CanuckInUSA

It was a full altitude Cessna 206 jump as the KA is still down. My first terminal jump of the day also had a squirely opening (it wanted to go but I was on my risers before it took off), the 2nd jump sub-terminal was a nice opening and then this 3rd jump another full altitude terminal jump just went to shit right off of the bat. I tried to control it (immediately popping both brakes in case I had a premature brake fire), but the canopy just keep spinning and spinning and I said #### it I'm out of here. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That's a good idea except that this guy's property is full of trees. But a good idea nonetheless. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

After not being able to jump for two months due to shitty weather (or other commitments like playing for my hockey team during the playoffs), I finally got airborne this weekend and now I remember why I like playing in the skies so much. So here are my numbers: : 8 : 2 No comment on the first category. 8 jumps (5 of which were done competing at a local swoop comp). Beer owed and paid to my fellow swoop competitors for winning my first swoop comp (it was only a small local thing so nothing too monumental) and more beer owed for something else. So while this was not my first mal (it was my 3rd now) another case of beer will be brought to the DZ next week as gratitude to the four people who helped me look in some fields for my freebag after my JVX tried to kill me today after a spinning mal and yes the freebag was found and then recovered. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I just wanted to share a Farmer McFriendly story with you folks just so that we know that they're not all Farmer McNasty's out there. This afternoon I was making a skydive at Pacific Skydivers in Pitt Meadows BC when my JVX 96 tried to kill me with a violent spinning mal and I cut the bitch away. I followed my canopy down (the damn thing cost me $2600 so of course I want to make sure I recover it) and sort of watched where my freebag landed as well. But myself and my canopy didn't land all that close to my freebag. Anyway I approached Farmer McFriendly and asked him if he saw something fall from the sky and described what had just happened to me and described what a freebag was and what it looked like. While I was searching one field over I heard someone call out my name (Farmer McFriendly) and that he had found my freebag. He found it in a tree (a tall 40 footer with a very narrow trunk, not the type of tree you just climb). Well if you can believe it, Farmer McFriendly broke out his chain saw and cut the tree down so that I could be reunited with my freebag. After thanking him and joking with him that we better not tell the environmentalists about this, I asked them (him and his wife) if they liked wine as I would be happy to buy them a bottle. They said I didn't need to do this, but next week when I head back to the DZ to retrieve my container, I will stop by and give them a bottle anyway. Can you believe it, Farmer McFriendly actually cut down a tree so that I could retrieve my freebag. I guess they're not all McNastys huh? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The optimal performance of a Crossfire2 may be had at a higher wingloading in reference to inducing speed for a swoop. But that doesn't mean that you can't jump one at a lower loading and still be safe with it and have fun with it. The Crossfire2 is a very good wing and as long as you pilot it smart (no different from any canopy), you'll get to enjoy what a good wing it is. Plus if you have some real concerns about the lightly loaded 129, why not think about a 119? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes the event was held and it was a very successful day. Locally Mother Nature hasn't been treating us very well this winter season with tons of rain. But on this day she decided to shine nothing but blue skies on us and gave us perfect jumping conditions for our first two rounds of distance before she challenged us with some strong winds on the final distance round as well as our two zone accuracy rounds. As far as the competition was concerned, the top three battled each other out nose to nose all day long while the bottom three gained some valuable competition swooping experience (if I'm not mistaken it was the first swoop comp for Brad, Josh, Tyler and AJ). Steve and Vladi flew cross-braced canopies, Brad was on a Katana and Josh, Tyler and AJ were all flying larger traditonal 9-cell wings. Anyway here are the results as per my memory: Distance --------- 1) Steve 2) Brad 3) Vladi 4) Josh 5) Tyler 6) AJ Zone Acc ---------- 1) Steve 2) Vladi 3) Brad T4) Josh T4) Tyler T4) AJ Overall -------- 1) Steve 2) Brad (wins the tie breaker over Vladi) 3) Vladi 4) Josh 5) Tyler 6) AJ Finally, much thanks must go out to Rob for organizing this event and to the various other people who Rob recruited to help us with the judging. We wouldn't have had such a successful local comp without Rob's and the other volunteers hard work. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Weather permitting, is this event still on for tomorrow? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

But I really need to know this ... is pot legal or not? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

