Swim Like a Dolphin… Fly Like a Bird!
by Colin Stoecker
The most fun and coolest sport in ocean sports this summer is Flyboarding. “It’s the biggest thing to happen to water sports since the invention of the Jet Ski” says Mark Clarke, a coast guard licensed captain and the owner of Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Sports. Anyone young and old can experience what it feels like to zoom through the water like a dolphin and soar upward with the full jet propulsion of a jet ski, thanks to Clarke’s expert staff.
MV Ocean Sports is located across from Fish Bones on the Oak Bluffs Harbor, directly next to Hy-Line Cruises. They offer flyboarding, which is new this summer, amongst many other ocean sports including parasailing and boat rentals.
Captain Bob takes you out to meet the instructors on the water on a small speed boat that can hold up to six passengers at once. Once out on the water, Kevin, who likes to be called, “Kev Co the Pro” from MV Ocean sports and his co-teacher, Gene, or “Gene the Mean Dolphin Machine” give a ten minute safety lesson followed by twenty minutes of extreme water jet propulsion fun!
Kevin, Gene, and Mark Clarke were all certified this year as fly boarding instructors on Lake Mead in Las Vegas, and specialize in teaching beginners. “I want people to know that this isn’t scary, anyone of all ages and sizes can participate” says Clarke, “kids as young as 12 years old, with parental consent, are trying out this sport and we even had a couple in their late 60’s give it a go! They had a blast.”
Both Kev-co and Gene are professionals themselves, as Gene the dolphin machine truly lives up to his title by doing consecutive backflips in the air while diving in and out of the water like a dolphin! You can rest assured that you are in safe hands with these two flyboarding veterans, they can teach anyone enough to have a blast on the water.
After laying out all of the proper safety precautions, and before strapping the jet boots onto your feet and helmet on your head, it is up to you to steer yourself out of the water and up into the air. Kev Co controls the thrust of the board with the throttle valve on his Jet Ski. Once you get the hang of leaning backwards and lifting yourself with ease out of the water and into the air, steering is easy once the balance is attained. Dropping one knee sends you in that direction.
“With the direction from Kev Co, my jitters vanished because I was having a blast! I felt very confident in my fly boarding abilities and soon I was fifteen feet above the water following the Jet Ski around in a circle,” states a first time flyboarder. “It is all about control and the instructor controls how high you go with the Jets Ski, so once you’re comfortable balancing you can gradually go higher!” he adds.
MV Ocean Sports lives up to their claim that they specialize in “aquatic aviation, the cutting edge of water sports.” They want you to experience controlled flight that is easy to operate and user friendly and best of all, safe fun for the whole family.
The rates for flyboarding are $150 per person for a half hour. Four or more riders $125 each. Early Bird Special 8am-10am for $100! While you’re at MV Ocean Sports, also check out parasailing, jet skiing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, knee boarding, and tubing. Along with Boston Whaler rentals, Banana Boat rides, and sunset cruises MV Ocean Sports is your one stop for everything fun on the water!
Everyone wants to be able to defy gravity, and anyone seeking a fun way to spend an afternoon on the Oak Bluffs Harbor should check it out; their slogan says it all, “Swim like a dolphin, fly like a bird!”
Did You Know?
Flyboarding was invented by Frank Zapata of Zapata Racing. Here’s how it works: You disconnect the steering nozzle of Jet Ski, attach a 50’ fire hose which connects to the flyboard that has wakeboarding boots on it. The instructor on the Jet Ski controls the thrust, and your state-of-the-art helmet has a speaker on it so you can hear him.
