A partial view of the 145 water skiers who easily broke the previous record of 114 skiers pulled by a single vessel set two years ago.

Screen shot, Telegraph

he video: One 114-foot-long boat, two 1,550-horsepower engines, and 145 water skiers have broken the world record for the most skiers towed by a single vessel. The 145 skiers, ranging in age from 12 to 60, managed to stay upright for a nautical mile in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour off the west coast of Australia. (Watch the implausible feat below.) A total of 154 skiers started the stunt, but nine didn't last long enough to make the record book. And while Guinness has yet to officially certify the record, the 145 should easily beat the previous record of 114 skiers set two years ago... by the same group.

The reaction: Impressive, says Rick Chandler at NBC Sports. But "my first question, of course, is why?" The group's motivation is "shrouded in mystery." Come on, "there's something captivating about an attempt to break a previously set world record," says Matt Dellinger at CNN. And this tops the other water-skiing stunts we've seen — pyramids, Santas, and even "a water-skiing squirrel. Yawn." Watch history (probably) being made: