Flyboarding takes off in Catalina Island

AVALON ― A new seasonal water activity – flyboarding – is literally taking off in Catalina Island. This summer is the first full season of the hydroflying sport on the island. People have the opportunity to hover and fly over water with Action Flyboarding.

Anyone 15 years and older can experience flyboarding. A 90-year-old man took to flyboarding in July as this was on his bucket list, according to Action Flyboarding Owner Belinda Bain.

The cost is $129, which covers the boat ride to and from the dock, fitting of a life vest and helmet, training, and 30 minutes of flying.

Paid customers board a shoreboat for a 10-minute ride to a 21-foot-by-40-foot floating dock in a cove past Descanso Beach, where they are fitted with a life vest and helmet.

A trained and certified instructor provides 30-minutes of instructions on how to fly.

Customers then enter the water with the flyboard; the instructor is on a waverunner which generates power to the board. Customers propel and hover above the water moving in the direction of their choice. The instructor controls the height, which is typically three to eight feet above the water, depending on skill level.

“We are just on the other side of Descanso Beach. We have our own little cove. It looks like Fiji in there, because the water is so clear,” Bain said.

Bain started her flyboarding business in Catalina Island last summer. However Bain said the business started in late July 2016, because of all the permits required. She was running a flyboarding business for two years prior in Big Bear before moving it to Catalina Island. The sport was invented in 2012; the largest flyboarding operation is apparently in Catalina Island.

“There is so much to do here in Catalina Island with parasailing, ziplining, snorkeling, diving, glass-bottom boats,” Blain said. “You could really spend a whole week here and do something different every day.”

Action Flyboarding is open Thursday through Tuesday, June 1-Oct. 30.

Tickets are available for purchase online, by phone or on the pier at the Catalina Adventure Tours shack. Action Flyboarding’s website is actionflyboarding.com.

Photo courtesy Action Flyboarding