Slacking Off

I'm always paying close attention to my surroundings.  These days, I see the world though the lens of a cruiser and am constantly on the lookout for cool gadgets, tricks and products that would make sense on a boat or for a sailor.  Yesterday at the beach, I saw one such thing.  The sport is called a "slacklining" and it's similar to walking on a tightrope, but instead of a rope you use a giant ratchet strap (a slackline).  For those of you who are athletic, this *might* just be the perfect "land toy" to have aboard (to complement your water toys, of course).

All you need are two trees, an almost inhuman amount of balance (and patience, and coordination), and you're good to go.  As someone who practiced Bikram yoga religiously and danced for over eighteen years of my life I thought to myself "I got this" when my fellow cruiser offered me a go.  "It is much harder than it looks..." he warned me with a leery eye.  He then gave me a couple pointers: use your strongest leg to balance on first, place your foot facing forward and centered on the webbing, and don't hold your arms out in a "t" but in a "u" for balance.  Simple enough, right?

Wrong.  The very second I stepped on the strap my leg began shaking side to side, totally involuntarily and totally out of control.  I had to hold on to my new friend's shoulder just to stand upright and get balanced.  Once my leg zeroed out, I tried to take a step forward and - BLAMO - down I went.  This sport is high on the difficulty spectrum.  If you are looking for a fun, easy activity to do while cruising - this is not it.  But if you are looking for a crazy full-body workout and a fun challenge, you might want to give this a go.  My beautiful friend, Jessica, had a slackline aboard her boat when they cruised and said that not only was it a great workout - but a good laugh, and a great conversation starter.  Sounds perfect to me!