NickDG

Not my words, . . . NickD BASE 194 Ex-Portlander linked to Canada drug ring . . . Failed businessman Douglas B. Spink played a role in a marijuana-for-cocaine operation, authorities say Friday, June 17, 2005 By STEVE WOODWARD When former Portland businessman Douglas B. Spink was nabbed Feb. 28 in Washington with an estimated $34 million in cocaine in his Chevy Tahoe, the arrest sent shock waves through a major drug-trafficking organization that trades British Columbian marijuana for Colombian cocaine. "They're all freaked out," Spink's boss, Robert V. Kesling, said in an April conversation recorded by federal agents and detailed in a filing in U.S. District Court in Seattle. "Everybody's freakin' out." This week, the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle for the first time named Spink as part of a conspiracy to distribute "sizable" quantities of cocaine and marijuana. That includes the 372 pounds of cocaine seized from Spink and 452 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million seized in early March from a trailer parked in Woodinville, Wash., authorities say. pink, a Reed College physics graduate, was known in Portland as an aggressive mergers-and-acquisitions entrepreneur during the height of the technology boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By 2002, he was bankrupt, claiming more than $1 million in debts from lawsuits and failed business deals. After filing bankruptcy, he moved to British Columbia, where, according to associates and Internet postings, he maintained his interest in horse breeding and high-risk sports such as BASE jumping, which involves parachuting from buildings, cliffs, radio antennae and other high places. Authorities last month arrested Kesling, named as an organizer and manager of the 3-year-old drug organization and the owner of the cocaine found in Spink's SUV. Also arrested was Wesley K. Cornett, who, along with Spink, is named as a drug runner for Kesling. Cornett allegedly handed off five suitcases filled with cocaine to Spink in an Everett, Wash., parking lot shortly before Spink's arrest during a traffic stop in Monroe, Wash. Spink faces a July 11 trial on a charge of possession of five kilograms or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. He has pleaded not guilty, but the U.S. attorney's office says in this week's filing that it expects to resolve the case through a guilty plea. He faces at least 10 years in prison if convicted. Kesling faces a July 12 trial on five charges involving possession and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Cornett faces a July 12 trial on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. An affidavit filed last month in Kesling's case, given by Special Agent James Harris of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, details the aftermath of Spink's arrest. "Those guys are so mad, man," Kesling told Cornett in an April conversation mentioned in the affidavit. "They're like, what the (expletive) were you guys doing in a (expletive) parking lot?" Kesling advised Cornett to flee to Mexico to wait out Spink's trial, threatening him if Cornett became a "rat." During Kesling's arrest in Woodinville, authorities found 12 firearms and ammunition in his home, including several assault weapons, and a loaded 9 mm pistol in his vehicle, along with $3,200 in cash and his U.S. passport. Steve Woodward: 503-294-5134; stevewoodward@news.oregonian.com http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1119002189320290.xml&coll=7

I don't agree. We all take risks. It's just that some risks are more spectacular than others. The fellow with three children who risks it all on a new business is just as ballsy as I am when I step off the Flatiron building in the middle of the night . . . NickD

>>The general public still believes that a total malfunction is the biggest risk in base.

Cool, thanks for the memory jog, "Time Bombs" was something I wrote for Precision a long time ago and I enjoyed reading it again . . . NickD

And you didn't do this . . . http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ Look for "double_cypress_save.wmv" "Holy Fuxxking shit, man . . ." NickD

I did it once in a K-Mart parking lot on a Sunday morning. (When they used to be closed on Sunday). I wish I could go again as I now know how to sail a boat. And it's quite similar. Your skydiving knowledge of what a wind line is will help you, but the most important thing is the boom, the horizontal mast that holds the sail down controls your speed. Pull it in to go faster and let it out to go slower. You'll learn that going downwind is very different than going upwind and there is a sail position for everything in between. Oh, and there's no brakes. You'll love it . . . NickD

It's always the same dream . . . All my handles are gone and we haven't stopped. Then I wake up and fall asleep again. Then it begins anew when a voice drifts in with "Nick, you're on a tandem, Nick you're on tandem, Nick, you're on tandem . . . NickD

