This morning (VERY early this morning) I flew to Florida to be a part my friends's long wedding weekend. What's better than spending a normally cold Midwestern November weekend in sunny Nokomis, Florida instead? Absolutely nothing! Since I flew down on Thursday morning, and the wedding isn't until Saturday, I had some free time to kill. I decided to take advantage of my time by the ocean by going parasailing. I was going to go by myself, but after talking to the bride, my friend Sarah, she mentioned that her maid of honor's husband might be willing to go with me. After contacting the MOH, Eileen, she instantly signed herself and her husband Jonas up for the adventure. Other than a small fear of heights, Eileen readily agreed. I should mention that I've never met Eileen or Jonas either. That's another new thing...doing a new thing with people I've never met!
Jonas, Eileen & I on the boat as we headed out.
I made the reservation with Siesta Key Parasailing, a which was a short drive north from where we were staying on Casey Key. Upon arrival, we found out we'd be going with a group of four guys, all in town for their friend's wedding. The groom's name was Rob, just like my friend who got married. Interesting coincidence. We met the crew, Captain Ken and Lieutenant Dan, and they looked like they had been taken right out of a Jimmy Buffett video. Tan, weathered by the ocean, with that total laid back beach attitude. Dan's response to most things was "Right on".
Captain Ken
Lieutenant Dan (his self-portrait)
Of course, the first line of business was to sign our lives away and not leave them responsible in case we fell in the ocean. I realized I've been signing my life away a lot since I started this blog. Next, we left our shoes on the dock and climbed aboard the speed boat. It was a bit different than most boats, because the back end was completely flat. I realized later that was where we'd be taking off from, so it needed to act as a platform. Once all of us were aboard, we eased away from the dock and made our way out of the intercoastal waterway where the marina was. I found out from Sarah that the intercoastal waterway is a strip of water between Florida and it's outlying "islands". She said you can take the intercoastal all the way around Florida and up the eastern coast to Maine. There are places where the outlying islands disappear, and you can head out into the ocean.
We had a nice peaceful boatride along the intercoastal and into the Gulf. Once we passed the No Wake Zone, we were able to pick up speed and head back towards the public Siesta Key beaches. That would be where we'd open the parasail and go for a ride. Now, as warm as Florida can be in the sun in November, it's a bit chilly flying through the air with the addition of some sea water. It was still warmer than what I left back home, but not really what you expect when in Florida. Fortunately, I took a light zip up sweatshirt with me. It didn't completely keep me warm, but it helped. Eileen used the beach towels we brought as a makeshift blanket.
Told you, it was a bit windy out on the boat.
Even though I can't swim, there's something about being out on a boat in the wide open ocean. It's exciting yet relaxing at the same time. Once we got out to the spot where we'd get harnessed in, Captain Ken slowed the boat, and the first two guys were strapped in. They can do up to 3 people at a time, but since there were 4 guys, they went two at a time. After all 4 guys went, it was finally our turn. First, we each stepped into our individual harnesses. It looked like a cross between a child safety swing for babies and sumo onesies. We stepped into the two leg holes, and slipped it up around our waists. There was a strap that went between the legs, and another one that rested right under the butt cheeks. After we each got our harness, we slipped on our life vests which were also attached to the harnesses. We each carefully made our way to the back of boat where we were attached to the parasail.
Jonas, Eileen & I on the boat as we headed out.
I made the reservation with Siesta Key Parasailing, a which was a short drive north from where we were staying on Casey Key. Upon arrival, we found out we'd be going with a group of four guys, all in town for their friend's wedding. The groom's name was Rob, just like my friend who got married. Interesting coincidence. We met the crew, Captain Ken and Lieutenant Dan, and they looked like they had been taken right out of a Jimmy Buffett video. Tan, weathered by the ocean, with that total laid back beach attitude. Dan's response to most things was "Right on".
Captain Ken
Lieutenant Dan (his self-portrait)
Of course, the first line of business was to sign our lives away and not leave them responsible in case we fell in the ocean. I realized I've been signing my life away a lot since I started this blog. Next, we left our shoes on the dock and climbed aboard the speed boat. It was a bit different than most boats, because the back end was completely flat. I realized later that was where we'd be taking off from, so it needed to act as a platform. Once all of us were aboard, we eased away from the dock and made our way out of the intercoastal waterway where the marina was. I found out from Sarah that the intercoastal waterway is a strip of water between Florida and it's outlying "islands". She said you can take the intercoastal all the way around Florida and up the eastern coast to Maine. There are places where the outlying islands disappear, and you can head out into the ocean.
We had a nice peaceful boatride along the intercoastal and into the Gulf. Once we passed the No Wake Zone, we were able to pick up speed and head back towards the public Siesta Key beaches. That would be where we'd open the parasail and go for a ride. Now, as warm as Florida can be in the sun in November, it's a bit chilly flying through the air with the addition of some sea water. It was still warmer than what I left back home, but not really what you expect when in Florida. Fortunately, I took a light zip up sweatshirt with me. It didn't completely keep me warm, but it helped. Eileen used the beach towels we brought as a makeshift blanket.
Told you, it was a bit windy out on the boat.
Even though I can't swim, there's something about being out on a boat in the wide open ocean. It's exciting yet relaxing at the same time. Once we got out to the spot where we'd get harnessed in, Captain Ken slowed the boat, and the first two guys were strapped in. They can do up to 3 people at a time, but since there were 4 guys, they went two at a time. After all 4 guys went, it was finally our turn. First, we each stepped into our individual harnesses. It looked like a cross between a child safety swing for babies and sumo onesies. We stepped into the two leg holes, and slipped it up around our waists. There was a strap that went between the legs, and another one that rested right under the butt cheeks. After we each got our harness, we slipped on our life vests which were also attached to the harnesses. We each carefully made our way to the back of boat where we were attached to the parasail.
