Everglades Boogie 2010
Being back in the cold and snowy weather of the Midwest has me pining for the sun, warmth and blue skies of Florida. I can’t help but day dream of the times spent in Ft. Myers, DeLand, Sebastian, Zephyrhills, and Clewiston.
Which is where I will begin my journey – the Everglades Boogie at Skydive AirAdventures.
This was the main event for us: the reason we chose Florida this time of the year as opposed to Arizona or Puerto Rico where other jump buddies were traveling this winter.
The Everglades Boogie caught our eye for a number of reasons: the high altitude jump, the skyvan, the Pitts biplane, and of course, the affordability of traveling to this state.
We kept our budget low by stocking groceries in a cooler and sleeping in our car most nights. Luckily our “midsize” rental ended up being a Dodge Journey.
Fold the back seats down and you’ve got the perfect sleeping arrangements… well, close to perfect, anyhow.
After spending our first day in Ft. Myers, walking along the beach, eating some mediocre seafood and watching the sunset over the Gulf, we headed to Clewiston for our first night around the bonfire.
(Sunset over Ft. Myers Beach)
To our surprise there was only one other group camping out that night – a couple guys who are regulars at Skydive AirAdventures. The following few nights were spent around the bonfire with these fellas.
Here’s video evidence that the times spent around the fire were quite entertaining:
Thanks to Rick and Lisa for the 8 kegs provided after hours. Oh the things free beer will entice you to do…
Anyway, back to the skydiving.
There are a lot of individual stories to tell from this event, but I’ll give you the basic rundown before we go into any specifics.
The first two days were beautiful, a little breezy, but nothing to worry about. The LZ was large enough where I didn’t have to worry too much about off landings. In fact, I only landed off once – into the packing area on the last jump of day 2. This made me think that it’s time to seriously start considering downsizing my canopy. With an exit weight of 135, it gets difficult to make it back to the dropzone on breezy days under my Triathlon 160. But that’s a topic for another day.
Thursday was the first day of the boogie and it was a little slower than anticipated, but by the end of the day the Super Otter was turning loads. To my surprise though, I couldn’t for the life of me get anyone other than Rick to jump on the sunset load. So I ended the day with four. Here’s a video compilation of these jumps.
I edited in a little commentary and music (Angels & Airwaves, one of my favorites!) for your enjoyment as this one is a little lengthy.
As you can see, we’re really working as a team to stay close and relative in our sit. Needless to say this trip gave us a great chance to practice … by the time we got to Zhills we were seeing incredible improvement!
Friday was another beautiful day. The skyvan showed up from DeLand too so our last three jumps were from a tailgate. It’s pretty fun to watch a huge plane poop out people like that.
The GoPro didn’t want to cooperate on Friday, but here are a couple of our skyvan jumps that day: another 2-way sit and a 4-way horny gorilla exit that looks pretty cool. Rick also had a close call with a swooper as you’ll notice at the end of the video. But it’s all good and everyone is okay.
Saturday was our last day at Skydive AirAdventures and the day we took part in a high altitude jump – and my first chop. Both of these will be discussed in greater detail later.
What I do want to take time to mention is how incredible the experience was at Skydive AirAdventures. The Everglades Boogie was run very smoothly, and though I’m sure it seemed like a madhouse to DOZs Rick and Lisa, they pulled it off successfully. There were a number of vendors there doing demos and selling their stuff including Performance Designs, EG Suits, Aerodyne, and more. I was incredibly impressed with the reps at PD…that’s all I’ll say on that for now.
Aside from the boogie, the atmosphere at this DZ is incredible. The regulars were welcoming and Rick and Lisa made us feel right at home. After my cut away Rick was quick to take me aside and make sure I was okay. Thomas is an incredible rigger who took the time to thoroughly check out my rig and repack my reserve as well.
This is definitely a DZ I’ll be visiting again in the near future.
The last evening there was spent around the bonfire, watching Jeff carve a block of ice into a closing pin shot luge. Not only is this guy an incredible wing suiter, he’s also an ice sculptor. Talents abound in the skydiving world!
(The finished product, ready for ice cold shots!)
We also met some fellow mid-westerners out of Missouri who we’re hoping to connect with again soon. If you’re reading, great meeting you Susan!
Thanks to everyone for making this an incredible boogie weekend. I was able to meet fellow skydivers and make some new friends. Can’t wait to get back in the air with y’all again soon.
