Towing apparatus for personal watercraft

Towing apparatus for towing a personal watercraft at a desired towing distance behind a tow boat, the personal watercraft having a bow and a coupler adjacent the bow, and the tow boat having a stern, the towing apparatus comprising:

• first and second elongate towing units, each towing unit having a first end, and a second end spaced longitudinally from the first end;
• a linking member linking together the first ends of the elongate towing units, the linking member being linked to the first ends so as to enable the towing units to be spaced apart laterally from one another at the second ends;
• a first coupling adjacent the linked first ends of the towing units for coupling the towing units with the coupler of the personal watercraft;
• and
• a second coupling adjacent the second end of each of the towing units for coupling each second end to the stern of the tow boat, with the second ends being spaced apart laterally;
• each towing unit including
• a tow line extending longitudinally from the first end to the second end of the towing unit;
• a tensioning member extending longitudinally along the tow line from the first end to the second end of the towing unit, the tensioning member including a wall having longitudinally opposite ends, the wall being laterally flexible and longitudinally resistant to compression for enabling managed flexion of the tensioning member, the managed flexion allowing controlled flexing in lateral directions while resisting compression in longitudinal directions;
• and
• a securing arrangement at each end of the wall for securing the tow line at each end of the wall, with the tow line maintained in tension and the wall in compression for enabling the managed flexion;
• such that upon coupling the first coupling with the personal watercraft and coupling the second coupling with the tow boat, the managed flexion of the wall of each towing unit enables controlled lateral and altitudinal movements of the personal watercraft relative to the tow boat while maintaining the desired towing distance between the personal watercraft and the tow boat.