Try Eric at gallan@tfb.com. I'd help you out, but I'm a bit under the weather . . . I'm having radiation treatments this week. It's like getting dosed by an AM tower with no jump at the end . . . NickD

Sure, and we complained when it was thirty dollars . . . No, Bridge Day is about the best time you can have for $75. (Or, you weren't trying hard enough). Besides, it was nothing compared with the bill presented to me at the Holiday Inn, after four days stay . . . NickD

I've met a lot of BASE jumpers, and there's nothing I've noticed that psychologically binds them together. There are too many different types of BASE jumpers. There are the up for anything types that are plain brave, there are the up for anything types that are plain stupid. There are the ones who are loud and obnoxious, and the ones who say little without great prompting. There are the ones who live in the moment and the ones who live in a lifetime of moments. There are the studied and the unstudied. There are the mean, the sweet, the male and the female. We are law-abiding and sometimes not so law-abiding. There are the young and firm ones and old and infirm ones. There are the ones who promote the sport and the ones who promote themselves. There are the ones hostile to any authority, and some who are ready to go along with anything. Some proclaim their individuality and go about their jumping alone and some proclaim their individuality and jump with a crew. Some travel the world and some never leave their own backyard. There are the very presentable BASE jumpers and the ones you wouldn't bring anywhere near your parents. Being at a large gathering of BASE jumpers, like Bridge Day, is like being at any sizeable convention. You'll find no one type of behavior or personality, what you will find is a cross section of people, humans all, who are (mostly) just trying to have a little fun in this thing we call life . . . NickD

The coffee in jail is often bitter, so always ask for tea . . . NickD

>>I always figure if i think they can do it, some might rub off.

It's you've had too many students, Dad . . . Way too many students. Few realize that Instructors are the less noble metal you place next to the thing that would otherwise melt down when the juice is applied. We are "fear sinks" and soak up for years the fears of our charges. Fear is like fire, it's a living breathing thing and it has to reside somewhere and it resides in us rather than our students because it can be better dealt with there. It's the reason that after years of teaching we confidently spout the answer as we walk toward the door from the student who says he suddenly can't remember what happens at five thousand feet. It's like a dagger to the heart, but you smile and say "pull" as you continue like you're strolling into a Bar and all's right in the world. Inwardly you realize you told this guy it was possible and now you have to make sure it all comes out right in the end. That's the responsibility that weighs on you. And it's what's turned your hair. I don't think, except for a few times, in the last two thousand times I've walked to the door with an AFF level 1, and thought to myself, this guy is ready and he knows enough to save himself if the worst happens. No, it's always a bit of I'm going to have to be there for this guy and it's no fooling around. Yong Chisolm is a very intelligent and capable woman. She peppered me with every rational explanations for why we shouldn’t jump. Her verbal arguments continued all the way to altitude where I'm now a quivering mass of jelly with too many doomsday scenarios on my mind. It seems weak when reserve side looks her in the eye, smiles brightly, and says, "Are you ready to skydive!" Yes, you can discuss why we burnout, you can say we made our beds and now we should stretch out in them, but it's more than that and the price we paid got us something back in the long run. The rewards are many and lately came as this one . . . "G" aircraft on the "JFTC" load . . . Yong Chisolm, yellow, G2 NickD

http://hometown.aol.com/base194/Trash/trash.htm NickD

>>it was my last jump

>>You couldn't make this shit up.

Mars . . . NickD

I don't know what happened in that case, but it might be considered in the context of the time it happened. While legal opportunities to jump have increased when it wasn't like that there are many for whom, one more bust, and they are in very deep shit. Jumping with those already busted X times for BASE jumping and on probation. The first time it's funny because nine out of ten times it's a new one on the judge. The second or third time and the system overlooks the nature of the offense and it's only a matter of passing this way too many times. Throw in a family and job not to be lost and you have a BASE jumper loving the sport but playing with fire. The thing with "the Pact" is two, or more, experienced BASE jumpers can get together and agree that each other's goods are their own look out. It's a thing that made some early BASE jumps even possible. It's a corner of the sport that's dark and clammy, but one used to defeat our enemies. In some cases it gave us a measure of control over one more aspect of things when any of those aspects could defeat us. The Pact seems outdated, in these modern times, but I see the sacrifice it took to get us here. Swayze jumping the tower alone, the Pick whistling in off Half Dome, Mike Allen just wanting to get to that next tower . . . NickD