If you’re ever in South Florida, I highly recommend heading over to Clewiston for a jump or two at Skydive AirAdventures. The staff will take good care of you.
I’ll leave you with a few pictures from the first few days of our trip – in Ft. Myers and around the Everglades Boogie. (All photos below by Ashley Mead)
(Looking out over the Gulf in Ft. Myers)
(Attempting to feed the Heron – notice the shirt!)
(This little guy kept dive bombing for food)
(Sharing a sunset at Ft. Myers Beach)
(The PD tent during the boogie)
(Jet rides were available)
(Last night at the bonfire)
Blue skies!
Ashley
Off landings
Today I want to visit one aspect of the sport of skydiving that I’m no stranger to: off landings.
Upon making Canton Air Sports my home when I was still on student status, I quickly gained a reputation for landing off. At the time, we attributed most of it to the fact that I was flying student gear and huge canopies (read: 292 square feet – and for someone who tops out at 135 lbs exit weight, that’s a whole lot of canopy over my head to take me where it wants to).
Since then I’ve managed to land off at almost every DZ I’ve visited: in a soy bean field at Start skydiving (when they were in Lebanon), earning me my current nickname; frequent landings at the end of the runway and in surrounding fields at CAS; finding a pumpkin patch and cow-filled fields with bad spots at Skydive Pennsylvania…I’ll save my ego and stop here.
This weekend of winter jumping was no exception. The winds aloft were tamer than they have been, so when I landed on target during jump #1 at Skydive PA I anticipated a smooth day of canopy piloting.
The spot was a little long, so on the next jump we asked the pilot to adjust and drop us right above the runway. Well, for any of you who are familiar with this DZ, we were dropped PAST the runway over the outlet malls. On top of that my foot got caught on the step as I was exiting, so I was 2-3 seconds late in coming off the plane. My jump was basically a solo sitfly.
Before dumping, I did my best to track back toward the DZ, subsequently losing more altitude and pulling lower than I would have liked. It was those first moments under canopy, as I’m collapsing my slider, where I realized there was no way in hell I was going to make it back.
Luckily, the long runway is lined on both sides with narrow strips of grass, perfect for landing. The only problem was, if I wanted to land in an ideal patch, I was going to have to do so downwind. Yikes!
These are not my favorite types of landings, but I came in slower and softer than anticipated and slid out the landing safely.
The walk back SUCKED…but I guess that’s what I get for pulling low, knowing where I was positioned.
The video below will give you a glimpse at just how far we were away. The DZ is at the opposite end of the runway….I landed in the green patch on the left, just past the hangars…You’ll also get to see part of the train the my freefly partner did with our buddy Tom who’s a newbie freeflyer. Hi first 2-man train. You owe BEER for this one, bud!
(Video by Richard Simenc)
Lesson learned: if you’re off target, pull a little higher to either scout out a new landing area or try to make it back with the wind. This is what my fellow jumpers did, and they all made it back.
But, it’s not a complete day of winter skydiving at Grove without an off landing, right? 
Let’s just hope this trend doesn’t continue while on my Florida trip… I can deal with a field full of cows, alligators not so much!
On that note, I should mention that this will be my last post for a while – about 2 weeks to be exact. I’ll do my best to keep everyone posted on what is going on in Florida at the Everglades boogie, at Deland and more on my Twitter feed: @theskydivechick. Follow me for updates!
Until next time…
Blue skies!
Ashley
I’d Rather Be Skydiving: Snowboarding Edition
So this weekend was a beautiful, blue skies, weekend – the first since April that I wasn’t at the dropzone.
That’s right. This weekend, I spent my time enjoying the sun on the slopes. It was my first weekend trying out snowboarding.
Thankfully, there’s no beer rule for this first! 
Just like my first AFF skydive, I spent a large amount of time learning from my “instructors” and even more time falling. And, just like my first skydive, the after effects of snowboarding include bruises and significant soreness.
But let me tell you, it was totally worth it. I spent time learning from both my freefly partner and my good friend Nick. And even though I feel like a little slow to pick it up, I feel like I’m getting the hang of it.
Hopefully with a couple more outings I’ll be able to comfortably be making turns and spending more time on my board than on my ass.
It’s definitely not skydiving – the rush is incredibly different – and I certainly don’t see myself turning snowboarding into the skydiving of the winter, if you will, but it’s definitely a fun wintertime sport that I’ll be practicing every now and again.
