![]() Our first dive site for the day was the Aquarium. We went to two dive sites in one day: the Aquarium and Lankan Reef. While diving the house reef at Bandos was quite nice, it was our boat dive that was really memorable. It was huge and scary, and I was glad it ignored me because if it had swam in my direction, I would have had a panic attack right then and there! Diving in the Maldives: The Aquarium Dive Site On our way back through the channel, I was holding on to the guide rope when I saw the jellyfish (at least, I think it’s a jellyfish?). There were also a lot of smallish black tip sharks, although in Bandos, seeing them and stingrays was quite common. I saw scores of blue triggerfish, schools of Moorish idol, stone fish, clownfish, and gorgeous blue and yellow surgeon fish. Enthusiasts took these bans personally, but the overall safety risks proved the deciding factor in deflating this briefly popular water sport.Jellyfish or from a jellyfish family? Scary!Īll divers, regardless of certification, must also go through an orientation/check out dive in their house reef. But, the sport is essentially dead.Įven if you could find a body of water where you could use them, finding a flying tube had become almost impossible. Three years after their initial release, Manta Rays were also no longer available new, yet they can still be found on eBay and various classified ad sites. In the year after these tubes had first taken flight, it seemed unavoidable that they’d be permanently grounded. In places where the boats weren’t banned, boaters were held responsible for any injuries caused by flying tubes.Īn investigation into the sport itself was launched to determine the actual level of danger. It quickly became illegal to use flying boating tubes on many bodies of water throughout the US and Canada. Over 19,000 of the tubes were marked for recovery, and many businesses found themselves having to pull a popular product from the shelves. This prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Wego to issue recalls of the Kite Tube. Not convinced kit tubes are dangerous? Check this out:īy July 2006, the number of injuries had risen to 84 and three people were killed over a four month period. ![]() Those falling from higher altitudes faced additional impact damage, as water feels increasingly solid the faster you hit it.Īs the number of injuries continued to pile up, a Consumer Product Safety Commission report warned that riders had very little control while the tubes were airborne, and that various factors could cause the tube to spin or wreck. Some of the injuries reported included loss of consciousness, broken vertebrae, ruptured eardrums, and punctured lungs. When the wind picked up or there wasn’t a good spotter, people were having numerous accidents. Use of helmets were encouraged, as was general boating safety.ĭue to altitudes that could reach up to 30 feet for the Kite Tube, concerns about impact damage were at the forefront of many safety experts.Īs the months passed by, injury reports began to trickle in, especially in regards to the the Kite Tube. The Kite Tube had warning labels setting a speed limit of 20 miles per hour. Related: 13 Tips for Fun, Safe Tubing Behind a Boat Losing AltitudeĪs with any sport, there should always be a focus on safety. The Manta Ray was capable of soaring up to 15 feet above water level. Its chief competitor, the Sevylor Manta Ray, resembled a giant, rideable ray. These flying boat tubes were so popular that the Wego Kite Tube was awarded Sports Product of the Year by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association after their release in 2005. ![]() Unlike regular towable tubes, these tubes could maintain speeds of 20 to 35 miles per hour once the wind catches under their wide lower surface. Thus, when two companies released water tubes that fly at certain speeds, people clamored to buy them. Man has always been fascinated with flight, and some water sports give a brief taste of this. So just what are these flying boat tubes and why were they so short-lived? Flying Boating Tubes Take Off The sport only lasted for a little over a year, but was very popular during that brief period. In the event you’ve never heard of flying boat tubes, you’re probably not alone. Life Jacket Advisor and some products featured on the site are owned by the same company. When you buy an item using one of our links, we may earn a portion of the sale.
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