It’s time to head for the beach. Instead of just lying there, why not try something more active? We put a fitness instructor through his paces to try out the watersports
MANY a tourist after a week prone, sizzling on the sun bed gets into that mood where they fancy having a go at some radical water activity. Many will have come here from damp lands and sun cheated skies, so there’s the definite urge to try out some different ‘fun in the sun’.
Few, however, consider either the safety or inherent dangers involved in the sports that are on offer and nor do they consider their own level of fitness.
We asked professional fitness instructor Dave Metcalf to try out a variety of these water sports including water-skiing, jet skiing, banana boat, the flying fish, paragliding and wave-boarding. There are different abilities involved, notably hanging, riding, or safely rising from the water.
So it was down to the beach at the Imperial Hotel where Savvas Fikardos and his assistant Andrianos put Dave through his paces. There was a definite lack of enthusiasm from Dave when it was suggested he try paragliding. “I assumed I would have to be harnessesed up to the parachute on dry land, the boat then acting as the pulling force to get me up and away,” Dave said. However, harnessing takes place on the speed boat out at sea. Savvas then unfurls the parachute and using a power winch and fast acceleration of the boat, man and parachute then glide skywards.
“It was less frightening than I first thought,” Dave said, once he had restored some feeling in his groin area, due to the harness slipping up and trapping his ‘bits’. However it is certainly not suitable for a child under the age of 12 or those with a fear of heights. The level of fitness needed was minimal as all the work is done by the parachute and you don’t even have to hold on except when you land.
Make sure you only paraglide out to sea so there is no possibility of being flung against any rocks if there is a sudden change or drop in the wind. Equipment should be regularly serviced and each person who goes aloft, or indulges in any of the water activities, should wear a life jacket.
Next out was the jet ski. Savvas has two types: a 1,200cc which can take three people and reache speeds of 75kph; and a two-seater 700cc. You have to be over 18 to take the controls, preferably minus any alcoholic beverages as this is a piece of equipment fraught with dangers, especially for the lone swimmer or diver. All beaches a re legally required to have a separate corridor for water sports vehicles (including jet skis) to minimise the risk to swimmers and divers.
Dave thoroughly enjoyed the experience. “It was a blast,” he said, although he warned care must be taken with speed as there is a tendency for it to dislodge if you try to go too fast. The worry I had was, what if you fall of and the jet ski keeps on going at high speed towards the shore? “No chance,” Savvas said. The driver is attached by string to the ignition so the minute he departs company with the jet ski, its engine instantly dies.
Quickly dismounting from his speed experience, Dave was then faced with the challenge of water skiing. “It’s not as easy as it looks,” he said, “especially trying to get the skis on when immersed in the water.” Savvas explained that upper body strength is not actually needed to get up on the skis. Most people try and haul themselves up with brute force, when in fact the power of the boat does all that for you, he said. Unless, that is, you keep your skis too far apart and don’t position your knees correctly. Dave did well but again warned that you need some staying power and a good sense of balance. If you don’t like being ducked this is not the sport for you as you do end up immersed in the water a good few times until you get the hang of it.
But there is no rest for the wicked. Straight out of the water, Dave clambered aboard the wild-looking flying fish, an inflatable lilo the size of a small bed-sit. Ranged between the grooves are handles for the feet and hands that the rider clings to while being towed at high speed, lifting the flying fish high in the air. Not an activity for those with false fingernails or a back problem. “Brilliant,” Dave said, “but I would advise wearing sneakers as you can really hurt your toes trying to grip on. It’s reasonably safe and even if you come off the only problem is the speed that you hit the water at might cause some bruising, but overall it’s a great thriller this one”.
The rings were next. Basically, rubber rings are dragged at high speed across the wake of the boat to resemble fast dodgem cars. Again, like the flying fish, it requires clinging on so you don’t end up flying into the sea. Not for the weak armed.
By this time Dave was totally exhausted, such was the intensity of the exercise. Plus, as it was all water-based, it makes you work five times harder.
Parents must use common sense when renting these rides for their children, as some could turn from exhilarating to frightening very quickly. Everyone who ventures down to the sea should be able to swim, even though they are equipped with a buoyancy vest there should be a lack of fear about being in the water.
Contact Savvas at Jims Water sports Imperial Hotel Beach Paphos Tel =99647 507
What you should pay
Jet Ski 1,200cc £20 for 20 mins.
Jet Ski 700cc £15 for 20 mins.
Wake Board £15 for 20 mins
Water Skiing £15 for 20 mins
Flying Fish £10
Rings £10
Speed boat (self drive) £30 for 30 mins