Hopefully the next blue skies day we see will be a little warmer so I can get back up in the air.
Blue skies!
Ashley
Post-Christmas Skydive
There’s nothing quite like a sunset jump on Dec. 26th to make your holiday spirits even brighter!
As I mentioned last week, one of the weekend’s goals was to head out to the DZ to share in some beers and laughs with the crew. Well, lucky for us, the skies were blue and the winds on the ground were tame enough to allow a jump!
We were surprised to find out that there were only two sport jumpers packed and ready to go – Rick and me. But, the DZO was feeling the Christmas spirit and took us up anyhow. You rock, Cecil!
The winds aloft were moving at a good clip, and we were prepared to get out above the water tower – about a mile past the DZ.
Well, on this sunset load, we were having a rather difficult time spotting. Needless to say, we got out a mile from the DZ – but a mile in the wrong direction.
The skydive was a simple belly fly with one point and some fun spins before we attempted to link back up. My Dytter went off early so, you’ll notice, I waved before we could link back up.
As I tracked away I realized the dropzone was no where in sight. So I stopped tracking and pulled.
Turns out we were incredibly far north. When I turned into the wind I wasn’t penetrating well. I did my best to follow Rick down, but ended up landing in a field 1/4 mile or so down the road. If you look carefully in the video, you can see the square field I landed in as Rick is doing a 360 to lose some altitude.
Thankfully, I was close to the road and the first passerby put on his brakes and backed up to give me a lift back to my home base. From there I jumped in a car with the pilot and drove around in attempt to find Rick. Little did I know that he’d hitchhiked back as well and was driving around in search of me.
Needless to say we found our way back and had a beer in hand in no time.
There’s something quite invigorating about winter jumps. It clears your head in more ways than one. Aside from not being able to feel my hands, and the subsequent pain when the feeling returned, it was a great jump.
New lesson learned: in the winter, when winds are squirly at altitude, jump with a cell phone!
Blue skies!
Ashley
I’d Rather be Skydiving: Happy Holidays edition
Holy crap, it’s almost Christmas!
Seems like just yesterday I was giving a recap on the Work Stinks boogie. The cold and snow and holiday cheer shuck up on me.
Between shopping for Christmas gifts, finishing up work at the office (that seems to be exploding at the end of the year) and moving into a new place with my freefly partner , there’s a lot to be done!
This week I’m headed up to Michigan to visit my family for food and gift exchanging, followed by a weekend of non-stop chores (see the list above). Though I do hope to make it out with a few of the crew from the DZ for some beers and laughs – and jumping, if the weather cooperates.
New Year’s will be spent hosting some of our close friends at the new place. Yay!
Thankfully, yesterday was the winter solstice, so we’re back on the upswing to longer days! Sure, it may be cold, but Safety Day will be here before you know it.
Blue skies and happy holidays!
Ashley
Tips for Winter Skydiving
If you’re anything like me, as the season came to an end you were determined not to let the colder weather stop you from jumping when there are blue skies.
But the first time that bitter chill hits your exposed skin on the ground, you think twice about heading up to altitude in those conditions – sunny or not.
Of course, on a sunny mid-December day it didn’t take much coaxing to get me up in the air. It’d been two weeks since my last skydive and I was starting to twitch with the earliest signs of withdrawal. I was starting to feel like I needed a support group.
“Hi, I’m Ashley, and I’m a skydiver. It’s been 14 days since my last freefall…”
Alright, enough of that.
So as I mentioned on Monday, we headed down to Grove City for a couple jumps out of the C-182. Jeff, our pilot and recent past DZO consistently took us up past 11 grand – gotta love that kind of altitude out of a tiny Cessna.
The ride to altitude was surprisingly mild, but around 9,000 feet, we all started gearing up appropriately. As soon as the door opened, signaling the beginning of our jump run, we were thankful to have donned so many layers.
Given that this is the firs…um, err… the only winter so far that I’ve gone skydiving, there were plenty of lessons learned moments.
So, for those of you who are thinking about making a jump in the snow this winter, or are traveling to colder climates and want to skydive, I’ve come up with a short list of recommendations for walking away from a fun day of jumping, sans frost bite.
If I’ve missed anything, please chime in down there in the comments.
1.) Make sure you have a good pair of gloves.
