Aussie Bigways in the Whitsundays

The Bowen Bigway Boogie was a perfect blend of training, team-building and tourism!

It had all the expertise of the usual Aussie Bigway training events, with a relaxed boogie vibe, a once-in-a-lifetime display jump onto Whitehaven Beach and some stunning views at the regular DZ too. Plus, the weather was unbeatable! We had blue skies and temperatures in the mid-twenties all week, while Melbourne’s maximums hovered in between 12 and 15 degrees.

I looked after Star Cresters for the pre-boogie weekend, with four of them completing the achievement. Tracey Basman warmed up other early arrivals, including some super-hot 8 ways.

Then the official ‘day one’ of the boogie, the Monday, got us into 14-16 way practice for our bigway display over Whitehaven Beach. Mark ‘Stretch’ Szulmayer was put to work finding a way to engineer all the different fall rates so we could do the demo without weight belts, just in case we ended up in that stunning turquoise water.

Whitehaven has been voted Australia’s best beach on TripAdvisor and one of Australia’s favourite spots for Instagram pics. Our display jump, on the Tuesday, was nothing short of magic. It was one of those rare spots where the colours and beauty really did match the glossy postcard photos.

You’ve probably seen our photos and video by now, because they were all over social media and TV. Not to mention page 5 of Brisbane’s Courier mail.  The ‘money’ shot shows the formation just before break-off, as captured by Anna van der Vlugt, who was an Aussie Bigways recruit at last year’s sequential record camp at Moruya.

Anyway, back to Whitehaven. Jonny Goss, the Chief Instructor at Airlie Beach Skydivers, had arranged a brilliant day out for us all, with precision planning for all the logistics. We landed, hugged and high-fived on the world’s whitest beach sand. The ground crew had brought our belongings over on the boat, and helped us gather our rigs and jumpsuits into rubbish bags for the return ride. But first there was a delicious picnic lunch and photo opps on the beach. Then we could take a dip in the swirling tidal waters of Hill inlet, before a short hike to the top of the lookout and a pitstop at the $2M long drop loos. On the beautiful boat ride back to mainland, there was a pause for snorkelers to enjoy the whale song beneath the cool waters of the incoming tide.

Click picture below to view jump footage

So, how could the rest of the week possibly live up to this big adventure? Well, somehow, it did! There was a wonderful team-building vibe to this boogie, while still being a great chance to practice or improve some bigway skills. At least four of the participants did their first ever 16 ways, trying different exit slots and absorbing lots of new information about bigway flying.

There were really useful seminars as well, including Tracey’s presentation on the Aussie Bigways journey and Jules McConnel helping out with landing techniques and tips. Some of the bigway players snapped up the chance to do one-on-one coached jumps with Jules. We all need to remember that safe canopy flying is just as much a part of the mission as the formation itself.

If there was any doubt about the development potential in boogie-style events, then look no further than our new teamie Chuang Liu! In the space of a week, he got his Star Crest, he did a 12-way hybrid jump, he was part of a 3-point 16-way, he obtained his display licence and he got to complete the week with a jump into Whitehaven Beach. (Yep, the ever-amenable Jonny arranged a second day trip for those who’d regretted missing the Tuesday demo.)

This event was given huge support by the North Queensland Parachute Council, the APF Fi Fund and Sydney Skydivers owner Phil Onis, who supplied us with the caravan. It couldn’t have happened without their financial backing, or the passion (slash perseverance) of Jonny Goss, who took every challenge in her (tiny) stride. Jonny came up with this idea 14 months ago at the APF Conference in Adelaide. It was easy enough to round up a dozen Victorians who were grateful to escape the mid-winter chill, plus some north Queenslanders who needed bigway friends to play with, and some New South Wales peeps who were lacking vitamin D from too much winter time in the tunnel. And so the boogie became a reality. There were wingsuiters there too, and tandem masters from several NQ drop zones stopping in for some fun jumps with mates.

The views over the DZ are sweeter than the region’s famous mangoes. Bowen is a smallish country town on the mainland, at the top end of the 70+ islands of the Whitsundays. At height, there are 270 degrees of water views, with islands dotted around in the distance, cute little bays and swirly tidal inlets. Beneath that water are some impressive snorkeling spots.

Click picture below to view a sample of training jumps during boogie

The ‘Ring the Bell’ moments were plentiful too. Here are just some of them from the flatties’ perspective of the event.

• In between her superb camera flying, Anna managed to squeeze in her tandem rating.
• Chuang went from Star Crester to 16-way superstar.
• Karen Hardy did her 3000^th
• Aussie Bigways did the largest formation onto Whitehaven, and the first jump ever onto the northern end of the beach at Hill Inlet.
• Jonny Goss had another birthday. She’s been skydiving for 40 years but still looks 35!
• Aussie Bigways had media attention across Queensland, and thousands of social media shares promoting our 150-way mission for next year.
• Alan ‘Mossy’ Moss was busy with B-rels and other milestone jumps, making sure the local jumpers were getting their skills up.

Link to four interviews with Peter Garnett, Janine Hayes, Nigel Brennan & Tracey Basman during the boogie conducted by Kelly Brennan – camera by Phil Gordon 

Interviews

It wasn’t a huge event in jump numbers or facilities, but the spirit of it all was as warm as the weather. We also put plenty of money across the local bars at some awesome nightly get togethers.

Our pilot, Jade Atkinson, was fantastic to fly with, helping us spot whales and incentivising us to contain any farts. (There’s nothing like a 1,000 ft penalty system to help keep it clean up there!) Dave Loncasty was still out injured after his shoulder surgery, but he kept the mood upbeat on the ground and his refueling work kept us airborne.

At the beginning of this boogie, Jonny was adamant she wasn’t doing another. Her awesome partner in the whole mission, Craig Bridges, smiled knowingly beside her. Of course she didn’t mean it! By the end, Jonny was conceding it’s a distinct possibility. So, if you get the opportunity to visit, to bring your team here for training, or to attend the next Bowen Boogie, don’t let it pass by. Jonny and Craig, plus their fantastic crew, will look after you.

Skydiving really takes people to new places. And this one is well worth visiting!

(Pic Credits – Anna van der Vlugt, Marco DeBoni, Phil Gordon, Brandon Van Niekerk and many others!)

 Written by Kelly Brennan – Mentor for Barwon Heads Victoria