Photos/Video: Flyboarders Put On Hamilton Show

[Updated with video] This morning [July 31] saw a special show put on in Hamilton Harbour, as a team of flyboarders led by local entrepreneur Michael Swan took to the waters.

Flyboarding started off in France and Mike said while searching the web for something totally unrelated he “came across this guy standing on this plume of water, standing straight up out of the sea.”

Mike said, “At first I thought what the heck is this? So I started to search, came up with the sport of flyboarding and thought, hey, this would work well here.”

Mike spent a few weeks trying to locate the appropriate distributor who would support him in Bermuda and finally did, and today they decided to bring the sport to town and put on a pre-Cup Match show.

The boat — towing two large jetskis — came and picked the crew up in Southampton off one of the public docks. The deck of the boat was full of hoses and attachments that were to be attached to the skis shortly.

The Tiara was to act as the chase/support boat for the jetski pilot/flyboarder teams as they performed later on.

There is a long hose that attaches to the jetski at one end, then to a universal joint at the other, a type of platform to which boots are affixed and this is where the pilot/flyboarder steps in and has the jetski pilot power up the jets of water that emit from the platform.

Once all the setup was complete Marc Tucker strapped in, Mike powered up and out of the water Marc shot up in the air, bringing to mind scenes from various movies.

The jetski operator applies varying amounts of thrust, which forces its way down the hose, and raises the rider, who can go some twenty feet or more into the air.

Using a combination of ankle movement and body movement, the flyboarder can move around the air literally at will. With the ski operator changing the thrust in power from the jetski, the advanced flyboarder can really throw some amazing stunts.

On the second ski, Lee “Ozzy” Osborne also took to the air and with two pilots now in the air, the show was really starting to kick in as commuters traveling down Harbour Road were soon to see.

While traveling down Harbour Road, Marc and Ozzie performed tricks and maneuvers to the delight of the morning drivers who slowed to watch.

Horns from the ferry welcomed the crew into the Harbour, local and visitors alike standing and waving, clearly enjoying what they were seeing.

After first climbing into the air from forced water fed through the hose, the flyboarder then is able to kick their heels, point their toes and dive headfirst into the water and then pop back out of the water.

Other more complex moves are possible as Marc demonstrates above, a perfect back somersault, to land gently on the water, ready to throw the next move.

Ozzie waved to the commuters as they traveled in to work on the day before Cup Match.

Callon breaks to his left and executes a dive, popping up again some twenty feet away while crowds start to gather at the edge of the dock, with some who whistled at the team.

Marc then pulls off a back somersault while Mike controls the ski for him.

With colorful containers in the background, Callon blasts across the sky before floating down again gently on to the surface of the water.

Callon screams across the sky, with blazing trails of pressured water flowing behind him.

Marc and Callon float in the air some 20ft, before being lowered gently into the water to complete the morning’s flyboard show in Hamilton.

Shown above, left to right, the full Coconut Rockets Team: Ozzie, Marc, Mike, Natalie, Charlie and Callon.

The Coconut Rockets are currently operating out of Black Bay by appointment only for now, but soon to be full time, the Coconut Rockets and Mike Swan, can be reached through their Facebook page linked here.

#BermudaMarine #CoconutRockets #Offbeat

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