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Who's been parasailing? Is it scary?
We are going on a cruise to the Bahamas in August. H wants to go parasailing but I tend to be afraid of heights and the description says you go about 400 feet in the air. Most of the reviews said that even though it's high you don't feel scared because it's a floaty kind of ride and not super fast.
Normally I would never even consider going up but it's a tandem sailing so he'd have to go up with a stranger. He wasn't crazy about that idea so he said he'd rather not do it then. Well, I feel bad about this because he has always wanted to do it. I flaked on him on our honeymoon because I panicked in the pool when we were training for SCUBA diving. I also freaked out on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier in Chicago and the tram at Hershey Park.
So am I going to freak up there or is it different being over the water?
Re: Who's been parasailing? Is it scary?
H and I went on our honeymoon. If you are afraid of heights I would not go.
H and I agreed that we will not go again after hearing about this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008352/Bride-killed-tragic-para-gliding-accident-day-dream-honeymoon-Bahamas.html
The bride was a friend of a friend. Very sad. I know it was probably a freak accident, but as PP said, regulations are much more lax in certain other countries than they are in the US and liability laws are much different...
I've been a few times (once with my husband who doesn't do heights) & he said it was fine. By the end he was ready to get down but it didn't creep him out like he thought it would. He just started thinking too much into it after a while & was ready for it to be over
I did it in Hawaii. I don't like heights but I was fine with it.
And parasailing accidents don't just happen in other countries. Someone died after a parasailing accident in Hawaii last week, and there were a couple others in the past couple of years, too.
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eegads! even more reason that I will probably not go again...
I think it depends a bit on how windy it is.
I've done it twice. The first was time was in a sheltered bay where there wasn't much wind. I had fun. The second time that I went was at the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan and it was really windy. We were blowing around a fair amount and the wind would like blow us up a little, and then we'd drop a bit. I was scared out of my freaking mind! I'll never do it again.
Bottom line: if you're afraid of heights, I wouldn't do it. Even if it's calm and you feel floaty, it can still be scary (IMO) when you look down and see how tiny the boat looks down there.
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I'm pretty scared of heights, but it's not bad at all when you're up in the air... and we went for the 800 ft. flight as opposed to the 600ft. one, so we were up higher. I think the worst part for me was standing on the platform of the boat and going off backwards, but H and I were side by side, not front to back, like you're talking about. You may be better off. Also, our "dip in the water" was like waist high, lol.
However, booking your trip through a cruise line, you're much better off than if you had booked it through a place on your own. Even though you have to sign a waiver (which is scary enough) their safety standards are probably a little higher!
Go and have fun... You'll love it! Have H take tons of pics. We did and they were so AWESOME.
The parasailing industry is largely unregulated in the USA so I would not assume that this place will be safer for any reason. The Forida regulations are here:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/327.37
Honestly with the freakouts you described I would not recommend it for you. I loved it, but I'm also an adrenaline junkie. It was a little scary, you're really high up.
If you're just a bit of a ninny, maybe try it and break out of your comfort zone - who knows, maybe you'll love it, but if you're really going to panic for real, don't do it.
Yeah that's right my name's Yauch!
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Yeah that's right my name's Yauch!
It all depends on what you find scary I guess. DH and I parasailed one time and had a great time. I'm not particularly scared of heights, but the hubby is and he was fine and said that he enjoyed it. He went again one time with his daughter.
It sounds like you really don't want to go though, so maybe you should just pass on it if you're that worried about it.