Skydive Jersey (UK) – did you find it a waste of time?

[T_P 0]

I have just had a very disappointing experience with Skydive Jersey and thought I would share it in the hope that other customers are treated slightly better in future.
We decided to visit Jersey for a week of holiday. One consideration was that there was a DZ, so I could do a few jumps while I was away. I called up Skydive Jersey about a week before we arrived in Jersey to ask how much jumps cost, whether there was a membership fee, whether there were any restrictions because of the beach landing etc. I spoke to the manager who was perfectly helpful and told me at the outset that I wouldn’t be able to do too many jumps because the DZ basically does tandems, with very few club members, but that he would try hard to make sure I got at least one jump in so that I could experience skydiving “Jersey style”. He advised me not to bring a rig, but to use club kit because it would be difficult to do a lot of jumps. I said I would be happy with just one jump but if I could do more that would be good, but I understood tandems were the mainstay of the DZ etc. The DZ has a piston engine plane which takes jumpers to 10k for £24 in about 25 mins. OK, so you would go somewhere else on the mainland rather than pay these prices, but jumping on an island is an experience so what the hell. I was thinking of paying for a tandem for my partner, but according to the website (http://www.skydivejersey.net/) tandems are £330 + £130 for video. We decided we would leave the tandem until we were back on the mainland. One of the curiosities of Jersey skydiving is the beach landing. Actually it is perfectly straightforward – the beach is several miles long, and the landing area is hundreds of meters wide for several hours around low tide. But… there are regulations which the Skydive Jersey understandably have to stick to. Because I’m A-licence (approx 40 jumps) the manager said I would only be able to jump for a couple of hours either side of low tide – no problem.
Because we were on holiday I said we could be completely flexible and the manger should just tell me when to turn up to maximise the chance of getting a jump. He said I should turn up at 3 pm on Monday and it was quite likely I would be able to jump. I turned up at 3 pm on Monday. After waiting about an hour my documents were checked and I signed all the membership forms, disclaimers etc. I was told that there were too busy for me to jump that day so I should come back on Tuesday at 3 pm. I asked if I could have a DZ brief and was told the CCI would do it on Tuesday. I had spent about 2 hours at the DZ by this point. One thing that is a bit unusual about the manifest at Jersey Skydive is that most lifts are pre-Manifested days before. The DZ has 6 or at most 7 lifts per day, and because there is a very long gap (over an hour) between lifts they ask the tandem students to turn up for a specific lift rather than waiting at the portacabins and car-park which are Skydive Jersey.
So I went away again and turned up at 3 pm on Tuesday as agreed… this disrupted our plans for Tuesday because it meant we had to end up near the DZ in the middle of the day. I wanted to jump, however, so I decided it would be worth it. When I got there I was told that I needed to see the landing area again (even though I had been down to see it the day before). I was told to drive down to the beach to see it and then come back up at 4 pm. I went down to the beach, saw a load land, and drove back to the DZ.
So I arrived for the third time at 4 pm as agreed… When I got there the manager said the CCI needed to check my documents again and give me a DZ brief. At this point it wasn’t clear whether there was any intention of getting me on a lift that day, even though all the lifts seemed to be pre-manifested, but I assumed/hoped this was their intention as they were going to give me a DZ brief – or so I thought.. I went to see the CCI. He was packing. I said the manager had asked me to go and see him to have my documents checked again and have a DZ brief, but that I was happy to wait until he was free. He barely looked up from this packing and said he was busy “running the main part of the business” (which I took to be tandems) and that I should come back at 6 pm, when he would have time to brief me.
So I went away and came back for a 4th time at 6 pm. This annoyed my partner because it meant we had spent most of the day hanging around close to the DZ so that I could have the documents checked, and I still hadn’t been put on a lift. I arrived at 6 pm to find the DZ completely locked up with nobody in sight! I waited for about 40 minutes and eventually a van arrived with a load from the beach. I asked the manager where the CCI was. He said he was on the beach. I said that he had asked me to come back to the DZ for 4th time to have my documents checked and have a DZ brief, and that I had driven back to the DZ at 6 pm, as agreed, to meet him. The manager said that the CCI was working on the beach. I said that I thought this was a bit odd given that he had asked me to meet him at the DZ (not me asking him). I asked whether it was worth coming back. The manager said I could come back on Wednesday and see how it went in terms of getting on a lift. I said I had been there 4 times already (over two days) and hadn’t even had a DZ brief yet, so I didn’t want to turn up on a third day unless there was a very good chance of getting on a plane. The manager said he would call me on Wednesday to let me know whether or not I would be able to get on a lift.
On Wednesday I waited till 3 pm but wasn’t called by the DZ. At 3 pm I called and spoke to the manager again. I asked if there was any chance of getting on a lift. He said they were too busy but he hoped I would come back and jump there some other time. I said the whole experience had been really disappointing, and that I felt like telling anyone who asked me that Skydive Jersey was a complete waste of time. He said that he thought I was being a bit harsh. I asked him how he would feel if he had been asked to turn up to the dropzone FOUR TIMES and on the 4th time the CCI hadn’t even turned up to meet him. He said the CCI had been working. I said that I had spent the whole afternoon waiting near the dropzone because I had been asked to turn up at 3 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm, and that I had driven there on the 4th occasion to meet the CCI who had asked me to meet him, and that I thought this was unprofessional. He said he would pass this on to the CCI. I asked if I could speak to the CCI. He said the CCI was busy. I asked him if he would be kind enough to ask the CCI to call me, because I didn’t understand why he had asked me to meet him if he knew he would be down at the beach. He said he would ask the CCI to call me. The CCI didn’t call me.
When I had asked the manager how many regular jumpers there were on the island he said there were about 30 but most of them jumped in France rather than at Skydive Jersey. At the time I thought this was a bit odd but now I know what he meant….
I said to the manager that I understood that I would never make the DZ much money (at most brining back a few friends or a tandem) and that therefore I understood that the tandems had to take priority, but that I was a bit pissed off that they didn’t tell me in advance that it would be impossible to jump, especially given that they seemed to pre-manifest most of the loads days in advance and could therefore predict whether there would be a slot. He said something vague about me having an A-licence. I reminded him that I had called a week before coming to Jersey and we had discussed all that, and that I had been asked to turn up to the DZ four times, and that on the last occasion the CCI hadn’t even bothered to honour the appointment even though he had suggested it. The manager did say he would speak to the CCI about this and that he might say to people in future that they wouldn’t be able to jump at the outset. I said I thought this would be a good idea.
My analysis:
PROS: The *three* club members who were there seemed very friendly. You get to jump onto a beach.
CONS: Skydive Jersey seems to have absolutely no interest in anything other than tandems.

