So you bought yourself a radio Controlled Hovercraft, but wonder why your pet hamster should have all the fun. Well now, adrenalin junkies can now purchase their own marine leisure hovercraft, and learn to levitate a little.As an alternative to Jet Skis, RIBs, Quad Bikes etc, leisure hovercraft are certainly more fun to drive. In the first place, they are truly all-terrain ? you can drive them straight out of the sea and up the beach, or use them on grass, explore tidal estuaries, stop to collect a few shell fish perhaps, or have a picnic on the sands, with room enough for three adults. Guaranteed to raise a smile.

Start the engine, and your skirt will fill with air, lifting you 8 inches clear of the ground, so you are up and away. Open the throttle, and the craft will pick up speed, up to 50 mph depending on the size of your engine. No need to find a slipway, any beach or riverbank should do. No need to check tide data, you'll rise above sand and mud, and while strong currents are a concern for boats, hovercraft are not in contact with the water, so rise above that sort of problem. No need to check your depth meter, you have no propeller to worry about, just levitate and drive.

Submerged rocks or coral? Just gloss over them. Hovercraft have very real advantages over more conventional marine craft; while you are out having fun on the sand flats, boaties and jet Skiers will be checking their clocks and tide tables.Are they easier to drive? It takes just ten minutes to understand the basics; you just use a normal handlebar for steering with twist grip throttle.

Steer to the left or right, and the rudders will direct the air accordingly. Once you have mastered the basics, the real fun begins. The thrill of driving a small hovercraft is difficult to describe, as you have more freedom to express yourself.

Floating on a cushion of air at speed, you get the feeling that perhaps you are on a magic carpet, or anti-gravity skateboard. You can do 180 turns up the beach, or perpetual 360s, 720 spins and so on. As you can drive on both sea and land, you'll probably want to combine both in a little beach hugging exercise.

You can turn in graceful loops, or slide and glide where the mood takes you. These craft make great rescue and patrol vehicles ? you can access areas that are simply out of bounds for any other craft ? over ice for example, so go where snowmobiles fear to tread. Bigger yachts use them as tenders.At the end of the day, while other marine craft are hauled onto their trailers, (no fun retrieving boats on cold days) you can simply park up the beach and step out onto dry land.

For further information, please visit http://www.hovpod.com.

Manufactured in Southampton, England, close to where the first Hovercraft were developed and tested, the Hov Pod is enjoying tremendous success and is now being exported all over the world.

By: Mike Glanville