Enjoying the boat ride. (Two of the other passengers are up in the middle.)
The parasail itself was not what I was expecting. I'm used to skydiving parachutes which are completely sewn together, no holes. This parasail was round with a bunch of predetermined holes. I failed to ask the significance of them, but I know they weren't there by accident. Although Lieutenant Dan did try to convince us otherwise. Oh yeah, and they're known as the Smiley Guys, so that's why the parasail looks like a giant smiley face. They're definitely recognizable wherever they go. The pole that was attached to the parasail apparatus is what we were then attached to. It had carabiner hooks for one, two or three people. Since there were 3 of us, Dan had to adjust the length at which each of us hung from the pole. It had something to do with keeping us balanced. (Jonas ended up being slightly lower than the two of us.) Eileen went first to one end, Jonas followed in the middle and I went last. The deck was pretty slippery, but fortunately I made it without falling on my ass. I consider that a success.
Here's Smiley!
Once I got up to the deck, I turned and faced the boat so we would be hoisted up backwards. Dan hooked me in and took a step back down to the boat. We all then sat down with our feet in front of us, so he could start the winch that would get us going. I have to say it was an incredibly easy take off. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I didn't think it would be that smooth. Even though Ken hit the throttle on the boat, the winch slowly lifted us backwards through 1000 feet of rope until we were roughly 500 feet in the air. Once we were up there, the only noise we heard was the wind. We could vaguely hear the guys yelling at us from the boat, but for the most part, we were alone with our thoughts.
Just leaving the boat.
Gaining some air.
That's how far we were from the boat.
Dan zoomed in for a close up.
The view was incredibly breathtaking. We could see for miles in all directions, including out to the Gulf and inland towards Siesta Key and Sarasota. We were able to see million dollar homes surrounded by enormous pools, as well as small seaside shacks and little fishing boats. It was incredible. Since we were strapped in to the pole above us, our feet were free to swing and move about as we wanted. Our arms could move about as well. I became comfortable not holding onto the harness, but I think Eileen was a little nervous to let go. Her fear of heights was evident at the start, but she grew used to it and did really well. I was really surprised at myself that I wasn't nervous at all. I thought I would be freaked out about being suspended over that much water, but I was incredibly calm. I took advantage of the opportunity to let myself be carried away by the experience.
Yep, that's our view of the boat in the bottle left hand corner!
How beautiful is that?!
A shot of Sarasota/Siesta Key.
A shot of the shoreline behind us.
I should mention that the entire ride on the boat up until we were hoisted in the air, Captain Ken and Lieutenant Dan were pretty entertaining. Very easy-going guys which was really cool. Dan was incredibly flirtatious and seemed to be focusing his interest solely on me. (He didn't know Eileen and Jonas were married until halfway or more through our trip.) Was he being flirty to up his tip? Possibly. Was I returning the charm to get him to take pictures for me? Probably. :) Both men were enjoyable to talk to and we all had a lot of fun tossing sarcastic remarks back and forth. Dan seemed incredibly intrigued when he found out I had been sky diving. I told him parasailing should be a piece of cake then. They normally charge a fee to take pictures with their own camera, but since I brought my own, I sweet talked Dan into photographing and taking some video for me. Eileen and Jonas also think that we were up in the air longer than the other guys thanks to my remarkable flirting skills. HA! :)
This pic was Lt. Dan's idea. Told you he was flirtin'! ;-)
After 20 minutes or so in the air, it was unfortunately time to come back down. The ride down was just as easy as the ride up and it didn't really seem like we were descending until we got pretty close to the water. Since we were fully vested, Ken liked to slow the boat down just enough to get the passengers' feet wet before reeling them back in. Both sets of guys who went before us just got a slight dip, just enough to wet their ankles and calves. Us, on the other hand, got a few more dips, one close to up to our knees. It might have been a little more or less, but I was having fun and splashing the water with my feet, so I'm not entirely sure. Ken says he kept dipping us because Eileen wouldn't put her feet in the water. I didn't care what the reason was, it was fun.
Going in for Dip #1.
Dip #2 got us a bit wetter, mainly because I kicked a bunch of water at us.
Here's a video of the dip. Yep, that's me, the mischevious one splashing everyone else!
Here's a shot of the boat as we make our descent.
Finally, the fun part was over, and we made it back to the platform. This time we landed on our feet, and again, it was a very gentle landing. We were unhooked from the support pole and headed back to our seats where we took off our vests and harnesses. After that we headed back to the marina, but not before we had a few stops to check out the dolphins. I tried to get a few photos, but those guys are pretty sneaky. You never know where they'll pop up. Ken and Dan were great, they didn't rush anything and made the most out of our trip. The entire ride out to the ocean, parasailing, and riding back was a little over 2 hours. Definitely worth the money. And I did get a little squeeze and a "bye, cutie" from Lt. Dan when I exited the boat. lol
I'm having some technical difficulties, so the video of us taking off won't upload. I think Lt. Dan got a little overzealous with the video and it's too long to fit on here.
This was so much fun and I'm so glad I got to go! Thanks to Eileen and Jonas for going with me and to Sarah and Rob for getting married in such a beautiful location!! :)
3 comments:
Sounds (and looks) awesome, sis! Glad you had a great time.
I'm so JEALOUS!!! I spent Saturday outside in the FREEZING cold, and you were sunning it up in Florida!
I am so glad you enjoyed this... Dave made me go a couple years back at Lake Ozarks and I was terrified! Once I got into the air and realized that the harness could hold my big butt I was fine! I am sure that doing this over the ocean was much more exciting!!!
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