Lifestyle Travel Celebrity Vacations Dawson's Creek's James Van Der Beek and Kerr Smith Recall Death-Defying Jetski Experiences While Shooting Series James Van Der Beek and Kerr Smith reunited at the fan event to reminisce about the iconic series that also starred Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes By Dory Jackson Dory Jackson Dory Jackson is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE's TV News team. Upon joining the brand in March 2021, she has had the opportunity to interview a long list of celebrities, from Kate Hudson to Pierce Brosnan to Billy Porter. She has also helped recap popular TV shows like 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' 'Sister Wives' and 'Vanderpump Rules.' The New York-based Maryland native graduated from Randolph-Macon College in May 2016 with a focus on Communication Studies and Journalism. She came to PEOPLE in March 2021 after working at a number of major news companies, including Newsweek and Us Weekly. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 16, 2024 06:12PM EDT Comments (L-R) James Van Der Beek and Kerr Smith. Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty;Tiffany Rose/WireImage There's no better time than now to revisit one of the most iconic teen dramas of all time! On Saturday, former Dawson's Creek stars James Van Der Beek and Kerr Smith reunited at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut to look back on the series while in conversation with PEOPLE's Breanne Heldman. In doing so, the pair also reflected on what life was like behind the scenes of the hit series, which was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. "A couple of like a couple of the guys on the crew had boats and you know we had the guest stars come in and the writers come in every episode and we would take them out on the water on the weekends," Smith, 52, recalled. "We'd stop and eat crab in the morning yet. And we'd fill up the boats with whatever we needed. We would barbecue out on the island. We all had jetskis." More specifically of the jetskis, Smith joked: "I'm surprised I didn't actually kill myself!" Smith then recalled just how dangerous things could get out on the water. "I don't know if you guys know how the intercostal waterway works down in Wilmington, but there's a lot of grassy area and when the tide is higher, it kind of becomes a race course. When the tides lower, it's all mud," he explained. "So, I used to go back there and get this thing up to 70 miles an hour on the water. And I remember one time, I hit a sandbar and I flew 100 feet over the handlebars and made some waves." 90s Con 2024: Tales from the Star-Studded Event Saturday, Including Dawson's Creek and Full House Panels Chiming in, Van Der Beek noted how they "used to get hurricanes every year." But that didn't stop them from catching waves. "What I [would] do is I would book the first flight out the next morning and I would get on my jetski and would ride the hurricane waves," he admitted. "When you rode the back of the toward shore, the way the wave was going, it was an optical illusion because you couldn't see the shoreline but you were convinced you were going up and up and up and up," he continued. "By the time the wave broke. I was convinced I was, like, 200 feet in the air." Sometimes, their jetski fun would get them into "trouble," as Smith noted that "sometimes you hit the back jet on the ground and you break the prop," which would then require them to get "towed." The Cast of 'Dawson's Creek': Where Are They Now? Dawson's Creek ran on The WB (now The CW) from 1998 to 2003 for six seasons. Created by Kevin Williamson, the series followed two childhood best friends navigating different stages of their teen years together, including going on to date other people. Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, Mary-Margaret Humes, John Wesley Shipp, Mary Beth Peil, Nina Repeta, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps also starred in the series. 'Dawson's Creek' cast in 1998. Frank Ockenfels/Warner Bros Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock Holmes, 45, shared during the Kering Women in Motion talks at Cannes year that "there have been many discussions over the years" about bringing the series back. However, she's still unsure if revisiting it nowadays is the right fit. "We all loved the experience," she said, per Variety. "There's a protection that comes along with the discussion. The show was a time capsule. To put it into today's world might tarnish it a little bit." "It was right before everyone had a phone and social media and all of that, so there was an innocence that was there between the characters that was one of the things I think people liked about the show," she added. "To put it into the setting of today’s world, I'm not sure." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 90s Con is occurring through Sunday at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut.