dterrick 0 #1 March 14, 2003 Well, I'm back in the land of the Frozen; the air in Winnipeg is about as cold as it is at altitude on the coldest of California jump days. So, as I stare at the snow melting ever so slowly, I write a brief story of my trip ... yes there is some skydiving ... The main purpose of my trip was to visit my sister and her husband in the Bay area. I almost didn't bring my rig... and then I almost didn't get it through. The TSA and Northwest Airlines Winnipeg is a fairly small place with a smaller skydiving comunity (maybe 40). Apparently few travel with their rigs because the TSA 'had never seen one'. I, of course, did NOT mention I had a rig to the e-ticket machine, nor to the baggage dude. I'd received a reply from NW air baggage services that "if it's not on OUR list of disallowed goods and not on the TSA's list either then it's OK if it meets weight and size". Well, the TSA called the NW dude over (20 minute delay) and I got the typical questions: "Compressed gasses?", "pyrotechnics or explosives of any kind?". I fear if I had a cypres I may not have been allowed to board. However, as my rig is nothing more than a backpack and 2 canopies they begrudgingly let me through. San Fransisco was a different story. Winnipeg NW suggested I declare my gear before TSA check on my return ... so foolishly I did. The ticket agent replied "y'know Northwest is the only airline to have had a passenger use a parachute to get off ...DB Cooper y'know. don't be surprised if the TSA send you back". As flippantly, I replied, "well you don't fly 727's anymore and I'm surprised you still fly DC 9's". then we starterd talking planes and hush kits and I was on my way. At the safety gate (there was no line) I plunked down my rig bag and declared "just to let you know I'm carrying my sport parachute equipment in this bag and it might look a bit different". "What kind of gear?" says the dude ... "Skydiving gear" I reply. Really? says the guy as he notices my Hollister T shirt. "I live just outside Hollister and I've been thinking of doing a tandem". They yank my bag halfway through the machine. The dude with the wand asks where I normally jump and I tell him Winnipeg and that I was on a visit and to do safety day. More curious questions about 'what it's like' follow (I love talking to curious non-skydiving non-whuffos) as dude #3 opens the bag. They look at the altimeter. They look at the Martin Baker and the 3 rings. I ask if they are looking for something like a 6" coil of metal and explain I would be glad to show them the rig and its parts". "I'm not concerned" says the senior of the guys and I'm gone in less than a minute. TSA 1:1 NW Air 1:1 Dave 2:0 the jump experience With no car except on the weekend and the weekend being the time I planned to visit with my sister, jumping wasn't looking good. Friday evening my bro-in-law Mike says 'yes' to my request for his Del Sol. I was on the road by 7:15 Saturday morning and made the 90 miles to Hollister in 67 minutes. I LOVE FREEWAYS!! Arriving before most was a good plan. Paperwork was set in motion and my credentials and knowledge were examined in a friendly yet professional way. As I was repacking my long-hidden main I was informed that everyone else in the room was a dropzone.com surfer. Good start, I already felt at home. By the time I was repacked, plans of a 206 low load were scrubbed and my initiation to Hollister was an 18k 2 way coach dive with Seb! Yeeeee hah... Simon says... standfly?!? I made 5 jumps that day. Coming from a single 182 DZ that matches my record for a day's jump ... but it beats the altitude record by double. Being part of a hybrid dive and 6 way RW are things I just CANNOT accomplish at home and it's going to make Cessna flying just a wee bit more boring. It was also neat to make all 4 style sets on one dive but I bet the last routine looked more like freefly than style - too many turns make Dave dizzy Safety day was also a treat. Long past sunset when it got underway, we were treated to Jim McCormick's powerpoint presentation on canopy control and landing (not quite as short as the promised 15 minutes). The Hollister LZ looked sooo friendly (cows and all) once I could find it from the air that I was surprised at all the 'frowny faces' Jim put up on the slide... one by one and with graphic description. By the way - Jim if you read this I was the guy you were talking with about landing locations. I was mistaken about the "1st" windsock - I was actually thinking the 2nd windsock ... except for my 1st jump where I landed "on" the very last row of flags just long of the ravine (nice downwind spotting ) By mid-evening I was concened about my family thinking I'd gone AWOL (or worse) so I phoned. The converstaion went "you're home when you're home ... just don't run into the car". I knew what the 'other car' was since Mike and I had been looking at Porsches earlier in the week. The Sunday plan had been to do Napa and I sure wasn't going to miss doing THAT in style. Under any other circumstance I'd have stayed and demonstrated the Canadian drinking (and recovery) technique with all my new friends. Next time, I promise. Hollister was a blast and the highlight of my trip. Almost?!? Some of you may know me as a sports car racer (well, ex-racer since I started jumping) and since I now had wheels at my disposal I decided to take a Monday drive. Rig bag in trunk (of course) I took off Skyline drive and down La Honda road at 10 10ths, then South south to Santa Cruz and Monterey on the Pacific Coast Highway. I found my way to Skydive Monterey Bay but they weren't jumping (well, a few had come and gone but there wasn't even enough to send the 206 up after an hour of loitering). Bummer. I sooo wanted to collect a Twin Otter signature too... On to Laguna Seca I went - how could I not? I found it "closed" except that the Skip Barber driving schools were still in operation. A brief chat with a lovely "California Girl" and I was escorted to the paddock and introduced to an instructor. Promptly I was stuffed in the passenger seat of on of their school race cars and THROWN around the track for 2 laps. Sideways is fun. Sideways and downhill in the corkscrew was as much fun as a skydive. The trip was almost over. the last half had all happened almost by accident and opportunity - the final treat was Tueday morning when Mike let me take the wheel of his new 'baby' through La Honda and Skyline ... in deference to the car being worth as much as my house in Winnipeg I was gentle with it, but at one point I pushed hard into a set of blind ess-bends and came out with the same quivering adrenaline rush as I did on my first jump of the year! ...then I had to go home.... Miss you all, but I'll see you next year (sooner if I can find a way to a green card ) Blue Skies Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,465 #2 March 14, 2003 Souds like you had a great time dave, hope to see you at the Nationals this summer...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #3 March 14, 2003 Dave you are one hecka cool dude... We look forward to your next trip out here!! And while we are a humble dropzone compared to some of the other twin turbine DZ's in our area, we are proud of the group we have jumping here and the DZ we jump at. P.S.: Next time let's hope it's not safety day so we can get that cold beer into your hands quicker!!Love ya man... Cheers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
