Monday, May 2, 2011

A day with full sun

Yesterday Smart Guy and I drove the 75 miles from Bellingham to Snohomish, where we like to skydive (at Harvey Field). This is a picture of me landing under my new canopy after the second jump of the day. I kept thinking all day about writing a post about our day in the sun when I got home, but by the time I sat in my easy chair and had my regulation glass of wine, I was no longer interested in expending the energy it would take. There was a good reason for that which I'll explain later, but first I want to thank Doug Fairleigh for taking this wonderful picture of me coming in to land.
There were so many of us wanting to jump together yesterday than we had to break into two groups. Here you see Cindy in the middle of a bunch of guys as they are practicing their skydive on the ground. We call these "dirt dives" because this practice give us a good idea of where we are supposed to fly to in the air to build each point. This was their first point, and I've jumped many times with all of these fun people. The owner of Skydive Snohomish, Tyson, is the tall skinny guy second from the right. The sky is blue and the winds were light, and everybody came out on a Sunday to play together, and we did have fun.
After everyone is satisfied about knowing the sequence during the dirt dive, some of the more serious and accomplished skydivers take one more step on the ground to help their skydive have a better chance of success: they get on "creepers," little platforms with wheels on them to allow them to see the angles that you would like to see in the air. Although I've used creepers when someone insists on putting me on a more complicated skydive, my fun jumpers and I usually feel we've done enough by simply knowing which grip to take on which person. This formation, called a "bipole," has two people facing out and away from the others, and they must be close enough in freefall for the other two people to grab their legs. This takes some skill. Note that Dave, the young man in the foreground, is holding onto a "gripper" on the leg of the person to his right. They came down after this skydive and said it was really, really fun!
Here's Smart Guy and me getting ready to go up on my second jump of the day. I packed my new parachute myself, and I really struggled to get it into the bag. I'm still learning how to pack it, and since it's so new, the nylon material is still quite slippery. But that isn't what I did wrong: I also made an error in placement of the slider. Each parachute has its own characteristics, and I jumped this make in earlier years, and I remembered that it always opened slowly and softly. It's one of the reasons I wanted one. My old parachute, however, had to be babied to open softly, and I miscalculated several things on this pack job, and when it opened, it was BAM! Instant canopy, and I got some whiplash from coming to such an abrupt stop. It hurt enough that I wasn't interested in staying for more jumps.

So, as I said before, by the time I got home and took some Advil, had a glass of wine, this post had to wait until today to be written. I'm feeling much much better now after a good night's sleep, and as I said yesterday, my complacency about the opening characteristics of a Spectre have been put to rest. I won't make that same mistake again!
:-)

29 comments:

  1. Damn, that doesn't sound like fun. I'm glad you're feeling better today and hope that continues. So do you just prefer to jump solo?

    It's always fun to learn something new which I do every time you post about your dives.

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  2. I didn't know anything about skydiving, the prep with dirt dives and such. Good to know, 'cause I'm still threatening to do this someday. Love the photo of your landing. Very cool! And I've never seen a photo of Smart Guy. He does have that smart look about him. Smart, but kind. Now I have a picture when you mention him. And you look beautiful, as usual.

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  3. I can't imagine those artistic holds on other people while skydiving. I'd be worried that the parachutes would get tangled with each other. Then what??? Sure death, right?

    There was a write up about a student and her instructor diving tandem last year. They ended up drowning in the ocean.

    So glad you are feeling better today. The blogging could wait.

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  4. You always amaze me with your sky jumping, it would be an accomplishment for me to just get the gear on !
    Great picture of you and Smart Guy, you both look young.
    Be well !
    ~Jo

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  5. inspired to say the least...coming to a stop as i am falling through the sky sounds good to me..smiles. but you can hold the whiplash...glad you had fun...

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  6. Miscalculations, fear of heights, and remembering what to do when and how to pack a parachute are just a few of the reasons why I would never skydive.

    My Julie went skydiving with Scott (Roberts) and loved it. She also loved bungie jumping. She was deathly afraid of heights too, so I don't know how she overcame her fear. I think it was her confidence in Scott.

    You are totally amazing!

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  7. Magic. Thank you for sharing (and perhaps inspiring) the earthbound.

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  8. Sounds very complicated, DJan! I know it has to be thrilling, but feel I could never jump out of an airplane.

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  9. Good fun! I envy you as I have always thought about jumping. Had a pilots license many moons ago!

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  10. Ouch. But congrats on always trying new things. You are a wonder.

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  11. I didn't realize that smart guy was also a skydiver. Makes sense, though. He would have to keep pace with you in this regard!

    Pains and all, it sounds like you are in paradise every time you skydive. My daughter will be envious when I send this to her. She just broke her foot sailing - on the water, not in the air!

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  12. One of the more impressive blogs I’ve seen. Thanks so much for keeping the internet classy for a change. You’ve got style, class, bravado. I mean it. Please keep it up because without the internet is definitely lacking in intelligence.

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  13. It was a glorious day. Sorry you had to learn the painful way. Hope you're feeling better.

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  14. Ow, that had to hurt. Hope you are feeling better today.

    That sky is a beautiful shade of blue, what a great day to be outside.

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  15. I am so glad you recovered quickly..a painful lesson learned..we are never to old to learn. It sounds like a beautiful day..I can tell you were very excited..what fun for you! :)

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  16. Ouch. I'm always amazed at your adventures. I can handle the wine drinking part. Or maybe jumping off a picnic table.

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  17. Glad to hear that you are safe! I bet that hurt!!!!!

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  18. Girl, your the most adventurous gal I know! Woohoo, what a grand time flyin' through the sky! So sorry ya hurt last night. What fun!!!

    God bless and have an amazin' day! :o)

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  19. Just glad you're safe....sorry about your neck...but on the bright side... You look great up there in the air! Love the purple suit...and smart guy is mighty handsome. Take care...rest some....put the feet up and chill...but then if i know you...you're probably already out on a hike with your pals. ;)

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  20. oh, wow! you go, girl!!! you know, i've never skydived - but have always wanted to - well, the banshee part of me wants to! ;)

    what a glorious experience it must be -

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  21. Back when I did this, my chute would open so quickly I would have bruises in my groin. So I learned to pack it so it would open slower.

    Which was fine until the day I decided to do a hop-n-pop from 3K ... hmmm, I reached up and shook the risers like I was shaking out a pick-nick blanket. That encouraged it a bit. I didn't make that mistake again.

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  22. So glad you are feeling ok! Glad you had fun!

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  23. You know I worry about you - all the time. You always have to push the boundaries!! Hope the whiplash is gone today. Not sure it was a good idea to take the Advil with the wine either! Oh my, D-Jan!!

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  24. I am happy that it opened for you. Otherwise there wouldn't be much of a post today.

    Take time off and enjoy the memories while your body heals up.

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  25. You are totally amazing!!! I am too gutless and afraid of heights to do anything like that... as I will be posting today. Congratulations on a great jump!

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  26. it's not me in the photo yet I'm thrilled!
    I can sense the fun
    and I love the purple suits

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  27. Ouch! I hope the pain has gone and that doesn't happen to you again... good luck!!!

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  28. Very cool! And I've never seen a photo of Smart Guy. He does have that smart look about him. Smart, but kind. Now I have a picture when you mention him. And you look beautiful, as usual.

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