line skating demonstrations. Although he can skate, he could not do the flips on semi-circular ramps that performers were doing.

“I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time,” Bell said. “I like all the extreme sports because they’re different. Not too many people have heard about them and they are just getting popular.”

But the event proved too much for Ramona Due, 82, of Sherman Oaks.

“It’s for the young,” she said. “I walk, ride bikes, and do shuffleboard. That’s the kind of thing I do.”