Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Para Sailing in Cape May New Jersey


I would like share with you my first experience of Parasailing . I did parasail only for 20 min , but the experience would stay in my mind for ever.It was independence day weekend this summer and I did not make any special plans . When one of my colleague suggested a place called cape may in s jersey , I was attracted to it. cape may is a small town with a lot of water activities such as jet skiin , para sailing etc..

We started early in the morning around Seven for this place, we still got stuck in traffic.
If you want to punish someone Please have them drive through NJ state highways in one of the long weekends. The traffic was as bad as we see in NYC, if not even worse. At many points the cars were just idle on the road. and we were mostly moving at the speed that we do in City roads. We reached the place in afternoon and booked for the only available slot @ 4 PM it looked like a perfect day for an out door activity.


The instructors took us to weell 20 minutes into the sea in Winchboat. it is a powerboat that incorporates a winch system to launch and retrieve parasailors from the boat.The sea was very rough on that day. It was very windy day too .The waves soared in every direction possible and with Winchboat going at a good speed we had water splashing from either side. I have read novels, seen movies where in the protogonist sails through the sea . I felt as though i am one of those characters in for an adventure.



. We then stopped it in the middle of the ocean and then prepared the parasail . parasail is nothing but a canopy attached to a floating chair for ppl to sit .the canopy is connected by rope to a hydraulic winch mounted on the towboat.as the rope is loosen and the winch boat accelerates the parasail flies skyward .


there were 3 pairs on the boat.each pair is supposed to parasail for 15-20 minutes.Unfortuantely my friend i was the first pair. To prepare for the ascend ,We had to squat in one small part of the boat and sit on the floating chair. The ascend is usually the most adventurous part. It gives the feel as though we are flying.we were put up @ half d maximum possible altitude and then we moved slowly to the atmost possible altitude. the wnd blowing had a sooting effect on my body.I looked down on the waves, the sands, and the buildings. The sight of blue color filled me with joy. At that particular height i could see ocean till its furthest end. the ocean converged with the sky. All the high rise building on the shore was looking like tiny ones.Once u r at the top i realise how tiny the mankind when compared to the ocean.I wishfully thought that time would freeze.b

In our descent back , we were held at half d altitude and and in one quick moment we were dipped us in the ocean at the hip level. I am a kind of person who is afraid of sharks and never would try swimming in the sea. So to me it is the best way to get dipped in atlantic.
I would definely recommend this activity for 3 reasons
1. enjoy the beautiful scenic view of the place.Some parasailing are done in the valley and some on the sea shore
2. fell the soothing effect of the breeze
3. will also be a simulation of what to do when we fall from airplane using a parachute.

I would never try a very adventorous activitykies something such as bungee jumping or as it is very scarier. Parasailing gives similar views and thrills as bungee jumping and at the same time a lot safer . It is an activity where you can invite family and friends alike and enjoy a great experience of flying through the air.I would definely encourage you all to try your hand at parasailing some day.



Are Nyers rude ?

This is the jest of my Toastmaster Speech #6

In my experience, many people believe that New Yorkers are smarter than fellow Americans,.Since we all are in NY now we can happily agree on that. Many people also believe that many NYers are also rude. Now that is something not a very pleasant thing to agree on.

i would like to go over instances where NYers are rude and then a few instances where the Nyers are not rude but the characteristic of NY makes them appear as rude.

1. opposing players scores home rub in yankee stadium - "who is your daddy' against phili pitcher pedro
2. the rash driving of nyc taxi drivers and scolding the pedestrians and fellow drives " Get out of the way, you young moron!"

When the taxi driver from hell almost runs you down in the cross walk, then commences to rolling down his window to hurl an insult, keep walking. Ignorance is bliss in New York City.

 The following are some instances where NYers appear rude but are not actually rude. 

1. The hardship and fast pace of an urban life.The majority of New Yorkers, then, are people who left another place and came here, looking for something, which suggests that the population is preselected for higher energy and ambition. to everyone's surprise space and time are precious commodity to a new yorker.

2. It's a culture, a crowded city with limited space requires different ways of operating. To get on the subway before the doors close on a crowded train one sometimes has to push.........perhaps to a non-new yorker this is rude.
3. New Yorkers spend more time up in each other’s faces in public, and thus feel comfortable being familiar with one another, . So we’re less inhibited when it comes to telling strangers they’re annoying the hell out of us.

In my personal experience, people have been polite with me.People will hold doors for others.
I have also seen cases whereas people would give up their subway seat for a person that has many packages, a small child, elderly person, pregnant lady, etc.speech

In 2006 Readers digest conducted a test to see people of which city are more polite and helpful
  • The survey conductors walked into public buildings 20 times behind people to see if they would hold the door open for us.
  • They bought small items from 20 stores and recorded whether the sales assistants said thank you.
  •  They dropped a folder full of papers in 20 busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up.
To allow us to compare cities, we awarded one point for each positive outcome and nothing for a negative one, giving each city a maximum score of 60. We did not attempt a strict scientific survey; it was the world’s biggest real-life test of common courtesy, with more than 2,000 tests of actual behavior. To everyone's surprise NY came out at the top

conclusion : no doubt like any other big city Ny has its own share of rude people.But To say Nyers in general are rude is going too far. . Their characteristic nature of being busy may give such an impression of being rude. Infact many may turn out to be polite and helpful personality as they survey suggests.