[xavenger 0]

I have never jumped at Skydive Jersey - so this is second hand information, but a friend of mine went there some time ago and had a very similar experience.

He was utterly cheesed off with them - though I'm not sure he was messed about quite as much as you!

How infuriating for you, I wouldn't have been able to keep my cool, sounds like they messed up your holiday.

Hope you have better luck on your next one ... try Florida next time ... !!!!!!

[BDashe 0]

While i feel like that post could have been greatly shortened, sounds to me like they were very up front with you about chances of jumping and their priorities. Clearly, it isn't a fun jumper dropzone. Doesn't sound like at any point they guaranteed a jump, and that you chose to show up and wait for a shot at cessna jump at a DZ that manifests days in advance rather than enjoy your vacation.

Call me crazy, but it sounds like the guys are trying to run a business and keep their paying customers happy. £165 per jumper or £24 for some new guy that is a potential hazard to himself that is never gonna come back anyway. My guess is had they had a chance to throw you in a slot on their time when they are free, you would have jumped. It does not sound like any of their instructors at any point in the day had any time to properly prep you to the point where they felt comfortable enough to let you jump at their DZ. Sounds like a hefty drive to the semi-sketchy landing area (for 40 jumps), with a limited staff that is purposely maxed out to maximize efficiency at a tiny tourist dropzone, and they warned you ahead of time.

Maybe they could have handled it a little better, but sounds like they have a routine and couldn't cater to a guy with 40 jumps, despite trying to get you up.

I have never been to that dropzone, or any DZ outside of the continental US, and do not have any connection to that DZ or its staff whatsoever, just my take on your post.

