Expert offers training to parasail businesses

The Parasail Safety Council is offering safety guidelines and free training to the five parasail operations in Clearwater.

By JANE MEINHARDT

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 1999

Clearwater could become the first city in the nation to provide safety training for parasailing operators.

Although about 350 parasail businesses operate in the United States, no local, state or federal regulations govern the safety of the industry, according to the Parasail Safety Council.

Mark McCulloh, who formed the council to promote parasail safety, wants to change that by starting with guidelines for the five parasail operations in Clearwater. Acting as a consultant to the city, he is drafting safety regulations and offering free training.

In October, three men narrowly escaped serious injury and possibly death in a Clearwater parasailing accident. While they were 1,200 feet in the air, their parasail towrope broke in gusty winds, and they were swept over a Sand Key condominium before landing.

A former parasail operator and manufacturer, McCulloh testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit over a fatal accident involving a New York man who died after his parasail towrope was cut in strong winds. The man was dragged through a Clearwater Beach construction site.

Working in conjunction with Clearwater's parasail operators, McCulloh's safety program would, among other things:

• Establish a maximum parasail tow height of 600 feet in the Gulf of Mexico and 300 feet on inland waters such as Clearwater Bay.
• Limit operations in certain wind and weather conditions.
• Provide safety and equipment training, including boat operation and equipment maintenance.
• Establish towrope and equipment guidelines.
• Require operators to give safety instructions to parasail passengers.

McCulloh plans to present his program to Clearwater parasailing businesses in mid-December.

"I just want parasail operators to apply common sense, to think about safety," he said. "They need to acknowledge these public safety issues. It's all about safety."

None of the five Clearwater parasailing businesses contacted last week responded to requests for comment. However, Clearwater Harbormaster Bill Morris, who was consulting with McCulloh before the October accident, said that in informal discussions with operators, they were in favor of jointly developing safety regulations with McCulloh.

"His proposals will be used as kind of a baseline," Morris said. "I think this is a really good start. I think they know they need to agree on some standards to preserve the industry."

He plans to distribute McCulloh's proposals to the city's parasailing businesses and then schedule a meeting to discuss guidelines and future voluntary steps.

Under McCulloh's program, operators would attend a series of workshops and meetings over five to seven days and be tested to evaluate their parasailing knowledge. Businesses also would demonstrate their methods of operation, including emergency procedures.

McCulloh acknowledged that ready acceptance of his regulations and safety programs is unlikely. So did Morris.

"The first meeting will be a bumpy one," Morris said. "They have qualms, so I may have to buffer things to keep moving forward. I am a facilitator. It is not my intent to dictate policy. We're asking them to define their regulations. If not, then we're going to have to step in, but we want them to be self-regulating."

He estimated that businesses have logged more than 200,000 parasailing rides in the past nine years and noted that only two serious accidents have happened.

"A parasailing accident is like an airplane crash," Morris said. "When you have one, it's catastrophic."