>>It's not vintage and nothing super spectacular

I'm still working on it! Jakey's Groundrush can be had here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/202-3211624-6820659 You can D/L BASE 66 here: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/item/0595783090 NickD

No, leave it the way it is . . . There's liable to be a valuable nugget buried in the "chat" section that gets missed. Sometimes, even when not being serious someone hits upon it just right. NickD

Al's great story about Frank Donnellan made me realize that maybe we need a history thread for "vintage" BASE jump stories. Something that will pop up now and again as BASE veterans who aren't regular posters blow through here . . . I've been trying to come up with good one to start it off, and since the Park is the topic of late I'll kick it off there. This is my first jump from El Cap and I had about sixty or seventy lower BASE jumps already. I'm with my then girlfriend (and still good friend) Anne H. and we wanted pictures but didn't want to risk any of the cameras we made a living with at the drop zone. We fabbed up a quickie Protect helmet system with a cheap camera and off we went. We had an easy hike up from Tamarack where we left the car and spent the night snuggling on top. I awoke about an hour before first light and wandered around a bit. I gloried in the fact that Carl Boenish stood here, right where I was now, and I offered up a silent thanks for all he did for us. Geared up we waited until the very minute we could just make out the meadow below. We kissed and lovingly patted down each other's shrivel flaps. I walked to the edge where El Cap's brow curved downward and took a breath. Anne is behind and to my left and I hear her sweet voice whisper, "Are you ready, Darling?" I look back at her glowing beautiful face and take it in like I may never see it again and say, "Okay Sweetheart, let's go." I'm not afraid and I know in the next few seconds something I'm never going to forget will happen. I ran down the incline and jumped when I couldn't keep my feet on the rock anymore. I started tracking and once locked in I turned my head to the side and Anne's right there and we are both in a full tilt boogie away from the wall. The need to shout for joy almost overcomes the need for stealth as I strain hard to go further and longer. I know, even then this was special and not something I would get to do a lot. All too soon El Cap Towers flashes by on my right and I stretch another second or so out of it before reaching back for my leg strap mounted pilot chute. I check my good canopy and looked for Anne. She's under canopy and again right off to my side. I flew across the road and start carving over the meadow. The chill in the early morning air feels wonderful on my overheated body. I think to look for Ranger vehicles below but I really don't give a crap. They could go ahead and lock me up for five years and it still would be worth it. We landed and stashed our gear, except for the camera, in the tree line. We walked out to the road hand in hand not really having to say anything. We stuck out our thumbs and the first car that passed picked us up. It was a very nice Japanese couple on vacation. They were all excited and in their best broken English they explained we are their first hitchhikers. We giggled at that in back of the car and we are both busting to tell them what we just did, but didn't. They took us all the way back to Tamarack, which was out of their way, and we thanked them profusely. There is a lot of bowing going on from both sides. I waved as they drove off, until Anne shouted, "Oh no, the camera." I ran after them widely waving my arms but they disappeared around a corner still waving back at us from the windows. Oh well . . . Anne, who went on to start the BASE gear company Basic Research, reached greater heights in BASE than I ever did but she'll still say if asked her most memorable BASE jump was El Cap with her man. I've grown to understand it was probably more the Cap than the man, but I still love her for saying that. And boy, I wish I was there the day that nice Japanese couple had that film developed . . . NickD

I put some skydives on a Comet with a side pocket and no deployment bag around that time. This was essentially a tail pocket sewn to the outboard center section of the stabilizer. I can't believe we thought that was a good idea . . . And that "was" most likely a Handbury Rig Frank used at El Cap. It was the hot Southern Californian rig at that time. NickD

>>I know I eat more altitude with risers and my thoughts are

Perfect, that's what tandem is all about. Good on you both . . . NickD