Blokarting: Sailing on Land

By Briana Reece

When people think of sailing, they mostly think they need water and a boat, but what if you could sail on land?

Brianna getting ready for the ride

On ride!

Blokarting, is an extreme sport created by combining hand gliding and land sailing, but what’s the difference between land sailing and blokarting?

Two words… hand steering. It all comes down to the fact that you can control the movement by steering your pod with the help of the wind.

The creation of this yatch dates back to 1999, when the New Zealander Paul Beckett, saw a fun, fast and compact toy, which would offer adventure to people of all ages, gender and even those with disability.

Now imagine you are placed into a small compact unit and it has two wheels in the back and one in the front. When you enter this small “cart or pod”, a seatbelt is placed around you and instructions are given. It sounds simple, you pull a rope to go faster, if you let it go your speed will decrease, and most importantly if you feel you’re going to tip over place your hands on the steering. Then you just sit back, grab the rope, place your hands on the steering and get ready to be blown away. Just make sure you’re not going against the wind.

The experience

It was scary at first, especially when you know you could tip over because of the wind. You feel like you´re in control, but at the same time you´re not because you´re depending of the wind to help you move. Having to pull or let go of the rope while trying to hand steer required coordination. It was like driving a manual car, the rope is your shift stick and clutch; and the hand steering is your steering wheel

There were times when one of my tires lifted, and my first thought was move towards the lifted tire and let go of the rope to maintain balance. It´s not easy at first, but once you get the hang of it, you´re able to enjoy the ride and feel the adventure, especially in every turn you take.

Having begun in New Zealand, Blokarting has managed to make its way to South Africa, Australia and will soon be available in the hidden and forgotten Island of Naos at Causeway, Amador.

Don’t miss this opportunity, check out Panama Landsailng Adventures for more information or contact us for reservations.

Sources:

http://www.blokart.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blokart

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_sailing

http://blokarts.co.uk/blokart-blog/4590803590

 

 

EcoCircuitos against Plastic

EcoCircuitos Panama  in conjunction with our international wholesalers is proud to announce that we sign the TAP plea and we encourage our clients to use bottles on their trips!  Let´s work together for a safer and greener planet!!  We will provide stainless steel, PBA water bottles.  Join us in the fight against plastic!

We provide our clients with a stainless Steel PBA free water bottle as a positive solution to plastic water bottles. A percentage of all sales go support the Panamanian Foundation for Sustainable Tourism which supports conservation, education and rural tourism projects throughout Panama. 

new bottles

CLEAN WATER– We all know we can’t drink the water in developing countries because it might make us sick from any number of microscopic critters which could cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps or worse. Most people buy bottled water which has huge environmental impacts as well as being expensive and possibly unhealthy. What to do?

Travel prepared to clean your own water or use water in containers provided by hotels and operators if they have it. WHY?

• To avoid creating a trail of plastic water bottles everywhere you go
• To ensure the safety and supply of your water
• To save money and time

IT’S EASY: There are many bottles you can choose from. We love Liberty Bottles.

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For more information go to TAP www.travelersagainstplastic.org . Please consider signing the pledge not to use plastic water bottles while traveling. And then be the change you want to see in the world.

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 Why bother?

Better for the environment

• 24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles.
• Plastic bottles take 700 years to begin composting.
• 90% of the trash in the ocean is from plastic.
• Eighty-six percent of single-use plastic bottles become landfill or litter in the US.
• PET is made from crude oil. PET bottles produce toxic emissions at rates of 100 times that of glass.

Cheaper                                                                                                                         

• Bottled water can cost as much $10 per gallon. We are paying 2 to 4 times the cost of gasoline for a product that is virtually free.
• If tap water cost the same as the cheapest bottled, monthly water bills would come to $9,000.

Health

• Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death.
• This is increased by storage in heated areas. Where was your bottle of water before you got it?

DO THE MATH

In the first two months of 2012, 8.1 million U.S. citizens traveled abroad according to data released by the U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries.

8.1 million travelers over two months =48.6 million a year (estimated)

3 bottles a day for one 2 week trip= over 3.4 billion plastic water bottles used.

Reuse bottles at home as well
Three corporations dominate the bottled water market in the US. Pepsi has 13% of the market and Coke has 11%, both of which resell treated tap water, by putting it through an energy intensive process called reverse-osmosis. This process takes more energy than turning seawater into drinking water.

San Francisco’s tap water comes from Yosemite National Park and is so pure the EPA does not require it to be filtered. A bottled of Evian water at $1.35 could be refilled with San Francisco tap water once a day for over ten years before the cost would total $1.35.
Be the Change. TAP