Hawaii’s Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Parasailing in the
quiet island skiesFrom our vantage point high in the sky where the birds play, West Maui looks like a magnificent still life. To our left the West Maui Mountains stare down at Lahaina Harbor, where dozens of boats rest peacefully at anchor. To our right lies the island of Lanai, a gray-green hump crowned by a lei of clouds. Above us is a seemingly endless blue awning.
What strikes us is the quiet. Here, 600 feet above the undulating Pacific, it is surprisingly still. When we glance down, we can see the speedboat that is towing us on an 800-foot line, but we can't hear it. Sitting beside each other on "swing seats" that are essentially sturdy polyester and canvas straps attached to a metal yoke that's in turn connected to a bright yellow parachute, or "canopy," we feel like we're floating.
This is definitely not the fast, wild ride we had expected. Quite the contrary, parasailing is calming, meditative.
A combination of parachuting and sailing, parasailing supposedly was first used by American troops during World War II as a way to scout for enemy submarines. In 1961, Frenchman Pierre-Marcel Lemoigne modified the typical round parachute to a hemispherical shape that ascended when pulled by a car. Two years later, an American firm, the Pioneer Parachute Co., purchased the patent license rights from Lemoigne to manufacture and sell his invention using the trade name Parasail.
COURTESY UFO PARASAIL
Parasailing gives riders the feeling of floating 600 feet above the Pacific. It's more of a feeling of zen than thrill ride.
Parasailing was popularized as a recreational activity in Mexico in the 1970s. Back then, canopies were raised by Jeeps driven on the beach. Participants had to run until their parachute got enough lift from the wind and the speed of the vehicle rolling in front of them to carry them up. Because they could fall and hit objects such as trees, power lines and buildings along the way, this type of parasailing was not safe. Later, the sport moved to the water, but the ride usually entailed a "wet" launch and landing on a platform moored in the ocean.
IN 1970, 15-year-old Mark McCulloh was introduced to parasailing during a family vacation in Acapulco. He was amazed to see that tourists were willing to wait 30 minutes and more for an exhilarating 15-minute ride. At that moment, the young entrepreneur from Miami recalls, "I knew parasailing was the business for me and certainly more fun and profitable than mowing lawns."
After convincing his parents the venture could be successful, McCulloh purchased a used canopy from an operator in Acapulco. Within a month he was booking parasail rides pulled by friends' cars along the Rickenbacker Causeway on Key Biscayne, Fla., and experimenting with design innovations.
Organized in 1998 to "raise the safety standards in the parasailing industry with a focus on education and regulations," the Orlando-based Parasail Safety Council regards McCulloh as one of the pioneers of modern-day parasailing because of his contributions in the areas of product design, manufacturing, operations and safety.
Another leading authority is Greg VanderLaan, owner of Hawaii-based UFO Parasail, who in the mid-1980s took a retrofitted longline fishing winch and perfected a system that enabled parasailors to gently and safely take off and land on the towboat, meaning they stayed completely dry the entire tour.
Since 1987, Premium Boat Co. in Cape Coral, Fla., also owned by VanderLaan, has manufactured more than 400 commercial "winchboats" equipped with this hydraulic winch system for resale in more than 35 countries. Last year, the United States Air Force awarded the company a contract to manufacture the world's largest and most powerful parasail boat to be used for pilot training simulating over-water ejections from doomed aircraft. Premium delivered the first of these vessels in January. In August the Air Force ordered four more, which are currently under construction.
UFO PARASAIL offers tours at two different ride heights, both promising spectacular views. "The West Maui Mountains are awe-inspiring," says Tina Skerseth, the company's office administrator. "If you're lucky you can see dolphins, manta rays, whales, sharks and more during your tour because the water here is so clear.
"My favorite part of the ride is the simulated free fall. I love the sensation of feeling like I'm about to go in the water, and right at the last minute I soar back up. It's so cool!"
The big advantage of UFO's winchboat is mobility; parasailors are not restricted to a certain area because launches and landings are done on board, not on a platform. UFO operates virtually anywhere there are steady winds of up to about 20 miles per hour.
Sums up VanderLaan, "Parasailing provides an opportunity for you to soar above it all in safety and comfort while you experience the thrill of flight and the freedom from gravity, noise and earthly activities. You get to enjoy the experience of flight without wings.
"It gives you a sense of power as well as the almost Zen-like feeling of defying gravity and the laws of nature because, obviously, we weren't meant to fly."
Address: P.O. Box 10536, Lahaina, HI 96761 UFO Parasail
Time: 8 a.m. to sunset daily from May 16 through Dec. 14 (does not operate during whale season). Meet on Kaanapali Beach in front of Whalers Village Shopping Center. Reservations required.
Cost: Standard seven-minute ride with a 400-foot line is $47 per person. Deluxe 10-minute ride with an 800-foot line is $57 per person, including a simulated free fall. Early-bird departures at 8 a.m. are $5 off regular prices. Kamaaina receive a 50 percent discount from May 16 to 31 and Sept. 1 to Dec. 14.
Restrictions: Individuals must weigh at least 120 pounds to ride solo. Two people can ride together as long as their weight does not exceed 350 pounds. Those with acrophobia should note that heights of up to 650 feet can be attained, depending on parasailors' weight, wind conditions and speed of the boat.
Call: 661-7UFO on Maui or 800-359-4836 from the other islands
Web site: www.ufoparasailing.com
Also: UFO Parasail operates year round in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Call 325-5UFO for more information.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer
and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
