Strong winds, huge ocean swells – and a stingray barb through his left foot – could not stop Australian man Daniel Wilkins from completing an epic Jet Ski ride from Darwin to Bali.
After departing Darwin on 6 November 2024, Daniel Wilkins arrived in Bali on 1 December 2024, having completed 2650km over 26 days while encountering some of the best and worst weather Indonesia has to offer.
While Daniel Wilkins completed the entire journey from start to finish, the second Sea-Doo Fish Pro Sport – fitted with identical modifications including extra navigation aids, and a specially fabricated fuel rack – was shared by three of his mates who each did a section of the trip, before handing over to the next rider.
The journey included 10 days of riding – and 16 days for rest and sightseeing, easing the pace after a blistering start.
Daniel Wilkins covered 430km in the first two days – almost running out of fuel after arriving in Indonesia in the dark – and clocked up 1260km over the first six days.
However, he took 20 days to cover the final 1390km or so – while exploring some of the most remote islands in Indonesia.
Daniel Wilkins also used the more relaxed pace to nurse a puncture wound in his left foot (pictured below) after stepping on a stingray as he was walking his craft out of shallow water soon after the halfway point of the trip.
In what is believed to be a world-first journey by Jet Ski from Darwin to Bali, Daniel Wilkins started as a novice with less than 10 hours experience on his Sea-Doo before setting off on the epic adventure.
But he is now one of only a few Australians to take on such a long distance challenge.
In 2020 and 2021 Adelaide man Lindsay Warner rode a Kawasaki Jet Ski solo around mainland Australia – covering 15,000km over five months after being forced to split the journey into two huge stints due to COVID lockdowns at the time.
Lindsay Warner had already circumnavigated Tasmania by Jet Ski in 2019.
In 2023 Lindsay Warner completed a solo Jet Ski circumnavigation of the north and south islands of New Zealand, covering 5000km.
While some Jet Ski enthusiasts and long-distance ocean specialists initially expressed grave concerns about Daniel Wilkins’ ambitious plan to ride a Jet Ski from Darwin to Bali – given his limited experience – he has now silenced his critics.
In turns out Daniel Wilkins has more open water experience than many people realise, developing expert ocean navigation skills while growing up around boats.
He is also very good at paperwork; the trip took close to 12 months of planning to get the approvals for the Jet Skis to go through international waters, as well as the various customs clearances.
Daniel Wilkins said the pair of Sea-Doo Fish Pro Sport watercraft – which he purchased from a Perth Sea-Doo dealer, as he was not sponsored – had no mechanical faults.
Despite the fragile nature of Sea-Doo’s IDF (Intelligent Debris Free) debris removal system – which is prone to failure and can leave the craft stranded without forward or reverse thrust – the hardware did not malfunction, even though it was deployed a number of times throughout the journey to clear the jet pump.
Although each Sea-Doo Fish Pro Sport was equipped with extra navigation and safety equipment – and a specially fabricated fuel rack – they were otherwise in standard condition.
And the 170-horsepower 1630cc non-supercharged three-cylinder engine ran in ‘economy’ mode most of the way to conserve fuel.
Daniel Wilkins says the only failures were two Sea-Doo Linq accessory cleats on the craft that was shared by the other riders. They broke early in the journey due to the excessive weight of the fully loaded fuel rack.
Ratchet straps were used to secure the rack until two new Linq accessory cleats (which were carried as spares) could be fitted in a motorcycle repair shop on one of the islands along the way.
The idea for the international Jet Ski journey came from Daniel Wilkins, aged 41, a former chef originally from Wollongong NSW who has been living in Bali for 12 years, where he owns an alcohol home-delivery service called Wow Booze.
The second Jet Ski (decked out with identical modifications) was shared by three of Wilkins’ mates – from Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia – who each completed one of three legs.
The rider of the second Jet Ski for the first portion of the journey was New Zealand man Benjamin Nock, aged 35 – who works in Tasmania as a marine engineer and diver for Tassal Salmon, and previously worked with Wilkins on a pearl farm in the Northern Territory.
The rider of the second Jet Ski for the middle portion of the journey was Indonesian man Indra Palguna, aged 31 – who is Wilkins’ fishing buddy in Bali.
The rider of the second Jet Ski for the third portion of the journey was Zac Martin, aged 42, one of Wilkins’ former school friends from Wollongong NSW who now lives in Perth WA.
Watercraft Zone interviewed Daniel Wilkins over the phone after he arrived in Bali. Below is a transcript of the interview.
WZ: Well done, mate. How are you feeling?
Very relieved to have made it.
That was tougher than most people would imagine – both on the water and off the water.
WZ: Was there any point throughout the journey you thought you weren’t going to make it?
We had some of the most spectacular scenery and flat water you could ever dream of, but we also had some really rough conditions.
The last day was tough. There was a two-metre ocean swell and super high winds. The ocean was like a washing machine, there was heavy rain, and the conditions overall were getting worse, not better.
But we had to set off regardless. People thought we were nuts for even attempting to ride in that weather.
We changed our route and hugged the coast as much as we could.
WZ: Were there any mechanical issues?
Nothing serious. We had the Linq accessory cleats break on one of the skis early in the trip, but that was due to the extra weight of the fully loaded fuel rack. And the dash display in one of (the Sea-Doos) kept popping out of its housing.
But if I had the choice of buying any kind of (personal watercraft) again, I’d definitely go for one of these.
We even used (the IDF debris removal system) a few times throughout the journey and that didn’t fail, which was a massive relief.
WZ: How many hours are on each ski now?
When we started the trip each ski had done about 6.5 hours of operation.
Now each ski has clocked up more than 90 hours.
