The latest watersports craze, JetLev Flying, has hit Abu Dhabi. Sarah Riches tries it out.
If you could pick a super power, what would it be? Time travel, telepathy or super strength like the Hulk?
Here at TOAD we’re not asking for much. We’d settle for being Bananaman for the day, the British superhero with the ability to fly after he’s eaten a banana. But for so long flying has seemed like a distant dream – until we heard of JetLev Flying.
Gulf Water Sports launched the watersport in November 2013 in Ghantoot Marina, between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The first of its kind in the UAE, the JetLev Flyer is a 16kg carbon fibre back pack attached to a 10m hose, with an engine the size and shape of a Jet Ski at the other end. The engine shoots water into the hose, rocketing whoever’s wearing the jet pack 10m into the air at 40kph.
A session starts with 10 minutes’ training, during which the general manager, Frankie Pawley, explains how it works. ‘The jet pack has arms, which you hold at 90 degrees,’ he says. ‘The throttle is at the end of the right arm – to activate it, you twist it as if you’re tightening a jam jar lid. A kill switch next to the throttle stops the engine.’
‘Can you demonstrate?’ we ask.
‘Course I can,’ he replies.
‘Talk us through the technique,’ we ask. But Frankie’s nowhere to be seen. ‘Frankie?’
‘Look up,’ he calls.
We look up. One minute Frankie was standing on the deck, the next he was as high as a three-storey house, legs dangling beneath him.
Without getting so much as a drop of water on his little toe, he hovers upright in the air 10m above the surface of the water. He lifts his left arm up and drops his right which enables him to turn to the right, then brings his arms down together to do a dolphin dive into the 15m deep marina.
Once he’s back on the deck, it’s our turn.
As a beginner, we start in the water, so we don’t notice the weight of the jet pack. Initially Frankie controls the throttle remotely from the deck, so all we have to do is concentrate on keeping our arms still. Easy.
But somehow it’s not quite the scene from Bananaman we envisaged. We’re sure we’re keeping our arms at 90 degrees, but somehow we keep twirling to the right while still in the water. We’re basically doing circles like a dog chasing its tail, virtually drowning ourselves in the process.
Frankie cuts the engine and explains where we’re going wrong.
‘Congratulations,’ he grins. ‘You did the barrel roll, which is an advanced move.’
We did?
‘At 4m in the air, it’s terrifying,’ he says. ‘It’s my favourite move.’
After that, Frankie ditches the remote and gets in the water with us to guide our arms. Taking care not to rev the throttle too much, we slowly get the hang of it. At one point, we even manage to fly 3m – high enough to clear the water and kick our feet in the air.
But the glory doesn’t last long, as Bananaman we are not.
Coughing and spluttering, we’re relieved when the 20-minute session comes to an end, although we’re confident that with more practice, we’d soon improve. Frankie assures us an hour is all it takes to get fully airborne, and we can see how the activity could quickly become addictive.
Gulf Water Sports has a second, more powerful JetLev Flyer with a 15m hose that can fly up to 80kph.
Dhs995 30 minutes, Dhs1,400 one hour, Dhs4,500 three hours, Dhs7,800 five hours. Follow Sheikh Rashed Al Maktoum Road (E11) north towards Dubai, take exit 399 to the right, take the flyover and follow signs for Al Jazira Resort. Ghantoot Marina, www.ghantootmarina.com (02 562 9168). Gulf Water Sports www.gulfwatersports.ae (055 297 9311).