To quote the infamous Eric Johnson "That's just bullshit". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Lost in all of this talk is the new US law to promote national security which will start taking effect in December 2006 (for all travelers arriving by air or by sea) and in December 2007 (for all travelers arriving by land) in that everyone choosing to enter the USA (this includes US citizens) will need to possess a valid passport or equivalent security ID (details of this ID to be named later). Requiring a valid passport/ID to cross a border is a good idea as far as I'm concerned. Our borders do need some security. But it's a little ironic that the US government is willing to screen all travelers who enter through normal border crossing while they ignore the daily deluge of human traffic by the thousands over their largely undefended southern border. Why is it that the US can defend a border 1/2 way across the world like they have been doing in South Korea for years and yet they are either unwilling or just incapable of defending their own borders? If you want to address your national security concerns, here's the place to start. Stop the daily deluge of human traffic across your border. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Assuming that I'll be current and won't embarrass myself, I am planning on attending the June 9th-11th PST comp as an "Advanced" competitor as well as the Aug 18th-20th CPC Championships. As for the other dates, it would be nice to attend some of them as well but I don't know if money or time off of work will be doable yet. I picked a bad time to have to leave the state, but what can you do when Keith (as well as you a Grant) have connections at the INS. That's okay, Americans are much happier being over run by wet-backs as opposed to us ice-backs. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I haven't talked to him since last Friday, but I do believe he was planning on going to Vancouver Island with his GF within the next day or so if he isn't already there now. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Maybe POP should tell it to you. But I might beat him to it, so I'm sending you a PM. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Congrats on taking 2nd in both Speed and Distance. Keep up the good work. Steve (we met last September at the CPC Championships) Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Watch out for those rear riser stalls. They can be abrupt under especially while making a turn. This jumper is lucky his stall happened over water. Mine last September was over hard ground and it hurt. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What can I say. Colorado weather is good. Vancouver's weather sucks!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I miss that pond (even though it is a stinker). It looks like no jumping again for me this weekend. The WX around here was reasonably nice during this last week, but the WX man is call for rain for the next few days. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Does the pond have any water in it yet? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If I really rush it, I can do 3 minutes. On average it's more like a 6 or 7 minute pack job. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm of mixed emotions about the regional zone accuracy rule changes this year. If not mistaken these rules don't apply to the "pro/advanced" pilots who need to make 5' entry gates and still score dragging points just like last year. Plus there will be a challenge for some of the judges to properly score the competitions when "pro/advanced" pilots run the course versus everyone else. The rule changes definitely help the "regular/rookie" swooper stay competitive in these events (they may even help win some comps for a "regular" competitor). But unless the swooper is dragging their toes during some of their jumps, these pilots aren't developing the much needed recognition skills that help us later like knowing when dragging ones toes is helpful or hurtful towards making a positive scoring zone. Depending on what conditions you're jumping in, zone accuracy is all about either having to slow down or speeding up all the while judging your desired targeted touch down zone (ie: often a controlled crashed to score points). I don't care how much or how little you dragged or what gates you entered in. If you don't first touch down in a positive scoring zone and stay in the course. You get a big fat donut. Each region did many things different in the various disciplines last season and zone accuracy was one of them. In CO, we followed all the proper IPC scoring rules except that we also scored dragging points over hard ground before the swoop pond was even built in our regional comps #2 through #5. We had so many ties in the 1st comp that we thought "what the heck, let's give it a try" and it worked for us. Because of this, I think it helped some of us when it came to dragging over water (at least we were used to doing this in competition). Swoop comps aren't the right time to be trying something new, so if people want to get experience dragging their toes through some gates (regardless of whether it's over water or over hard ground), they really need to be doing it in the realm of practice before they try it in the high stress environment of competition. I don't mind all these regional handicaps if it brings out more people and helps develop the sport. But hopefully come CPC championship time, the "advanced" pilots (there's not many of us and we're not automatically better than everyone else) won't be handicapped too much to the point where all of a sudden we're the ones at a disadvantage thanks to the rules. I kind of think the playing field needs to be pretty level for all during that competition. But I can see these zone accuracy rule changes helping the lesser experienced pilots more than hurting the more experienced pilots during our regional events. Zone accuracy is a fun event (I'd love to try the carving zone accuracy course) and the more we do it, the better we'll get. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm recovering from a hockey related hand injury (spained pinkie finger knuckle) and a sore hip that kept me away from jumping a couple of weekends ago. If it's not the constant shitty weather around here, it's these injuries. Hopefully I'll get to jump this weekend, but I'm not holding my breath as the WX forecast is iffy (as usual). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why is skydiving intense to some? 1) In skydiving, we fall through the sky very fast. 2) Because we fall fast, we generate a lot of relative wind against our bodies and faces. 3) Because of this relative wind, it's very loud and our skin feels the intensity of the wind. If you can learn to turn off the loudness (or manage it), all of a sudden skydiving goes from an intense activity to dancing in the skies. Of course it will take a little time for you to really get what I'm talking about, but it's really important to relax up there and think rationally. Skydiving is not natural and it sure isn't for everyone. But learning to relax is the key to a successful jump. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

How many seconds does it take from when you start your turn to when you plane out? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Congrats ... looks very nice. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Get coaching if you haven't already done so and learn the performance envelope of your canopy. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over