Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2018

33 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestOfMP.com feature I t’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s your friend catapulting 35 feet above the Charleston Harbor. When wakeboarding, waterskiing and parasailing just do not cut it, Flyboarding will most certainly quench the thirst of adrenaline junkies and those looking to experience a different sort of day on the water. Want to amp up your weekend plans? Hydrofly is the only Charleston-area company offering this epic new sport. A few years back, Sam Pannier, co-owner of Hydrofly Watersports, stumbled across a YouTube video of the fairly unknown activity, and the rest is history. Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit and an unrelenting passion for watersports, he’s built a booming business attracting a steady stream of visitors and locals wanting to experience the action-packed excitement for themselves. “Taking flight as a ground-based mammal turns out to be a fairly euphoric sensation for most,” said Pannier. “People who are trying it for the first time generally freak out. Not only are you literally flying, but you also are controlling every turn, movement and direction you go. It’s the closest to Iron Man you can ever become.” Invented by Frank Zapata, a French watercraft rider, in 2012, Flyboarding is quickly catching on as a pastime loved by many. Folks’ feet are strapped into boots, much like a snowboard, while pressurized streams of water from a 50-foot hose connected to a jet ski propel them into the air. Participants get a natural high, while mirroring the moves of agile dolphins and cape-clad super heroes. “The most obvious, unique aspect from other watersports is the ability of sustained flight,” said Pannier. By Kalene McCort Blast Off , Up and Into Summer Hydrofly Provides the Ultimate Lowcountry Summer Experience Photos courtesy of Hydrofly Watersports.