Travel Florida
The sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean in Delray Beach.
Surf, Sand, and Pinball Family fun in Delray Beach
By Cary Dunst
W
Water Skiing Without the Boat After a short Uber ride north from Delray to West Palm Beach, we arrived at Shark Park 561, founded by the son of golf legend Greg “The Shark” Norman. It’s among a growing number of wake park facilities that employ a tower and cable system, 58 I N S I G H T May 27–June 2, 2022
TALLAHASSEE
FLORIDA ORLANDO
DELRAY BEACH MIAMI
Getting there: West Palm Beach airport is only 30 minutes north of Delray.
ALL PHOTOS BY COPYRIGHT FRED J. ECKERT
h e n accou n t i ng f or both the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, Florida has a huge coastline, second in length only to Alaska’s. With so many vacation-worthy towns from which to choose, my family recently traveled to Delray Beach to combine a restful beach trip with memorable activities for our two pre-teen kids. Though my wife and I would have been content to do nothing more than read, stroll the beach, cool off in the ocean, and then repeat, our kids were full of energy and ready for action.
rather than a motorboat, to pull riders around a lake course. We quickly navigated through electronic waivers, helmet and life-jacket fittings, and kneeboard, ski, and wakeboard choices. We arranged a lesson with Donnie, a tall, sandy-blond high schooler. Donnie started my kids on kneeboards, the easiest way to learn. After some on-land coaching, he left us to take a solo lap around the course. One at a time, my kids received the rope handle from the cable operator, who offered some last-minute encouragement, and then counted down: “Three, two, one, go!” The slack in the rope tightened and off they went, pulled from the dock’s ramp like a rock skipping across the lake to an expectant Donnie, who received and stabilized them on the water and taught them how to navigate the sharp tug of the cable at the four turns on the course. He got both kids both riding and having fun from their very first try.
