skreamer 1 #1 April 16, 2001 Hi guysJust got back from my easter weekend in germany and I had a total blast!!! It didn't start so well Friday morning, because I missed my flight to Hamburg (stupid London transport), caught a flight 3 hours later to Hanover, then caught a train from there to Hamburg. Luckily the weekend only kept getting better and better after that! Went out to the DZ (Skydive albatros, Hartenholm) Saturday morning, pilot told us it was -20 at altitude, luckily he got it wrong and it was only -15....Anyway, I was going to jump with just my thermal underwear under my jumpsuit, but then I saw how much the locals were wearing under their jumpsuits, so I followed suit (3 layers on lower body, 4 layers on upper). Most of the others also had full face helmets or balaclavas, but D was wearing her frap and I was wearing my bonehead. It was her 200th jump, but only my 34th, so we were supposed to just turn easy points. Only one little problem, after 2 360's I floated on HER TWICE!!! She now says my nickname should be changed from skreamer to 'Mr. Floaty' - ha freakin' ha... The fact that she weighs 40 pounds less than me only made it all the more embarrasing. I waved her off at about '5500 because my nose started falling off. Then after dumping I couldn't feel my fingers so I pushed my hands through the toggles and flew with my wrists. I wasn't the only skydiver who stayed on their knees after landing, just hugging their hands and holding their noses on!So, then before our 2nd jump I went to manifest and bought a 2nd slightly larger pair of gloves and wore them over my first pair. The 2nd jump went much better (my first compressed accordion) and I only floated on her once (yes, yes, I know...). Only problem was that at '3500 I couldn't get a grip on my PC because of the 2 pairs of gloves. Arched out, went back in and got the bastard out (I was about to go for silver instead). By then I was too low to fly back to the DZ, so I landed out. Made one fun jump after that, and finally nailed the back-track (anything to keep my face out of the terminal wind).The one thing that I really noticed in the plane was how totally calm everybody was, the tandem luggage all looked entirely in control and absolutely refused to show fear. On my third jump there was this old man making a tandem (he was in his late '70's), he looked a bit nervous, but the tandem master slapped him around and then he was OK. I met some POPs/SOS jumpers on the DZ and they were really cool, very friendly and very funny.I'll close off my little essay just by saying that even though I hold a BPA A-license, I have now skydived in South Africa, USA and Germany, but have yet to make a jump in the UK where I live!!! Hmm, maybe there's a reason why Pete Allum and friends prefer Florida...My face still hurts, and my nose feels like it has been sunburnt. (But it was soooooooooo worth it!)/s[drop till your nose falls off]PS happy birthdays to Sis and FFF and congratulations to BenW who hopefully will have made his 100th jump this weekend/week at Empuria Brava!!! (BEER!!! PIE!!!) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg 0 #2 April 16, 2001 Hey Skreamer, sounds like you had an AWESOME time, sorry to hear about your nose lol. Yeah, cold is a real bummer, I forgot a sweatshirt this weekend and was pretty cold sitting by the door, but it doesnt even come close to -20!!! Sounds like we have just about the same number of jumps, and I thought I was doing pretty good by hitting at least three different dz's, but three different countries!!! WOW. That rocks!!Blue ones!!Greg A-37958 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pammi 0 #3 April 16, 2001 I'm sssooo jealous! What a good time!!! I was stuck looking at clear blue skies, no wind at all and 70 degree weather :/ I at least had my rig with me so got it out, showed off my canopy then re-packed it. You know you're desparate when you pack and didn't even get to jump first. LOL!Thanks for sharing Floaty...er, I mean Skreamer :)Pammi"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." -Joan Borysenko Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #4 April 16, 2001 Golly, Skreamer, you are one dedicated skydiver to go out in that weather. This coming from a FL girl, I get cold when it's in the 50's! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #5 April 16, 2001 skreamer,glad to hear you liked the country i've called home for the past two years. don't worry about not having a jump in the uk. i have less than 1/3 of my jumps in the U.S. and that is where i'm supposed to have the most! soon you can add holland to that list in june! let me know next time you come over to germany i'll make that long ass drive to hanover. (only like 3 or 4 hours). seems like finances arn't going to let me make it to langer for the large aircraft boogie. (unless i sell my car) and were you giving the temp in F or C? i've jumped in -5C. before here! it's all about not thinking about it! plus we only make hop n pops from 1,500M when it's that cold! hope your nose recovers! <> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BenW 0 #6 April 21, 2001 Hey Guys & Gals!Just dropping a short note from the *slow* connection here in Empuria. I will give a full update once I get back to the UK tomorrow!Skreamer, glad to hear you got to jump! I wanna hear the stories once I get back...Made my 100th jump the day before yesterday, an 8 way with a load of Dutch loonies! The girls wanted me to go naked, but they wouldn´t join me, so I declined...Got my Cat10 and FS1 too! Haven´t got a clue what to do from here, but I´m sure I´ll think of something...Check in with you all soon!B. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
