close

‘Swing set in the sky’

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 3 min read
1 / 2

Harry and Cody Funk

2 / 2

Harry and Cody Funk

If you’re curious about what it’s like to go parasailing, this pretty much sums it up:

“It’s like a swing set in the sky, basically.”

That’s what Ally Simmons told me as I signed up for a session during a recent mini-vacation to South Carolina. She manages the two Myrtle Beach locations of Downwind Sails Watersports and – everyone seems to have a Pittsburgh connection – her husband, Fred hails from Lower Burrell.

If you’ve visited the seashore and noticed boats speeding along with adventurous types tethered to lines of rope high above the water, that’s parasailing. Or you might prefer to substitute “adventurous” with “outta their minds.”

My only source of trepidation in Myrtle Beach was Downwind’s online notice about a weight limit, which I may or may not have exceeded, depending on how much seafood I scarfed down that particular day. But they told me not to worry.

I did ask Ally beforehand about what to expect, and from her descriptions, I was going to have a good time up there. And I was likely to catch glimpses of such sea creatures as spotted rays, leatherback turtles and cannonball jellyfish, “which the turtles eat,” she informed me. “They’re washing up on the beach, too, for some bird bait.”

Circle of life, I guess.

Joining me for parasailing was my son Cody, who is nowhere near the weight limit and, like me, has an inclination toward thrill seeking. His girlfriend, Hannah, does not, so she was content to remain a landlubber and take pictures of us.

Cody and I strapped on our lifejackets and headed out on a “banana boat,” an inflatable craft that cuts the water quite quickly, to reach the motorboat from which we’d launch. The fellows aboard harnessed us to the line, gave us a few instructions and told us to get ready.

Next thing we knew, we were airborne, rising to a height of … honestly, I’m not sure. Local law, Ally explained, limits parasailing lines to 300 feet, so as not to interfere with low-flying planes towing banners.

So, if my math is correct, if the angle for our lines was 45 degrees, that would have put us 150 feet in the air. Maybe it was more like 50 or 60 degrees, but trigonometry class was 40 years ago and I have no idea how to do that calculation.

Wherever we actually did end up, it was serene and the view was spectacular. We definitely could see rays, turtles and jillions of jellyfish below.

The wind was at our backs on the first leg of the trip. Then we turned around, and soon, both of us started to get a bit airsick. We retained our composure, though, with me remembering how my stomach once survived a journalism-related trip as a queasy passenger in a high-speed military plane.

And then they reeled us back in, so to speak. A few minutes later, we boarded the banana boat, returned to the beach and tried not to step on any of the sharply pointed seashells that had washed ashore.

I’m pretty sure that turned out to be the biggest threat of danger we ended up facing.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today