Editing Parasailing

{{Short description|Aerial manned-kite sport}}
{{Redirect|Parasail|the programming language|ParaSail (programming language)|the Travis Scott song|Parasail (song)}}
{{distinguish|kiteboating|Paragliding}}

'''Parasailing''', also known as '''parascending''', is an activity where individuals are harnessed to a '''modified parachute canopy''' that is designed to ascend into the air when towed behind a motor vehicle on land, or a recreational boat over water.  '''Commercial parasailing''' operations can be found worldwide, with customized powerboats that can accommodate numerous passenger observers and up to three airborne parasailors at a time, wearing '''specially designed Body Harness w/ Tow Bar''' and/or seated in a '''Customized Gondola'''.

While parasailing is primarily enjoyed both as a recreational and commercial activity, it should not be confused with other similar sports such as '''[[paragliding]]''', '''paraskiing''', or '''parakiting'''. These activities are typically operated in different environments, such as open fields and mountain ranges.

In Europe, '''land-based parasailing''' has evolved into a competitive sport. In these competitions, the parasail is towed to a specific height behind a vehicle, and the driver and/or the parasailor releases the tow line to land in a specific target area. The first international competitions for land-based parasailing were held in the mid-1980s and have continued annually since then. These competitions have grown in both size and scope over the years, attracting more participants and spectators alike.

== Terminology ==

=== Spinnaker===
Spinnaker is a recreational activity that is commonly mistaken as parasailing. Both of them allow people to ascend on the ocean by using the wind force against a specially designed canopy. Parasailing includes ascending, while spinnaker allows a person to swing at the front of the tow vehicle (i.e. a boat).

===Parachute===
Both the parachute and parasail can ascend and glide. The primary difference between the two is that the parasail is more stable and efficient during the ascent mode when being towed aloft with minimum or zero steering control by the parasailor. The parachute is not efficient when towed and is primarily used for skydiving where the parachutist can fully control the direction. In the descent mode, both are designed to slow the fall of a person during said descent at any given altitude.

== History ==

===Early years of Parakiting ===
There is at least one somewhat credible early-19c indication of a person being towed through the air on a kite; the instance is mentioned in passing as having been witnessed by an old sailor telling of it on the 1839-1841 cruise of the USS ''Constitution''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Navy/_Texts/MERLIF/4*.html#parasailing |title=Life in a Man-of‑War|date=1841}}</ref>

===Early years of Parasailing ===
The first ascending-gliding parachute was developed by Pierre-Marcel Lemoigne in 1962.<ref name="parasail_org">{{cite web|url=http://www.parasail.org/ |title=Welcome to the Parasail Safety Council - Mark McCulloh}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alohasurfguide.com/parasailing/|title=Parasailing - Aloha Surf Guide}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.discovery.com/adventure/extreme-sports/parasailing-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-go.htm|title=Parasailing: What You Need to Know Before You Go|first=Talal|last=Al-Khatib|date=5 December 2011}}</ref> The same year, Lemoigne established an Aeronautical Training Center to introduce his new ascending-gliding parachute as a training tool for parachutists. The technique allows parachutists to train more efficiently by towing the parachutist to a suitable altitude, then releasing them to practice landings. This training method proved cheaper than—and just as effective as—an airplane. In 1963, Jacques-André Istel from Pioneer Parachute Company bought a license from Lemoigne to manufacture and sell the 24-gore ascending-gliding parachute which was trade-named "parasail."{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

===Commercial Parasailing Equipment Inventions ===
In 1974, Mark McCulloh invented the first self-contained parasail launch and recovery vessel that incorporated a hydraulic winch and canopy assist mast that collectively launched and retrieved the parasail canopy and parasailors to and from the vessel flight deck. McCulloh's invention was patented in 1976 and later referred to as a "WINCHBOAT" which set the first parasail equipment industry standard that is utilized by all commercial parasail operations around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parasail.org/ |title=Welcome to the Parasail Safety Council - Mark McCulloh|publisher=}}</ref>

In 1976, Brian Gaskin designed, created, and tested the first 16-gore canopy design which he named "Waterbird". The Waterbird was revolutionary in its canopy design, its unique tow yoke harness arrangement, its construction, and the use of zero porosity fabrics which allowed it to be used over water safely. The majority of commercial parasail operators then moved to the 16-gore canopy arrangement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the Parasail Safety Council |url=http://www.parasail.org/parasailhistory-1970s.html |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=www.parasail.org}}</ref>

