The boys were SO excited when their nana told them she had booked a parasailing trip for us during our visit (and their parents were too!). None of us had ever been parasailing before and we were thrilled to give it a try.
She booked through OC Parasail. They offer 400, 600 and 800 foot rides, and we did the 400 feet. We waited for the previous group to return (they were running late) and then headed out. There were 9 people in the group – the 5 of us plus two other groups of 2. When we booked we had originally been told that the boat only fit 6 so we would likely be alone but as crowds had been picking up in mid-summer, they apparently switched to a larger boat. There were two staff members on board – one to drive the boat and one to man the parasail.
The two other groups of two each went and then the boys went up with their grandmother, followed by my husband and I. Each time one group was up, they got the next group ready, putting on their life jackets and harnesses. The harness was a little confusing, as it was both your harness and your eventual seat (like a swing). Before the first group went up, I didn’t understand how it would work but I just had to trust that they knew what they were doing!
For “take-off”, you sit on the back of the boat with your harness underneath you, and they hook you up to the sail. They release you and off you go up into the air.
It was pretty amazing how high up they seemed – and that there was an option to go twice as high!
They were up in the air for a little over 10 minutes when they started to reel them back in. The crew asked us if it was ok to give them a little dip – when they reel them in, they can drop them quickly into the water and then send them back up again. We said sure and so they got a little extra ride. They seemed to enjoy it (at least the kids!).
The boys absolutely loved it. And we (the parents) really enjoyed it too. I thought the build-up of excitement was great, the rush of shooting off the back of the boat was great, and the views were incredible. (And yes, they gave us the “big dip” in retaliation for the little one for the kids, and that was really fun too.) I will say that after a while it got a little boring up there. My husband gave me the grand (aerial) tour of Ocean City but once you are up there, you are really just floating along and there is no further thrill to it (as long as you aren’t afraid of heights). After a while all that was left to do was for my husband to start analyzing the engineering and safety of the apparatus. “Should that rope be fraying so much?” is not a question you want to hear at 400 feet.
So for me personally, this was probably a one and done thing. I really loved the experience and was so glad to check this off my list, but I don’t know that it’s something I need to do again. I know the boys would go up again in a second though.
Since all posts in 2020 need to discuss Covid precautions, I will say that this did NOT seem like a very Covid-safe operation. It was outside so I guess it is expected that there would not be masks. But the boat was not wiped down in between rides – the new set of passengers got on immediately after the old ones got off. We all sat in close proximity on the boat and they had us keep rotating around to different seats. The life jackets and gear were all shared and not wiped down in between uses. And I’ll be completely honest – Ocean City is a bit of a party beach town and the other two groups did not strike me as people particularly concerned with following social distancing rules (especially the two twenty-somethings who were bragging about being arrested the night before.) So all turned out fine but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that if you are looking for a covid-safe activity, this is probably not it.
But in normal years I would highly recommend them. The two guys on the boat were awesome – they were friendly and helpful and funny. They knew exactly the right jokes to make to be funny but still keep people at ease. They were clearly very experienced and we thought the boat and parasailing experience itself was very safe. Fingers crossed that Covid-19 will be a thing of the past in the summer of 2021 and then we’d recommend OC Parasailing for a fun and unique experience.
