VIC Mentor Update for Nagambie September 2018

Skydive Nagambie & Aussie Bigways, …  the Journey Continues.

Intermediate Bigway Skills Development Camp, 25^th & 26^th August 2018.

Words by Christian Peric

What do you do when, for a planned weekend of coached bigway skydiving, the weather totally craps out along the whole Eastern seaboard of Australia, just about laying to waste five months worth of event planning?

You get all hands on deck, using phone, email, social media and whatever means necessary, to get the word out and move it all by one week, hoping the weather plays ball and … that people turn up!

That’s exactly what we did and thanks to many helpers, we managed to move the whole thing, and somehow, it turned out like it was always meant to be the weekend of August 25^th and 26^th!  And, …we had the best winter weather imaginable: crispy cold mornings, with sunny blue skies, mild 17 degrees during the day and hardly a breath of wind, which made for fast landings and some of the best winter jump conditions we have seen in Victoria in a very long time. 

Oh, and most people did turn up!  We had two groups on both days, a 12- and 10way group on Saturday, and two 10ways on Sunday.

Once again, David Loncasty and Tracey Basman made the journey down from NSW to be our coaches, and given this was their third year in a row for a camp like this at Nagambie, it felt a bit like a “bigway family” reunion.

The welcome speech and introduction by David focused on the weekend of the basic bigways skills and reminding us of the ‘rules’, not only providing an opportunity for everyone to blow off the winter rust, but to hone their skills for bigway formations, especially those folks heading to Toogoolawah for the Larry Henderson camp in late September and ultimately to Perris-Valley California for the 150way record in 2019.

Then we talked about the approach to the base to build the first point, stopping, flying your slot without taking grips, and “never ever(!)” reaching down for the grip.  Going low was “OK”, as opposed to floating, which, we were told, is the new “No No”.

 

Tracey’s 10way was up first, and the loads kept ticking away quickly, as we efficiently breezed through the days jumping.  It was apparent that a couple of jumpers in each group struggled with fall rate and broke some of the fundamental rules, like hanging off grips, not stopping in their slot and not looking through the centre.  Helped by detailed video debriefs and opportunity to ask questions and get feedback from the coaches, things started to  smooth out and got everyone ticking along the same mindset.

We ended up doing six jumps per group, and were finished by 4pm.  With a few ‘firsts’ achieved, round jump numbers and beer line infringements, the evening was assured to be filled with plenty of refreshing beverages.

After a tasty Thai dinner at the DZ, the group convened to the debrief area for a seminar given by Tracey, on Aussie Bigways achievements and the journey to Perris-Valley California 2019, for our next big aim of a 150way record.  It was awe inspiring and well worth sharing the previous experiences amongst the group, to build the enthusiasm and momentum.

Sunday 8am sharp saw us meet again on the creeper pad. A few changes in the groups were made as some folks had left us the previous evening and others joined on the Sunday, plus coaches were switched, to make it two 10ways.

The day progressed noticeably smoother than the previous, with everyone really flying well, and achieving completed 10ways, with some turning points. As the day wore on and folks ran out of tickets, it was decided to build a combined 16way from the two groups, as the fifth load, with Tracey and Dave ground coaching. Unfortunately it did not complete. But there was time for one more jump.  Tracey and Davey re-joined to make it the sixth jump and last load of the day ending up as a 14way. It built great, with a 2-point 14way “Binary Star” building very nicely in the late afternoon sun.  It really topped off a memorable weekend of bigway flying.

Everyone walked away exhausted, but beaming with big smiles and grins from a glorious weekend of bigways. I personally described it as “epic”,  still on a buzz two days later.

…. Who says you can’t have a great weekend skydiving in Victoria’s winter?

 

Let me finish with a few thank yous to all those that helped make it happen:

Thank you to Don and Lou from Skydive Nagambie for hosting us,

Thank you to our coaches David and Tracey, … we love your work, … and still looking for that Snoopy cloud in the sky, …

Thank you Tom and Tracey for helping out with last minute event re-organising,

Thank you to our camera flyers Aaron and Swanee, really nice work once again,

Thank you to our pilot,

Thank you to those that bought beer,

…and lastly, a big thank you to our sponsors, without whom this event could not have taken place: 

The APF Fi-Fund, VTPC and Skydive Nagambie.  Your helpis greatly appreciated.

See you soon and Blue Skies,

Christian