WZ: How much fuel did you go through?
I’m yet to do the final calculations but we ended up spending about $4000 on fuel across both craft. And fuel in Indonesia is relatively cheap at $1.20 per litre.
The price of petrol is set by the Indonesian government, so it’s the same everywhere you go.
WZ: On the first leg of the trip you had severe chafing on your legs and you had trouble seeing out of one eye due to the salt spray. Any other injuries for you or any of the other riders?
Beyond a sore back, sore legs, sore arms and a sore butt I am relatively ok. Just tired.
The most serious issue was when I accidentally stood barefoot on a stingray as we were getting ready to leave Flores just past the halfway mark in the trip.
I had just untied the ropes. It was low tide, so I was walking my ski out across the sand into deeper water to start it up.
I felt something wriggling under my feet, and then an incredible sharp pain went straight through my left foot.
I had stepped on a stingray. It stuck its barb straight in one side of my foot and straight out of the other.
I pulled my foot out of the water, and there was blood everywhere. I wish I had my GoPro camera running to capture it.
Straight away I opened my medical kit and started to get it cleaned up.
WZ: Did you get stitches for the wound?
No, it wasn’t possible at the time.
The pain without stitches was just incredible.
WZ: Did the wound get infected?
No, I took medication to counteract any possible infection. It was just the pain. Any slight bump on the ski was agony.
I bandaged the foot to stop the bleeding – and to keep riding.
I rode for the first few hours with my left foot up over the handlebars to try to stem the bleeding, and also to minimise the pain every time the ski would bump or move when you hit choppy water.
When we got to Riung I took the bandage off to redress the wound and it started bleeding badly again. I was bleeding all over the jetty. It wasn’t pretty.
WZ: Did you get medical attention?
No, I had a complete medical kit and I’m not sure a doctor or a hospital would have done anything different to what I did to treat it.
That said, the pain was immense.
WZ: Now you’ve completed the journey, what would you do differently if you were to do it again?
Certainly I would get better footwear (laughs). But on a serious note I should have seen if it was possible for Australian Border Force to come out to Melville Island and checkout from Australia there.
Not being able to dock for fuel there – and not to be able to sleep on one of the small islands after you’ve cleared Australian Customs – made the start of the trip more difficult than it needed to be.
I respect the rules. But now that I have a better understanding, I would try to find a way to leave Australia further north, rather than from Darwin.
WZ: Were the locals on the remote islands surprised to see you guys arrive on a pair of Jet Skis?
Actually it was quite funny. TikTok is huge in Indonesia and my wife had been putting up videos on TikTok – in Indonesian language – telling people about the trip, and it went viral.
One place we arrived someone came up to us as said ‘you’re the guys on TikTok’.
We pulled up on the beach and as we were parking up the skis, a guy came out waving his phone,‘It’s you, it’s you!’
Above from left to right: Daniel Wilkins, Indra Palguna, and Zac Martin.
WZ: How did it feel to finally arrive in Bali?
Because of the bad weather it was a small welcome party with family and close friends.
Indra was there. He helped organise the welcome party, so three of the four riders were there together at the finish.
The rider who joined me on the first leg, Benjamin Nock, couldn’t be there because he had to work.
But the reality is I couldn’t have done this trip without these guys. Each of them brought a different skill set.
WZ: Do you plan to get back on the skis anytime soon?
After the welcome party on the beach we had to ride the skis a kilometre or so to a place where we could take them out of the water.
But the water in Bali is so polluted we ended up getting chunks of debris in the impellers of both skis.
The IDF (debris removal system) couldn’t clear the debris, so we just parked them up and decided to deal with it when we get the skis serviced.
So we got to see the most beautiful parts of Indonesia, the most pristine waters of Indonesia, and we also got to see the worst of the pollution.
The closer you get to tourist hot spots – such as Bali and Lombok – the water gets more polluted.
WZ: Will you do a trip like this again?
I’m still thinking about it.
A lot of people want to join me join a similar trip next year but crossing the Timor Sea was pretty tough. Physically tough and mentally tough.
You’re riding for 12 hours or so with no land in sight and it’s really easy to lose your bearings. You’re reliant solely on your navigation.
WZ: Finally, how much money have you raised for the charity Sole Family, which helps disadvantaged locals in Bali?
We’ve raised about 20 million Indonesian Rupiah, which is about $AU2000.
I’m matching that dollar for dollar. So we’ve ended up raising $AU4000.
To donate go to the Sole Family charity page by clicking here.
Above: The original plan was to complete 10 days of Jet Ski riding, with plenty of extra time for sightseeing. In the end, the total journey took 26 days from 6 November to 1 December 2024.
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Day 1 (142km)
Darwin to Pirlangimpi, Melville Island (camp on Seagull Island)
Day 2 (390km)
Seagull Island to Saumlaki
Day 3 (200km)
Saumlaki to Tepa, Babar Island
Day 4 (280km)
Tepa, Babar Island to Wonreli Harbour, Kisar Island
Day 5 (280km)
Wonreli, Kisar Island to Mali, Alor Island
*Rider of the second ski hands over to the next rider in Mali, Alor Island
Day 6 (187km)
Mali, Alor Island to Larantuka, Flores
Day 7 (250km)
Larantuka, Flores to Riung, Flores
Day 8 (280km)
Riung, Flores to Bima Sumbawa, Flores
*Rider of the second ski hands over to the next rider in Labuan, Bajo
Day 9 (315km)
Bima, Sumbawa, Gili Air, Lombok
Day 10 (105km)
Gili Air, Lombok to Sanur Beach, Bali
Planned total distance (excluding detours and navigation variations): 2300km. In the end, 2650km was completed.
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