ChileRelleno 0 #1 March 9, 2003 The clouds broke up around 9:00am and the sun worked its magic, a beautiful day once againMore jumping, more smiles and more nignoggery I will try to update later with boogie attendance (low due to weather), # of jumps made, cutaways (alot) and injuries (none yet ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414 Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #2 March 9, 2003 Quote The clouds broke up around 9:00am and the sun worked its magic, a beautiful day once againMore jumping, more smiles and more nignoggeryI will try to update later with boogie attendance (low due to weather), # of jumps made, cutaways (alot) and injuries (none yet Hey Chili - found my smoke bracket. Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChileRelleno 0 #3 March 9, 2003 Yes, and I'm glad your buddy picked it up and took care of it for you, the usual boogie theft crap was reported a couple of times! ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414 Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #4 March 10, 2003 For some reason, I am incredibly amused that there is a Trent Lott International Airport. From Gulf Live Quote High Times 03/08/03 By DONNA HARRIS MOSS POINT -- With bare feet and black shorts, Craig Vaccaro dangled 14,000 feet over Moss Point before aiming for the ground. Vaccaro, 31, is one of about 400 divers who came from around the world to see Moss Point from an aerial view. The 10th annual Mardi Gras Boogie, hosted by Gold Coast Skydiving, ends Sunday. The six-day event at Trent Lott International Airport gives divers access to three planes and a helicopter, and an incredible high. After a decade of jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, Vaccaro doesn't see himself stopping anytime soon. Financed by self-employment in the film industry, the New Yorker goes to any length, or height, to get a fix for his addiction. He just returned from jumping over the beaches of Ecuador. Next, he is heading to Italy and Mexico skies for the adrenaline rush. "It's an amazing feeling," Vaccaro said, as he gripped his open chute to keep the wind from dragging him away. Unlike most of the divers who don colorful bodysuits and athletic shoes, Vaccaro slips his rig and straps over his tan naked torso to jump. He wears black swim shorts, but no shoes. He likes to drag his toes through the mud when he lands. It's the landing, not the falling, that gives Vaccaro his high. "I don't even need a freefall if I can exit the aircraft, open my parachute and swoop," he said. A swoop is a landing that looks much like a baseball player sliding into home plate. Rook Nelson, a 22-year-old professional jumper from Chicago, swooped into the swampy, grassy area near the drop zone's kitchen. "That was just a crowd pleaser," the three-time world champ said, after he overshot his landing and slid his butt through the mud. Nelson, who made his first tandem jump when he was just a toddler, plans to jump at least 75 times while in Moss Point. Then he'll be heading to Australia and Switzerland for more. He's got over 7,500 jumps in his logbook. Christy Jernigan of Mobile does not swoop. Strapped to tandem instructor Martin Swords' chest, Jernigan floated to the ground like a feather in the breeze. A photographer for The Mississippi Press, the 25-year-old Mobile woman was making her first jump. Looking out of the back door of the SkyVan, a mini-bus of an airplane loaded with 20 other divers, Jernigan felt the air swirl around her, sucking her toward the opening. "It's really cold. It kind of excites you. Then you walk up to the door and look out. It's a rush," she said. As Jernigan fell 9,000 feet in 60 seconds, she didn't look around to see if she could see Mobile or Biloxi as Swords had promised. She kept her chin to her chest and her eyes on the fast approaching ground. Swords, a veteran of nearly 2,000 jumps, pulled the ripcord at 5,000 feet and they floated slowly to the ground. He maneuvered them to a cloud and then stopped the chute's motion. "I walked on a cloud," Jernigan said, still pumped hours after her adventure. "You're motionless and you're moving your feet over them as if they were cotton balls or puffs of air." While Jernigan will keep the memory of her single jump with her, most of the divers at the Moss Point drop zone have hundreds, even thousands, of jumps in their logbooks. At $18 a pop, it's easy for divers to log 50 to 60 solo jumps during a boogie. "As fast as they get packed, they get in line and wait for another plane," Jenny Jordan yelled over the deafening roar of a Haviland Twin Super Otter. While Gold Coast is open for jumps every weekend, a boogie is a special event that brings divers from everywhere together to share the thrill of the extreme sport. Jumps usually start at 9 a.m. and run until sunset, Jordan said. "This is the closest, best drop zone there is," Keith Brown said after making his 74th jump since he started skydiving a year ago. A welder from Longview, Texas, Brown said he is addicted to the experience. "It's total freedom. There's no bounds, no limitations while you're in the air," he said. "It's the most fun you can have without breaking the law." For more information about Gold Coast Skydiving call (800) 796-7117 or log onto www.goldcoastskydivers.com. Donna Harris can be reached at (601) 947-9933 or donnah@I-55.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #5 March 11, 2003 There were a lot of cutaways. One freebag got recovered by chopping down the tall tree it was stuck in. ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
