Is Parasailing in Hawaii Safe?

[Kathie Fry]

In April of 2009 a young adult man employed by Seabreeze Watersports in Hawaii Kai attempted a dangerous parasailing stunt in Maunalua Bay that ended in tragedy. I'm posting this news here because a couple of people forwarded news articles about this incident to me, and I want to make sure anybody else who hears about it understands this was not an accident during a normal visitor's parasailng adventure, but was rather a young man's daring stunt gone terribly wrong.

According to news reports and a TV station's interview with the owner of Seabreeze Watersports, a Seabreeze employee attempted to go up in the air at the same time another parasailor was in the air, and zipline down a parasailing rope. I'm not sure about the details of what happened, for example whether one rope or two ropes were involved, but here is a KGMB 9 video interview with Seabreeze Watersports owner Jeff Krantz: KGMB TV Interview With the Owner of Seabreeze Watersports.

I personally feel parasailing is a reasonably safe sport when offered by a reputable and experienced operator who inspects their equipment and follows standard safety procedures, but like all action sports, and any sport really, there can be accidents and even occasionally fatal accidents. Parasailing accidents are usually caused by high winds or faulty equipment or, in the case in the Maunalua Bay accident, an parasailing individual or operator's poor judgement.

For information about parasailing safety see Safety Tips from Florida's Parasail Safety Council, the article How to Avoid a Parasailing Accident on the Parasailing.com Web site and the official site of the Professional Association of Parasail Operators.

For a list of parasail operators in Hawaii see Parasailing in Hawaii.

- Kathie
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