I showed up to a DZ 10 days in a row during AFF hoping to jump but got weathered out. had to drive 2 hours to get there each way. They told me, 'we might get a load or two up depends on weather and we'll put tandems on the first load before AFF in order to test it out for safety.' I made one jump in ten days, still love that DZ. It happens, be aware of the big picture, you just got bumped out of the photograph this time.

So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

[robskydiv 0]

Never go there to jump again & if you do please don't tell us about it.

[skydivejersey 0]

Hi Tom,

I met you when you came over and I was the one that did your docs. I am very sorry that you didn't get to jump. Unfortunately you arrived on the last opening of the season and that meant we had to get all the outstanding tandems done or they would be stuck waiting until next year. As a result it was also our busiest week of the year so yes it was difficult, we had all the last bookings from Jersey to get through and then had to go to Guernsey to finish off those too.

We would have very much liked to have got you jumping and we do our best each time to do so, we are a small club with limited resources and time and need the tandems to come or there is no jumping for anyone. We have a lot of factors working against us - with a busy ATC in class A controlled airspace, the tide, the weather and so sometimes its not possible to get everything done and for what it is worth the fact that you didn't get to jump and that you had left disappointed was discussed with the CCI and noted long before i read your post.

If you do find yourself it Jersey again I would be happy to buy you a ticket (with rig hire!) and even come for a jump with you if i am not busy with tandem vids. It probably doesn't help now but I hope that does go some way to temper your obvious fustration.

Alun.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

What a bunch of bull shit. You should come to the states and run for president. Just fucking tell people you don't have time for them and go on hauling the tandems.

I know we fucked you 4 times already but come on back,we wouldn't do that again.

In your defense, this guy should have seen the writing on the wall with the attitude of your staff.

[Ryno118 0]

The communication from the DZ was terrible! Making a new skydiver feel like a nuisance and wasting their holiday is out of order. You should just hang up a sign saying "The CCI and DZO hate skydiving and are only interested in making money. Please go away".

Live hard, Live fast, Die broke.
D.S. 118118

[BDashe 0]

Mmmmm, I still disagree. small resort destination DZs are quite clearly there for the toursists. There is a guy operating on the big island of hawaii I called about 3 years back and he he told me it would be unlikely for me to jump even if i had my own gear. His story was almost identical to the OP's. I had about 150 jumps at the time and was able to determine he had a business to run and i didn't fit into the business plan. no harm no foul. Yeah, woulda been awesome to jump there, but in both cases the DZs were pretty clear. I opted to enjoy my vacation elsewhere, not a difficult decision to make given the warning signs in both scenarios.

So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

[mallyrich 0]

Email sent to Tom 1st October by 'The Manager' Skydive Jersey, following unhappy forum posting.
No Reply received.

Hi Tom,
I am profoundly disappointed that you chose to review Skydive Jersey on an international forum with this attitude.
To provide skydiving on an Island with a population of only 90,000 has taken years of planning and continuous adaptation, in order to share our sport with the local people, and to provide a skydiving facility in a beautiful location for experienced skydivers.
Your comments are not at all helpful, and it is very disappointing for me, when I spend all my time trying to keep the operation viable, and maintain the facility in the Channel Islands.
I felt I was helpful to you, as I knew we had a busy week, and suggested that you may get a jump, but not to bring your own rig. It was our final opening, and the years re-scheduled tandems, due to bad weather, had all been pushed into the available time left for this year, which was 4, half days.
I am not about to explain to you how I choose to run the parachute centre, but would suggest that you gain a little more experience before complaining about us to the world.
It appears that you were less than happy with our facilities, our tandem pricing, our lack of regular jumpers, our delays between loads, our tandem pre-manifest, our CCI, our beach restrictions, our levels of staffing and available instructors, etc etc.
We have had many happy visiting jumpers, I'm sorry that your experience did not work out too well for you, on your visit.
Your review was useful to me, but probably not in the means for which this section of the forum was created.
As for your comments, I would be happy if you feel you could revise the piece at all, and please feel free to insert my name in place of 'the manager' throu out the article.

I hope you do find fun in your jumping, and I am in no doubt that if you continue to skydive, we shall meet again.

Regards,

Mal Richardson.

[piisfish 140]

18 months later ??
IIRC you can edit/delete your own comments up to 6 hours after posting them....

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM