Fly high or Low, By Air or By Sea

 

 

by Dorf Dorfman 

 

Everyone dreams they can fly at some point in their slumber. Its the ultimate fantasy isn’t it? Maybe it’s the freedom that flight brings that draws us to the sky. Or maybe it’s just the opportunity to get away from the crowds that pack the streets, stores, restaurants, and beaches of this tiny island in the summer. Whatever the reason, the fantasy can quickly become reality in two very different ways with a visit to MV Oceansports on the harbor in Oak Bluffs. 

 

You may have noticed the giant red white and blue parachute flying high above the vineyard waters when you arrived on the ferry. That would be the Parasailing crew out giving people the most serene thrill of their visit. 

 

Both exhilarating and relaxing at the same time, Parasailing is accomplished when one, two or even three people are harnessed to a large parachute and then gently and slowly floated up into the air from a custom platform attached to the back of a motorboat. That’s the thrilling part. As you ascend into the blue sky watching everything familiar become small, then smaller, and finally tiny as you soar to heights as high as 600 feet. Once there, that is when the serene part kicks in. 

 

When you have arrived “at altitude” a quiet peacefulness overtakes you when you look about from your nest in all directions and realize just how removed from it you really are. All of the summer distractions disappear in from sight and sound and you are left with nothing but the soft rocking of your parasail and the utter silence you have missed since your kids barged through the door after their last day of school. Enjoy it. Because like all good things, this too will end and the crew will reel you down to earth and a delicate, almost walk on landing to the boat below. But not before a pre-arranged “dipping” into the water of your choice (full body, waist high or just a toe drag)

 

For those who want to try a relatively new and much more active form of flight, try FlyBoarding.  No, this is not jumping out of an airplane with a snowboard attached to your feet. But it is nearly as exciting. Flyboarding occurs by attaching a jet propulsion device to your feet and your flight starts and ends (and intermittently during) from the water. A trained MV Oceansports guide sits nearby atop what seems to be an ordinary jet ski but with one big difference. The jet part is transferred by way of a long hose to, you guessed it, that contraption you attached to your feet. 

 

As you increase the jet-propelled water your feet have stolen from the jet ski, you are lifted out of the water and hoisted up into the air at heights up to 25 feet, if you want to go that high. Once airborne, all you have to do is roll your feet forward or backward and lean in the direction you want to go. It’s that simple. Many people either choose to or through attrition find themselves diving into the water and then back out again almost exactly as a dolphin does. Flyboarding can be learned in one outing but you will want to go again and again. It’s that much fun. 

 

Most people never get the chance to fulfill their dreams of flying. But you’re here..now..and there is not one, but two ways to fly.  Just a short distance away on the docks in Oak Bluffs at MV Oceansports. 

 

More information

 

MORE INFORMATION
Oak Bluffs Harbor
Dockside Marina
Oak Bluffs
(508) 693-8476