AssetID: 54921563
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Slackliner Jaan Roose Completes First Ever Walk Between A Parasail And A Speeding Boat
Caption: Estonian three-time world champion slackliner Jaan Roose has walked a slackline suspended between a flying parasail and a speeding boat in the Maldives. The unprecedented feat, carried out over the turquoise waters of the Noonu Atoll, featured two constantly moving anchor points shifting unpredictably due to wind, waves and current. “It was a very unknown world,” Roose admitted. “Would it be possible to walk a parasail slackline? How? And how much?” The challenge marked a world first in the history of slacklining: walking a dynamic line between two entirely unstable and mobile objects - a feat never before attempted. Roose and his team spent a week at Siyam World in the Maldives developing bespoke equipment to make the attempt viable. The rigging solution featured a specially designed bungee system to reduce the boat’s instability, alongside customised control toggles to help the parasail pilot adjust the canopy’s movement in real time. “Setting up a slackline between unusual vehicles – one in the air and the second on the water – makes this my most unique project in terms of rigging, because the angle points are totally different,” Roose explained. “Usually, slackline projects are between two static points. Here we have two objects moving in every direction at the same time.” The technical challenges were matched by extreme physical demands. Despite 15 years of elite experience, Roose was forced to adapt every aspect of his movement to cope with the changing elevation and unpredictable forces acting on the line. “A big part of this project was definitely the physical challenge, because it's hard to get on the line and to find a moment to start walking,” he said. “And when I was walking, to adapt my body, my knees.. I had to follow the behaviour of the boat and feel what was happening behind my back with the parasail.” Even pacing had to be reimagined. “That was the most important part,” he said. “I had to take two steps at a time instead of focusing on each step individually, because the elevation was constantly changing.” With each day of testing and each iteration, Roose and his team gained more control. “It was a very intense, long journey – incredibly challenging and successful. Each day, we were getting better and better until we could just play together like an orchestra.” But even after overcoming the most unpredictable variables, the closing moments proved to be the hardest. “Getting close to the finish mark is intense and it doesn't get easier, because the body is cramped,” he said. “In this case, as I got really close to the boat, with all its wobble and movement, the slackline system actually didn't work as well, so I had to pay even more attention to making those last few steps.” With a controlled landing on the deck of the moving boat, Roose completed the daring walk - demonstrating for the first time that it is possible to balance on a slackline anchored to objects in motion. “We showed that the body actually can balance in such a challenging environment: the world’s hardest slackline,” he said. Roose, known for redefining what is possible in slacklining, has previously walked a 3.6-kilometre highline across Italy’s Strait of Messina and completed an intercontinental walk over the Bosphorus Strait in Türkiye.
Keywords: feature,photo,video,parasail,red bull,stunt
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