Parasailing

[bcoop]

So, a customer of mine's husband has a nice boat, and parasailing rig, and he offered to take a few of us out several years ago. For the last three years, for one reason or another, we've had to cancel, or he had to cancel. We were finally able to make it happen over the weekend. I took my son (will be 10 next month), another customer took her son (12), and there were 3-4 adults that went up. What a fucking blast. My only fear in life is heights (fell off a roof when I was a kid), and I figured what better way to tackle it but head on. I never in a million years thought my son would go up, but he was the first one to go, and he still hasn't stopped smiling. We had such a good time, and I never thought it would be so damn peaceful up there. He could have drug me around the lake all day, and I could have slept up there. We were about 200' up, over Grapevine Lake. It drew quite a crowd of rubberneckers, too.

But holy hell, people on the lake are as inconsiderate as it gets. I've heard Aaron bitch about it for 10 years or so, and thought he was just being Aaron. Lol. They don't pay attention to a fucking thing, and it wasn't just the PWC crowd. Boats too. Just thought I'd share. If you've never had a chance to go, it's an absolute must.

[mstng86]

So, a customer of mine's husband has a nice boat, ....

This implies your customer is a female, that more than likely was in a bikini. We are going to need pics sir.



I always wondered how exactly you come down from those things.

[bcoop]

This implies your customer is a female, that more than likely was in a bikini. We are going to need pics sir.

Yeah, no.

I always wondered how exactly you come down from those things.

They bring you down in the water. Slowly throttle the engine down, and you just glide down. We didn't have any issues of anyone getting stuck under the parachute. It hits the water about the same time you do, and as soon as it gets wet, it sucks under the surface. You just unfasten your harness (a single belt), and wait on the boat to come back around to scoop you up.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

surely you were more then 200 ft??? when I went parasailing in Maui the only options were 800ft or 1200ft... I went 1200 solo.... and it was "neat" but got a little boring after a bit. it is by far TOTALLY different then I thought it would be. Like you said it is SUPER peaceful up there and would probably been a LOT better with a 2nd rider.

http://www.westmauiparasail.com/about.htm

here's some of my pics

[cobrajet69]

Did it in Jamaica several years ago and had a blast.

Highly recommend.


David

[bcoop]

surely you were more then 200 ft??? when I went parasailing in Maui the only options were 800ft or 1200ft... I went 1200 solo.... and it was "neat" but got a little boring after a bit. it is by far TOTALLY different then I thought it would be. Like you said it is SUPER peaceful up there and would probably been a LOT better with a 2nd rider.

http://www.westmauiparasail.com/about.htm

here's one of my pics

1200' at Grapevine would be a fucking nightmare to try and achieve. People were hauling ass and running across our line as it was. I might have hit 300, but no way in hell it was anywhere near 1200'. Line wasn't even close to half that.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

ya I thought about that after I posted... its a lot easy to get away from people in the ocean I guess

[Ruffdaddy]

I was just thinking about how boring it must get. And while I agree that people are inconsiderate...you have to look at the fact that you were probably also being labeled as inconsiderate as you were being hauled around a relatively small lake at a slow pace with a parachute to watch out for. The lake takes a while to get used to, but the worst I typically see it is when doing water sports and people try an crowd a lane so their dumbass 12 year old can get as much time one the board as possible. It makes me furious...hell I don't even have that much to worry about when sailing.

[bcoop]

you have to look at the fact that you were probably also being labeled as inconsiderate as you were being hauled around a relatively small lake at a slow pace with a parachute to watch out for.

Once we were out and going, it was fine. What I'm talking about, is waverunners and boats hauling fucking ass either in front of the boat, or between the boat and me on the shore when we were trying to get up and out. We were taking off from a 2-3' "cliff" at Lake View Park. The boat would go out about 200', then you have to inflate the sail, etc, and then start running as the boat takes off. They were within 200' of the shore, not paying attention to the sail up in the air, or the huge ass yellow rope in the water, or the boat. Had a propeller caught the rope, someone would have been a dead man. Because if they can't see what the fuck is going on in front of them, they damn sure aren't paying attention to what is behind them. We'd yell, wave, blow a goddamn air horn, and they just kept on being completely oblivious to everything around them. Hell, a waverunner damn near ran over my kid when he was just swimming by the shore.

[stinginstang]

wife did it in Cancun. The rope broke and she almost drowned. I got a refund.

[JC316]

I went up in Grand Cayman a few years back. It was fun, but by the time I went up, the boat was rocking, which made the rig get bouncy, so I got a tad motion sick.

I always wondered how exactly you come down from those things.

In Cayman, they reeled us back in, never had to touch the water.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

wife did it in Cancun. The rope broke and she almost drowned. I got a refund.

because she didn't enjoy the parasailing or because the "hit" was unsuccessful? i kid

[motoman]

But holy hell, people on the lake are as inconsiderate as it gets. I've heard Aaron bitch about it for 10 years or so, and thought he was just being Aaron. Lol. They don't pay attention to a fucking thing, and it wasn't just the PWC crowd. Boats too. Just thought I'd share. If you've never had a chance to go, it's an absolute must.

My dad saw you out there, said it was the first time he's seen anyone parasailing out on Grapevine. It's typically not too bad out there because Grapevine is more of a sailing lake due to the way it's laid out. There's almost always a northerly or southerly wind. You think Grapevine is bad with the jet ski's, head out to Lewisville.

[bcoop]

My dad saw you out there, said it was the first time he's seen anyone parasailing out on Grapevine.

Ha! That's funny. There were quite a few people out there that either walked up on shore, or boated over to ask questions about what the parasail cost, where to get it, how it all worked, etc. One guy wanted to buy it right there on the spot, but the gentleman who owned it told him he was going to need a bigger boat to pull it. It got quite a bit of attention.

[Leah]

wife did it in Cancun. The rope broke and she almost drowned. I got a refund.

On my honeymoon with my ex, we were in Cancun and watching them bring the people over the beach for advertising. That would have been a good idea if they hadn't brought one in a little too close and slammed them into the side of our hotel. She died. I have no desire to ever go parasailing.