In 1981 Marcel and Azby Chouteau of Westport, Connecticut, designed and built a pontoon-based craft with a fan-shaped back deck and a winch in the front and ran a commercial parasailing operation using their original technology. The company, Old Mill Airlines, offered flights on Long Island Sound during the summer of 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/westport-news-may-20-1981-p-1/ |title=Enthusiasts' hopes soar for boat-drawn parasail (p. 1) - Westport News|date=20 May 1981 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/westport-news-may-20-1981-p-8/ |title=Enthusiasts' hopes soar for boat-drawn parasail (p. 8) - Westport News|date=20 May 1981 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/westport-news-may-20-1981-p-9/ |title=Enthusiasts' hopes soar for boat-drawn parasail (p. 9) - Westport News|date=20 May 1981 }}</ref>

===Commercial Parasailing Weather Standards ===
In April 2013, the ASTM established the first parasail weather standards for commercial parasailing operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.astm.org/f3099-23.html/ |title=Standard Practices for Parasailing - ASTM|publisher=}}</ref>

=== Improved Parasail Canopy Designs ===
In recent years, operators have moved from small (20-foot range) parachutes to large (30–40 feet) parachutes with high-lift, low-drag designs, enabling operators to fly heavier payloads in lower (typically safer) winds. Most operators now offer double and triple flights using an adjustable side-by-side bar arrangement. The side-by-side aluminum bar is attached to the yoke of the chute, allowing two or three passenger harnesses to be attached side by side.

===Regulations===
In 2014, the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] issued a press release in which it found the parasailing industry to be largely unregulated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/07/01/ntsb-parasailing-accidents-frequently-caused-by-faulty-equipment/|title=NTSB: Parasailing Accidents 'Frequently Caused By Faulty Equipment'|date=July 2014 }}</ref> The report identified a number of safety concerns which included vessel operators who continued to operate despite hazardous wind conditions, use of inadequate equipment and unserviceable gear, and compromised strength of rope tied to the parasail. In a period from 1998 to the third of July 2013, there were six parasailing fatalities in the Florida area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/parasailing-safety-questioned-accident-florida/story?id=19567438|title=Parasailing Safety Questioned After Accident|work= ABC News|date=8 July 2013}}</ref> The great majority of deaths in parasail incidents have occurred when riders were unable to get out of their harness support system after an unplanned landing in water during high winds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swoperodante.com/parasailing-accident-statistics/|title=Parasailing Accident Statistics & Info - Swope, Rodante, P.A.|date=8 May 2014}}</ref>

Prior to the release of the NTSB report, Florida passed the [[White-Miskell Act]] which added strict regulations parasailing companies must follow including obtaining an insurance policy, and restrictions on parasailing in inclement weather.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wet-n-Wild Parasailing Destin|url=http://destinflboatrentals.com/attractions/parasailing/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207142323/http://destinflboatrentals.com/attractions/parasailing/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-02-07}}</ref>

== Parasailing associations ==
[[File:2017 Sarasota Crescent Beach Airplane Ad Banner 4 FRD 9257 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Banner towing by parasailing at [[Crescent Beach, Sarasota County, Florida|Crescent Beach]] on [[Siesta Key, Florida|Siesta Key]]]]

The leading trade associations for parasailing are:
*Commercial Winchboat Operators Association (CWOA)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwoa.net|title=CWOA.net}}</ref>
*Parasail Safety Council<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parasail.org|title=Welcome to the Parasail Safety Council|first=Mark|last=McCulloh}}</ref> 
*PAPO (Professional Association of Parasail Operators)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teampapo.org|title=低金利キャッシング※おすすめの銀行・消費者金融一覧}}</ref>
*Water Sports Industry Association?<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.wsia.net| title = WSIA.net}}</ref>
*EPPA (European Professional Parasailing Association)?<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.parasailingspain.com| title = parasailingspain.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Kite line]]
*[[Kite mooring]]
*[[Kite types]]
*[[Kitesurfing]]
*[[Paragliding]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{Kites}}
{{Extreme sports}}
{{Water sports}}

[[Category:Parachuting]]
[[Category:Water sports]]
[[Category:Kites]]