Gas Powered Surf Board....

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/boa/407139570.html

any of you seen one of these? better yet ridden one?

I saw one of these at the California state fair back in the early 80s. Some guy was cruising around the little man made lake at the waterpark at Cal-Expo. Looked fun, but I can't remember how fast that thing could go...

http://www.powerski.com/

I tried one of the newer alum. jet engine ones that are made now. I forget the name of the company, but there around the net somewhere. They have a flexible throttle cord you hold with one hand and you steer by leaning heel/toe side. They say you can do up to 35km/hr with them. I think the outfit that made them was looking to produce them internationally to bring the costs down.
They are fun, but I would think maintenance & engine repairs to be frequent & costly, since there are no major dealers behind them. If/when someone like seadoo, bombardier, etc.... picks them up, then they might be affordable and worth buying.

We tested the power ski a couple of years ago Josh Is riding the power ski in this clip among other boards This is why Josh is the Master of Boards or MoB www.grindtv.com/video/surf/Josh_Sleigh/

There was a company around in the early 90's called Surfjet. A local dealer brought out out for us to demo. Basically you started out on your knees and stood up when you were stable . The front handle was also the throttle--it took a little to get used to as you had to squeeze the throttle--if you got into some larger waves, the tendency to squeeze the throttle was almost automatic. You would lean to turn. They were a blast to figure out how to ride.