{"id":44168,"date":"2023-02-20T16:13:28","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T16:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=44168"},"modified":"2023-02-22T09:22:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T09:22:21","slug":"going-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/going-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Places!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Seychelles Boogie is Paradise itself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Alphonse Island, as long and as wide as its runway is perfectly situated in top of a reef more than 200 km from the main island Mahe.\u00a0Photo by Even Rokne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not the jump itself, that is most important, but where you jump. Skydiving above and landing in places with unbelievable beauty could be much more satisfying than the jump itself.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Most dropzones are located in the countryside. The landscape below you can reach from green grass to brown desert. So this view gets boring quite fast. It might be better if your dropzone is located in the mountains or at the beach. But believe it or not, even this view gets boring after a certain number of jumps. And in most cases, we don\u2019t even look at the landscape, not in freefall as we focus on the formation nor under canopy, as we just (should) check the proximity for other canopies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Imagine landing on a beach which is background to many commercials, as it reassembles a perfect tropical beack. Welcome to Grand Anse Beach at La Digue. Did we mention the beach bar?\u00a0Photo by Ralph Wilhelm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I had an eyeopener a while ago during the boogie in the Seychelles. Despite the fact that I had many jumps there as a camera flyer and knew about the sheer beauty of these islands, I never experienced it in freefall. When a non-skydiving friend asked me, if I would do a tandem with her, I couldn’t imagine the impact this jump would have. With more than 800 tandems most procedures are automated. Stable exit, setting the drogue, doing the handle check. So far, so normal. 50 seconds of leisure time with nothing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then it hit me. Just looking around in freefall and absorbing the white puffy clouds above the green islands in the middle of the deep blue sea. The visuals were overwhelming. Like no other jump I did there before. Much more intense. Like standing on an observation platform and just enjoying the view. Even so checking altitude frequently is also an automated process, I cursed at my Protrack-II for reminding me, that it is time to open the canopy. I was completely flashed by the visual input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Could backflying be a sin? Yes, in this case, as you miss the view on the 3 km long beach at Praslin Island. The sand is so white, you need sunglasses.\u00a0Photo by Ralph Wilhelm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While recently filming a formation above the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, several of the jumpers told me that they experienced the same feeling. Even with a world class organizer like Dan BC or Kate Cooper-Jensen and even the group was able to turn several points, one point like a star and then enjoying the view onto the mega-city and the last remaining ancient wonder of the world was the perfect skydive for them. So why not bring more visual beauty back into your skydives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lagoon of Alphonse Island is one of the views you will never forget. With some fins and a scuba mask it also an underwater paradise.\u00a0Photo by Even Rokne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately there are events and places which focus on such visual jumps. Going to Dubai and jumping the Palm dropzone or going to Belize and jumping into the Blue Hole are memories for a lifetime. If you want even more, there are events like \u2018inhops\u2019 [jump-ins]. Going to a foreign country and jumping above several different places with unbelievable beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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White beaches, green jungle in the middle of the blue ocean. Tiny dots in an endless sea from 15,000 feet turn into beautiful landing areas with impressions that last a lifetime.\u00a0Photo by Ralph Wilhelm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Color of Seychelles<\/a> event from March 30th<\/sup> to April 5th<\/sup> 2023 has a perfect location to make those memories. The list of load organizers and camera flyers is exquisite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n