Parasailing parachutes into Thiruvananthapuram

Bond Adventures’ venture Fly Kovalam has flagged off the water sport of parasailing for thrill-seekers in the Kerala capital

Anoop S M from Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram had plans of flying high on parasailing in Goa with his buddies early in January. But he could not make the trip with his friends. Later, he learnt about the water sport reaching the shores of Kovalam, introduced by Bond Adventures under the banner Fly Kovalam. Anoop, a camera assistant, says he took to it like a bird.

"I had prepared myself to touch the clouds by watching lots of YouTube vidoes on parasailing. I did harbour some apprehensions initially since it was a novel experience but it went fine. I enjoyed it," he says.

It was a first-time experience for travel vlogger Dr. Mithra Satheesh as well. "I had always wanted to try out parasailing but the immediate trigger came in the form of a challenge a student of mine tagged me on a social media post about the watersport. I just took up the gauntlet when I was visiting the city," says Dr. Mithra, a professor of Government Ayurveda College, Tripunithura.

Providing a fillip to tourism in Thiruvananthapuram, parasailing has joined other adventure sports such as paragliding at Varkala, scuba diving at Kovalam and surfing that enjoy good patronage in the district. Also known as parakiting, the recreational activity organised by Fly Kovalam at the Hawa Beach involves winch-parasailing, wherein the take-off and landing happens on a winch boat achored at mid-sea.

Parasailing by Bond Adventures’ venture Fly Kovalam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

"We deploy an Indian Register of Shipping (IRS)-certified winch parasailing boat that was manufactured in Goa. The multi-hued parachute, which has been brought in from the United Kingdom, is tethered to a winch securely attached to the boat," says Jackson Peter, managing director of Bond Adventures. Thrill-seekers are dropped off at the winch boat, manned by trained instructors, on a feeder boat from the beach. Jackson says parasailing, open to anyone above the age of 10, is permitted up to five nautical miles from the shore and parachutes can attain a maximum height of 150 metres.

Parasailors are required to don life jackets and wear face masks at all times in keeping with Covid-19 protocol. Charges are ₹2,500 per head for a session and parasailing is open on all days from 10 am to 5 pm.

Jackson, who is part of the venture Bond Safari that introduced scuba diving at Kovalam five years ago, says the new enterprise would help enhance the name of the sought-after coastal destination in the global map of adventure sports and boost tourism.

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