The 68,500-ton AIDAbella is now the largest ship every to pull a waterskier (certified by Guinness). Jan Schwiderek, a reporter for the German TV show "Galileo," was towed behind the cruise ship for six minutes and 25 seconds at a speed of 14 knots earlier this month (shown below).
Using a "flying start," Schwiderek stepped onto his skis from a speedboat driving at full throttle in the Bay of Alicante. The early-morning feat was videotaped and will appear on the German TV show later this month.
The cruise passengers watching the spectacle from the outside decks were amazed. "I've never witnessed anything like this before as a captain," said AIDA Captain Josef Husmann. "It's absolutely fantastic that we actually brought it off."
AIDA is a brand of Carnival Corp which markets only in German-speaking countries.
This story appeared in the October 14, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
