Go Ahead &...

[waitingman]

So... someone had this crazy idea...

"Come watch me skydive!!" said David O'Brien, a couple of months ago. So one day, we did. Of course, he didn't jump that day, but plenty of others did:~



So we got talking to a couple of these people, who all said we should try it. Everyone says they'd like to try skydiving "one day...", myself included, but you never really get 'round to it. Except the idea was taken up enthusiastically by my long-suffering partner, who said she'd pay to see me do it ~ whatever that was supposed to mean.... Then a friend returned from Norway & was talked, rather easily, into joining the jumping party, so the date with Destiny was postponed & my L-SP agreed to jump too... rather more reluctantly than our friend had.

All of a sudden, the agreed date was upon us. Our friend had flown in from Melbourne & had roped in some daredevil friends from Canberra, David was buzzing about it & my L-SP was an interesting mix of determined & resigned.

So there we were, late last Sunday morning. First, we watched David show us how it's done:~



Seemed simple enough, so off we went to suit up. I turned my camera over to a good friend who lives just outside Picton, about a 20 minute drive from the Jump Centre. Big mistake:~



Some people just don't take my photophobia seriously... though this is a one-in-a-million shot because I actually don't mind it... Anyway, up, up & away we went & guess who was first out the door?

I remember hesitating on the threshold for maybe a second, before a combination of excitement, abandon, thrill & the jump instructor attached to me pushed me out the door into oblivion. Now, four days later, I still don't have the words to describe the initial tumbling freefall before we assumed the classic 'swimming' position & hurtled earthwards at about 200km/h. David had jumped after me & zoomed over to shake my hand & yell something encouraging (I couldn't hear exactly what, but he was smiling... or maybe that was the wind...), then my wisecracking instructor pulled the ripcord & either we shot upwards, or David continued downwards, either way, he was gone... not terminally, of course, he just wanted to freefall (& probably show off!!) a bit longer before opening his 'chute...

By comparison, the drift to earth after our 'chute opened was one of the most amazing & peaceful things I've ever experienced:~



But all good things must come to an end... Fortunately a rather gentle end for us, though quite close to the 'Swooping' pool we weren't supposed to go into:~



Several of the other participants have their own LJs & mutual friends, so I'll let them rant & rate their own experiences. For myself, it was an exhilarating experience I'd love to do again. Then, I'd like to try one on my own, as I don't think you can cross 'Skydiving' off your list properly 'til you've done it solo...

Spoiler Alert:~ Obviously all went well, else I wouldn't be writing about it. Can't wait to do it again, but am prepared to...

Comments

[eclyptical.livejournal.com]

Fun! :)