The wind tears at your face as you feel yourself hurtling to the earth. The world below looks nothing more than insignificant from where you are. You are mingling amongst the clouds, in the company of gods. The adrenaline sweeps through your limbs and tickles the pit of your stomach. No, this is not one of those bad dreams where you feel like you are falling, but rather a skydiving experience. An experience that is addictive and speaks to the adventure junkie living inside you. And where better to jump off a plane than in South Africa where you will be able to enjoy a panoramic view of the dramatic landscape from the air? So instead of admiring Africa’s skies on the ground, why not become a part of it, even for a few minutes.
| | |
| |  Fancy a blue sky adventure? | |
| | |
Skydive Ceres
One of the oldest and best skydiving organisations is Skydive Ceres, previously Skydive Citrusdal. Established in 1972, the organisation is part of the Western Province Sports Parachute Club. Skydive Ceres, operates in an area where one can witness some of the most spectacular views of the Western Cape mountains and vineyards from the sky. Peace of mind comes from knowing Skydive Ceres offers a number of experienced skydivers, for a safe ride to earth.
Other Clubs and Associations
All skydiving clubs in the country fall under the flagship of the Parachute Association of South Africa. The oldest club in the world is the Pietermaritzburg Parachute Club founded in KwaZulu-Natal during the 1950s. If you happen to be in Gauteng and want a stint of adrenaline in the middle of a hectic itinerary, try the Pretoria Skydiving Club or Johannesburg Skydiving Club. Other clubs include SkydiveXtreme in Limpopo, Skydive Cape Town, Witbank Skydiving Club in Mpumalanga and Skydive Plettenberg Bay. Most clubs employ internationally certified instructors who are able to assist you from the moment you pack your canopy to the moment you land safely back on terra firma.
Preparing for the Plunge
Jumping off a plane 10,000 feet above the earth and falling at 130 miles per hour is an exhilarating experience and rivalled by no other extreme sport. “You have 35 seconds of freefall”, says Pamela Russell of Skydive Ceres, “before the cord has to be pulled for the parachute to be released”. And for the novice skydiver, there are 3 options to choose from.
The Tandem Jump
The first is a tandem jump, whereby an instructor is attached to the back of the jumper. One parachute is connected to the instructor, who pulls the cord when you have free fallen long enough. “Basically you are the passenger,” says Russell.
The Static-line Jump
The second option is the standard line course, otherwise known as a standard static-line jump, where the participant jumps on his or her own. According to Russell, this is the more popular option especially amongst the younger jumpers. For the safety of the jumper, a static-line attaches the main canopy to the aircraft, so if you happen to panic in mid-air and forget to pull the rip cord, the line will ensure your parachute opens.
Accelerated Freefall
The third option is accelerated freefall (AFF), which is used in modern sport skydiving today. The training is a little more rigorous than the static-line jump with the programme teaching the jumper basic safety skills as well as stunt-like skills, such as loops, turns and docking on other people.
Capturing the Moment
If you want to own a piece of your memory, each club employs cameramen to leap with you so every moment can be captured. You can either record your dive on video or in still photographs.
Events and Boogies
| | |
| |  When the pro’s take to the skies Photo © Erik Vliegenthart | |
| | |
Like any sport in the world, there are festivals and events that bring together its participants. In the case of skydiving, events known as boogies are organised by clubs to bring together novices, experts and veterans for a series of jumps and a night of hard partying. Such as the Old Fart’s Weekend boogie organised by Skydive Ceres, where old club members were invited to say a final goodbye to the Ceres branch before their move to the new venue in Ceres. Skydive Plett will be hosting the popular Canopy Piloting Challenge during the month of March.
Learn the Lingo
Before you take the leap, you have to know the lingo. Here is a head start, so that you can impress the jumpmasters (a trained jumper to supervise first time jumpers).
Bounce – What a skydiver needs to avoid. This is when you land without a parachute. Ouch!
Burble – Area of low pressure above a descending skydiver. Entering another jumper’s burble results in a frommel.
Canopy – A skydiver’s term for a parachute.
Frommel – It is when a formation skydive falls apart.
Hook turn – A dramatic landing style. The jumper will turn suddenly as he or she descends closer to the ground. This technique builds up speed for a superb turf surf landing.
Pilot chute – A small parachute attached to the main parachute so as to remove the main from the container and fill it with air.
Reserve – An emergency parachute, which is used when the main canopy decides to quit on you in the middle of freefalling.
Rip Cord – A handle used to deploy a spring loaded parachute on a student freefall rig.
Turf surf – A prolonged landing technique where the jumper skims across the grass and lands gently after a perfect high performance landing.
Whuffo – A non-jumper. Whuffos think there is no point in jumping off a plane. This is mainly because they are too scared to actually do it.
Links:
- To find out more about the organisation pulling the strings in the South African skydiving arena and events happening around the country, check out the official Parachute Association of South Africa website at www.para.co.za
-
For information about Skydive Ceres, visit www.skydive.co.za
-
For more about the oldest skydiving club in the world visit the Pietermaritzberg Parachute Club website at www.skydivekzn.co.za