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A couple of trips around the bay hanging from your chute and, providing the on shore winds cooperated, you were dropped back onto the beach in time for happy hour margaritas. (Bob and I would later attempt parasailing from shore on an urban beach north of the 49th parallel, but abandoned the idea after the winds wouldn’t play our game and I was headed straight for a threatening stand of pine trees.)
This summer, I decided to try it again, in Cabo this time, to see if anything had changed. I signed on for parasailing in Cabo San Lucas Bay with Cabo Expeditions, who also offer snorkeling, power snorkeling (add in an underwater scooter), WaveRunners, and whale watching tours from their office on the marina boardwalk in the Tesoro Los Cabos Resort. I booked in advance by phone, and when I arrived at the office, I was quickly escorted to the dock to hop on their specially designed parasail boat and head out into the bay. Technically, they are named “winch boats” but more on that in a moment. I was the only one going up in the air this particular trip. On the boat were the driver and a helper. While gassing up, I was handed a waiver and asked to sign it, standard procedure for activities companies in Los Cabos. In no time flat I was asked to step into a harness, then into a life jacket, and then asked to sit down on the back deck of the winch boat facing forward. The fiberglass boat has an open area in the bow, the controls in the middle, and a large takeoff and landing deck on the back.
Sitting down, I was attached to the chute and then the driver and the helper fluffed it up and WHOOSH, I was up in the air. The sound of the boat grew distant as I rose, as did the surface of the water. The only sound was that of the wind blowing by my ears and through the chute. How high did up did I go? Cabo Expeditions’ pamphlets suggest 600 feet. To get a handle on that height imagine a 360° view of Cabo San Lucas Bay, the town, and the vast ocean off the edge of a 40-story skyscraper. The boat and wind do most of the work and all you really do is sit in the harness and enjoy the view, and what a view! The 15-minute, $35 U.S. ride ends with the helper signaling that it’s time to come back down; then being reeled in by the winch back onto the landing deck on the boat. But before you decide to launch into orbit around Cabo San Lucas Bay, be sure you are given a thorough pre-flight briefing and detailed safety and landing instructions. Cabo Expeditions (624) 143-2700.—Bradley Fraser
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