steelyeye 0 #1 January 29, 2006 Hey y'all - Displaced southerner finding myself in Hawaii. Anyway - learned to skydive just under a year ago in Washington state, got my first 50 jumps out there with an incredible dropzone full of great folks who were really interested in new jumpers. Military ordered me out to the Aloha state and soon found myself battling low clouds, steady trade winds and incredible numbers of tandems for the chance to pull over an amazingly beautiful drop zone. Have to say that the group out here has been really friendly and has made me feel quite at home in the new drop zone (although packing out in the open with a steady 10 kt trade wind has been a major challenge). I made my 100th jump last weekend, and in this land of few students, I was really amazed at the reception it got. I mentioned that I was coming up on my 100th, and several of the jumpers got really fired up. I wound up getting a special pack job from one of the packers to make sure I made the load, and jumped a really great 4-way RW jump with two jumpers with thousands of jumps and another who was a dedicated free-flyer. They took time out of: 1. Preparing for Thailand, 2. Gathering yet another mega-group-tracking dive, and 3. Coordinating another group free-flying dive, to put together a simple 4-way RW to celebrate my 100th dive. Another diver with god-awful amounts of jumps under his belt insisted that he go along and video. That is really cool, and I really appreciate the fact that these extremely experienced jumpers recognized a significant milestone in my jumping experience, even though it was fairly insignificant in the big scheme of the sport. My wife (and dog) were on-hand to witness it, and it was a really special experience. Mahalo and thanks to the entire jumping community for ensuring that nuggets like me are paid attention to and included on enough special jumps like this to ensure we stay with the sport. Blue skies - Wild Bill "Better a has-been than a never-was. Better a never-was than a never-tried-to-be..." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sd-slider 0 #2 January 29, 2006 Congrats! So where's the Video???Anvil Brother #69 Sidelined with a 5mm C5-C6 herniated disk... Back2Back slammers and 40yr old fat guys don't mix! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkycndo 0 #3 January 29, 2006 Congrats on your 100th. Yep, where's the video? It better include some pie.50 donations so far. Give it a try. You know you want to spank it Jump an Infinity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raw 0 #4 January 29, 2006 Safety and training? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feeblemind 1 #5 January 30, 2006 QuoteHey y'all - Displaced southerner finding myself in Hawaii. Anyway - learned to skydive just under a year ago in Washington state, got my first 50 jumps out there with an incredible dropzone full of great folks who were really interested in new jumpers. Military ordered me out to the Aloha state and soon found myself battling low clouds, steady trade winds and incredible numbers of tandems for the chance to pull over an amazingly beautiful drop zone. Have to say that the group out here has been really friendly and has made me feel quite at home in the new drop zone (although packing out in the open with a steady 10 kt trade wind has been a major challenge). I made my 100th jump last weekend, and in this land of few students, I was really amazed at the reception it got. I mentioned that I was coming up on my 100th, and several of the jumpers got really fired up. I wound up getting a special pack job from one of the packers to make sure I made the load, and jumped a really great 4-way RW jump with two jumpers with thousands of jumps and another who was a dedicated free-flyer. They took time out of: 1. Preparing for Thailand, 2. Gathering yet another mega-group-tracking dive, and 3. Coordinating another group free-flying dive, to put together a simple 4-way RW to celebrate my 100th dive. Another diver with god-awful amounts of jumps under his belt insisted that he go along and video. That is really cool, and I really appreciate the fact that these extremely experienced jumpers recognized a significant milestone in my jumping experience, even though it was fairly insignificant in the big scheme of the sport. My wife (and dog) were on-hand to witness it, and it was a really special experience. Mahalo and thanks to the entire jumping community for ensuring that nuggets like me are paid attention to and included on enough special jumps like this to ensure we stay with the sport. Blue skies - Wild Bill Congrats, adjust your profile Fire Safety Tip: Don't fry bacon while naked Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyL 0 #6 January 30, 2006 Yahoo! Congrats for your 100th jump! Good thing you spoke up on the dz about your 100th. Sounds like some cool skydivers heard you and a great skydive was made. Keep it up! If you like getting on skydives with others, invite them along, don't wait for an invitation. Have alot of fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites