Story By Joe Zentner
 
It often begins in my dreams.  I race along a Topsail beach, flap my arms furiously, and before I know it, I’m aloft, high over water, feeling weightless and euphoric.  And then I wake up.

Only now, I’m closer to making my dream a reality, because I’ve taken up parasailing, which is one of the fastest growing sports around.  It’s certainly big around Topsail Island, as I found out this past summer.

Although parasails launched from land have been around for thirty-plus years, with the swing in the boat market toward multiple sporting activities, increasing numbers of people are out to have fun high over water.  If you’ve ever been to a beach resort, you’ve probably seen parasails lifting riders skyward.  All around the Caribbean, as well as off the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, as well as many inland lakes, more and more brightly colored chutes can be seen high over water.  If you’ve never parasailed, the freedom of flight awaits you.

Photo (right) courtesy of Joe Zentner

History

In 1961, Frenchman Pierre Lemoigne modified a round parachute to allow it to ascend when pulled behind a car.  This activity was called "parascending;" it was developed to train novice parachutists by towing the modified parachute to a suitable height and then releasing it. Soon thereafter, the Pioneer Parachute Company of Manchester, Connecticut began manufacturing this modified parachute design and marketing it under the trade name "Parasail."

In 1962, parascending took another direction when an individual wearing a modified parachute was towed behind a boat and then soared off into the wild blue yonder.  The participant was strapped into a body harness and given instructions to run along the beach while a towboat lifted him aloft.  This activity was called "parasailing."

Before descending, the parasailor was signaled to maneuver the parasail over the beach to prepare for a landing.  The descent, however, was fraught with danger.

In 1971, Mark McCulloh, an inventor from Miami, Florida, took the lead in setting parasail industry standards for safety and operations.  His most well-received invention, the "self-contained winchboat," using a body harness, helped expand the commercial parasailing industry by offering increased safety and efficiency.

McCulloh was approached in 1992 by Orlando’s Walt Disney World to evaluate the possibility of operating a parasailing concession on EPCOT Center’s Bay Lake.  In 1994, he signed a contract with Walt Disney Enterprises to operate a parasailing concession there.
Requirements for Parasailing.

Almost any boat capable of pulling multiple water-skiers at thirty miles per hour can be used to pull a parasailor.  Some parasail enthusiasts have reported success using fifty to seventy-five horsepower engines; however, to fully enjoy the activity, it is recommended that a boat be equipped with an engine of at least a hundred horsepower.  The take-off and flight areas should (obviously) be clear of obstructions, including trees and power lines.  Also needed are a skilled driver and observer.

How to Parasail

A preflight inspection of all the necessary gear insures flight readiness.  Take-off should be into the wind, not exceeding fifteen miles per hour.  The flyer should wear a life vest and foot protection.  When all is ready, (s)he steps into the harness and hooks into the parasail.  With the help of a launch crew, the boat idles out until the towline is taut and completely extended.

The flight crew holds up the chute’s canopy on both sides; the signal is then given to "hit the accelerator."  The parasailor does not run towards the boat but instead resists the forward aerodynamic pull in a tug-of-war to keep the line taut and maintain balance.  After one to three steps, lift-off occurs.

Parasailors ascend and descend from a small platform at the stern of the boat. Once aloft, flyers get comfortable in the harness by sitting in it.  Altitude is controlled by boat speed.  The length of the towrope varies and is based on individual preference.  A common length is three hundred feet, which gives a maximum altitude of about two hundred twenty-five feet.

With care, the boat can turn and travel with the wind; however, boat speed must be increased to maintain the relative wind speed of the parasailor.  Whatever the speed, the parasailor gets a magnificent view of Topsail beaches and the surrounding area; so too do people for many miles around.  The multi-colored silk parasail always attracts attention from people on the ground.  The word is overused, but this, truly is, a surreal experience.

For the wary, there are harnesses that allow people to parasail in pairs, either side by side or one in front of the other.  Children love to parasail in tandem.

My First Flight

On a delightfully warm, clear day close by Surf City, I found myself airborne by design, having deliberately launched myself into the void over the Atlantic Ocean behind an outboard with a two hundred horsepower engine in the name of fun and an adrenaline rush.  I had a swatch of silk flying over my head, connected to me by a tangle of paper-thin lines, while unruly breezes buffeted my not-so-young body through the air.  I had dreamed of parasailing ever since I had first seen the silken wings circling over the Outer Banks like brightly colored butterflies.

My first flight was alternately horrifying and inspiring.  I hadn’t been in charge, Henry Pitchford, my boat driver, told me afterwards; the winds had been in charge of me.  No kidding.  I could have told him that when the first unrequested thermal flung me skyward, and I realized then and there I was where humans, anatomically speaking, are not supposed to be, longing for permission to panic.  In that short sixty seconds, I learned that parasailing, just like downhill ski racing, demands full concentration and total commitment.  Also like downhill skiing, the ride seems too short only after it’s over; by then, the sometimes-paralyzing fear has faded enough that you’re eager to try it again.

One concept crucial to parasailing is remembering that speed is safety.  Parasails are meant to fly, not float.  Stalling destroys the delicate relationship, which exists between the air and the shape of the wing that allows flight.  In trying to stay airborne, one must dance on the winds and chase the currents.  Parasailing is not parachuting.

But, in August of 2007, being at the mercy of the winds was something new to me, so unnerving that at first I fought their bullying influence tooth and nail.  But that was missing the point.  A great parasailing flight means achieving a state of grace, not by fighting wind conditions, but by working with them.  When I finally stopped resisting, I learned that the winds were not bullies after all, and that the air was actually calmer than I had originally thought.  The Zen of Parasailing.

Photo (right) courtesy of Joe Zentner

Who Parasails? 

The sport is status blind.  Parasailing enthusiasts include bankers, vagabonds, grocers, house painters, landscape architects, dentists, jewelers, lawyers, professors, poets, and trash collectors.  For all parasailing enthusiasts, the pleasing thought of soaring gracefully over water helps take one’s mind off such unpleasant matters as a tax audit, a root canal, unpaid bills, looming old age, and terrorist attacks.

In the beginning, mankind could fly no better than rocks.  People endured that seemingly unalterable condition for millennia, even as they dreamed of sprouting wings and taking off.  But along came the twentieth century, wherein a relatively simple arrangement of cloth and cable—plus a dash of daring—allows most anyone to soar high over water like a bird, like a plane, like .  .  .  ?  Those who have tried parasailing unanimously endorse the activity as the greatest high around.  Enjoy and plan on repeating the experience soon.

Where to Parasail:

Paradise Landing (Sneads Ferry) 910-327-2114

Wrightsville Parasailing Company 910-232-1235

Ocracoke Parasail 252-928-2606

Island Parasail and Watersports (Avon)

Hatteras Parasail 252-986-2627

Hatteras Watersports (Salvo) 252-987-2306