LawnDart21 0 #1 July 15, 2002 One more 1st for me in the is sport, I found myself at Skydive New England for the first time this season, and got a chance to see the new pond they put in.....heh heh heh........ I walked out to the pond in between loads, figured out my entrance point, marked a big arrow in the sand for a reference point and then watched a few loads come in over the water. I talked to the staff at the DZ to ask about landing procedures they had for the pond to make sure I didn't upset anyone with a right turn aproach, and then I was off to manifest. First couple of jumps, I just swooped along the edge of the pond over land to get my timing down. Third and fourth jumps, good set ups and approaches, I came in over the pond, planed out just above the water, dragged a foot through the H20, and got about 30-40 yards of good surf, damn what a feeling!!, that was my first and second foot drags through water, both times coming up and landing on dry land. GOD I LOVE THIS SPORT! Okay so the next load the winds are picking up, so I decide not to push my luck, and land away from the pond. Then sunset...the winds are gone, everyone on the load it seems is gearing up for a Sunday sunset pond swoop, so I throw myself in the group, with visions of a third kick ass swoop, we took off for sunset load. I was the predetermined first one down, and I came in over the water and hooked it, as soon as I made the turn, I knew I was a bit lower than I wanted to be, but figured I was over water, and rather than pull out of it early and miss the pond, I wanted to see if I could dig it out and correct things over the water. Had a I had another 1-2 ft of clearance, this post would be ending with me saying I had the sickest surf of my life, instead, that 1-2 ft was just enough to get me ankle deep in the pond on touch down, and the rest is soggy history. Once I came out of the turn, and felt my feet in the water, I knew it was downhill from there and decided to just have fun with it......what a chow........water everywhere. Soaked from head to toe. Everyone on the DZ was awesome after I got out of the pond. We popped my reserve (surprisingly %100 dry) and got all my stuff to dry places. They had three different point of view video angles of the chow, all fire wired to my camera, so I have my 1st chow on video to relive whenever I am bored. As a post script, I was asked for my full name after coming out of pond, as I was now "Pond Brother #19", the 19th jumper to be baptized in SDN's new swoop pond. I drove home from the dropzone with a damp main canopy, a wet container, and a bag full of wet clothes, and while I probably should have been bummed out I just popped a 30 day old reserve pack job, I couldn't stop smiling, I haven't smiled like that since my AFF level 1 jump. What a day! Is there anything better in the world than being a skydiver? (Disclaimer: The above is hopefully a flame resistant post......lol......every and all possible safety precation was taken before going for the pond & my decision to proceed with my turn on final when I thought I might be a wee bit too low, instead of pulling out earlier, was that I wanted to take the opportunity to see what "too low" looked like (if I was indeed too low, which I was by a couple of feet) while I had the water under me, instead of finding out the hard way over hard land.) -- My other ride is a RESERVE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sblue 0 #2 July 15, 2002 Just don't forget, water can kill you just as dead as the ground. I lost a friend this weekend that found this out the hard way. I will let people that were there give the details of the jump, but the end result was a skydiver dead. Have fun in your swoops, but if you think you are to deep in the corner, you are! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LawnDart21 0 #3 July 15, 2002 My apologies, I had posted a happy-go-lucky account of my pond swooping experience this past weekend, prior to hearing about what happened at SDC, and I just thought it would be in bad taste for me to leave it up on the board after reading about the pond fatality yesterday. So, I decided to delete it. My prayers are with his family/friends and SDC. - Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverdriver 7 #4 July 15, 2002 Tom, I knew the jumper and I wasn't offended. Thank you for your concern. It's sad that we are again reminded that the sky is not the limit. The ground is. I did enjoy reading your post. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LawnDart21 0 #5 July 15, 2002 Thank you Chris, that means alot to me. My thoughts & prayers are with you. - Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
