Parasailing

Parasailing over Kaanapali Bay was something I'd never thought I'd talk my wife into doing. It turned out that I was (thankfully) wrong. Her excitment far outweighed her fear of falling into the ocean and being eaten by a shark.

Fortunately, no shark attacks took place that day and we wished our time as "human kites" could have been longer.

Note Parasailing (like jet skiing) is an activity that is only permitted from May 16 through December 14. The State of Hawaii made a law prohibiting jet skiing (and parasailing) from December 16 to May 15 to protect the Humpback Whale making its yearly migration from Alaska.

In an activity like this one, safety comes first. So after being harnessed and geared we waited for our moment of flight. With what felt like the perfect breeze at our heels, we took off and were up about 500 feet in the air in no time.

Experiencing the beauty of the ocean, shoreline and the West Maui mountains partially hidden in the white clouds was the most peaceful and zen moment--not easily comparable.

Our ten minute ride did not seem close to long enough. As you sit that high above, looking down some wonder "are there sharks circling in the water?"

At least my wife did, in a brief moment of relapse, but the dynamic view of the sky meeting the ocean quickly dispelled all of her unfounded fears once again.


When we were only about 30 feet away from the boat, the other passengers in the boat (my brothers- and sisters-in-law) told the captain to dip us in the water -- which he did twice -- just to freak my wife out.


But it didn't work. Parasailing turned out to be her favorite adventure by far on our vacation!


If you want a "live" action video clip of this experience, go to our Maui Vacations Video Gallery page and scroll down to the Parasailing section and click on the link.

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