Dan's Papers - August 1, 2008

Anyone who travels in groups knows that there is usually that one person in the group who is the leader and plans the activities for the day. There are usually a few members of the group who then either express their displeasure or approval of the plans. Then there are the followers who just go along for the ride and enjoy the journey. If you're one of the followers and appreciate the hands-off approach to vacationing, you may appreciate a summer activity in which you are free to fly with little to no responsibility.

Parasailing allows the person in the air (parascender) to fly over the water and take in all the sights that the Hamptons or other vacationing hot spot have to offer without doing much work. This warm weather activity allows a person to be towed behind a boat while hooked up to a parasail. The boat drives off, carrying the parascender in the air. And if your group has a bunch of people and the boat is powerful enough, two or three people can possibly parasail at the same time.

But before you listen to the leader of the group who suggests parasailing for the day, you should find out a little bit more about what you're getting yourself into, unless you just want to fly. Either way, it's important to know the basics of parasailing before you begin.

Safety is always key when trying out new activities, especially when they're for fun. Therefore, it's important to have ground assistants check the rigging and flight harness on you prior to takeoff. The ground assistants will then setup for the trip by holding open the opposite sides of the sail. The reason they do this is to make sure that the parasail doesn't take off in a diagonal direction.

When you feel comfortable, make sure that you're the one who lets the boat driver know that you are ready. The boat driver will start moving at a low speed, when you give him the signal to take up the slack line while you and the ground assistants will move forward with the rope. The assistants are professionals and will hold the guidelines to help the sail fill up with air.

You will then take several long strides with the rope, while making sure not to jump or pull up your feet. That may seem like the natural reaction, but you won't be helping yourself liftoff. You will actually be making life more difficult for yourself and the crew involved. The canopy will be the key in your liftoff. As mentioned before, just relax and let the crew do the work. You're on vacation and need to keep life as simple as possible - after you steer the parasail by choosing which direction you would like to go, that is. However, for your peace of mind, no steering on your part is actually going to be integral.

Once you're in the air, you'll be able to feel a rush as you look down at all the vacationers looking up at you, wishing they were the ones on the parasail. Since all fun must eventually come to an end, there will be a pick up boat, which will trail about 200 feet behind you. When you're ride is finished, the safety pin will be released and you will float down into the water. Upon landing, you will be picked up by the safety boat and returned to shore.

However, it's important to make sure that you don't go out on days with winds that are stronger than 15 miles per hour. It's also important to know that if the parasail rotates more than 45 degrees in the air, the safety pin needs to be pulled before the canopy spills its air and potentially drops you. As a necessary safety precaution, life vests need to be worn since the harness is heavy and will prevent you from swimming.

Now, if you're the chosen leader of your group, you know that the critics in the group are going to make your thankless job difficult. Therefore, it's important to have a good pitch ready if one of the members of your group wants to back out because they are tired, lazy or think they are just too old to be parasailing. You can tell them to think again because an 88-year-old man from India, N.K. Mahajan went parasailing this year on May 27, 2008. So, if the baby boomer in your group complains about some aches and pains, make sure to tell them this fact. It'll probably be all the motivation that they need.