-This is one I haven’t fully figured out yet, as my gloves just didn’t cut it. Gloves need to be thin enough so you can still find and grab your hackey to pull out your pilot chute, but thick enough that you’ll be able to feel your hands enough to do so.With incredible wind chill that you experience in freefall, it’s important to have gloves that will not only keep your hands toasty and comfortable, but that will cut the wind. The Nike ACG gloves that I was sporting did little to protect my fingers from stinging and turning bright red post jump. Even with latex gloves underneath, I wasn’t satisfied. Skydiving glove recommendations for this freeze baby are welcome and encouraged.
2.) Wear a full face helmet, if you have access to one.
-My buddy Don wore his new Cookie full face that he loves and it worked well for him. Helmets like that make me feel a little claustrophobic so I’ve stuck with my Bonehead Pimp Daddy that I love. But, by simply adding a balaclava I was totally fine. My face stayed nice and toasty. If you choose this route, do know that your goggles will fog up almost instantly in the plane, but once you’re out there are no fogging issues – even under canopy.
3.) Doing RW? Use your booties!
-As a girl who doesn’t do much RW these days, I find that booties help me stabilize and move more precisely. They also work wonders with keeping my tootsies warm. They help deflect the wind away and protect your feet and ankles (that would have been exposed while wearing my freefly pants).
4.) Check the winds aloft forecast.
-Though it may be fairly calm on the ground, the winds at altitude the last couple times I’ve jumped have been stronger than normal. This leads me to my next point…
5.) Check your SPOT!
-We take for granted that our pilots have GPS and the spots are usually good. Well, when winds at altitude are strong, you want to double check where you’re getting out. This will prevent you from an off landing and waiting in the cold for someone to come pick your ass up.
6.) Carry Chapstick in your pocket.
-Even if the wind isn’t directly hitting your lips, they will feel dry. Some good, protective moisture never hurt anyone.
7.) How about a breath mint?
-You know how your mouth tends to get dry just before leaping out the jump door? Well talk about cotton mouth – it’s worse in the winter. With the dry air at altitude, your skydiving partners will thank you for popping a mint before getting in that cramped little plane.
Hope you found these few little hints helpful. But tell me fellow skydivers, what am I missing when it comes to tips for winter skydiving?
Blue skies!
Ashley
Back to belly?
This weekend was a beautiful one. The sun was out, the winds were fairly calm, and I started itching for some freefall.
So we headed down to Grove City, PA to jump with our friends at Skydive Pennsylvania. Lucky for us, they’ve decided to stay open this winter for fun jumpers who are willing to brave the cold.Though they’re not flying the Porter, at least we get to ride up in the cleanest C-182 I’ve ever seen! It has padded flooring and everything.
The cleanliness of the plane is beside the point…
Rick and I met up with jumping buddy Don who we met during our time at Canton Air Sports. Don is a belly flyer, and with the bitter cold that we were going to experience, I decided that donning my RW suit was the best option for warding off frost bite. So in turn, we ended up doing two jumps, both as RW practice.
On the first jump, it was everyone’s task to come dock on me. We got close, but had some fall rate issues. The second jump was switched up, and we were tasked with docking on Rick. Again, there were some issues, and I did have to go head down for a few seconds to catch up, but Rick and I did manage to sync up for a second before I had to wave him off and track away.
It was definitely different to be back on my belly after 50+ freefly jumps, but it was a welcome change. I learned a little about surviving the winter chill – more to come on that – and I also learned that freefly helps with body control awareness immensely. In fact, it felt like I’d improved my RW skills, even after all this time spent only freeflying.
There’s something to be said for the feeling of diving head first out of a Cessna into the brisk, cloudless sky. It feels more peaceful than jumping from a turbine.
*Photo by Lonnie Kirk
Maybe it just brings back all those memories of my first jumps as a newbie skydiver – given that I started my skydiving career out of a 5-person cessna.
Either way, it was great to be back in the sky. Stay tuned for what I learned on staying toasty in the brisk winter skies. Until then…
Blue skies!
Ashley
Winter vacation: skydiving
Last year, after taking a week-long trip to the Caribbean at the end of the winter, I made a decision that every year I’d take at least one vacation to warmer climates to rejuvinate. Trips of 5+ days are just plain good for the soul.
Naturally, this year my trip will revolve around skydiving – which is also highly beneficial to the soul, if I do say so myself.
(Do you think they skydive in Bora Bora?)
The dilemma that keeps rearing it’s ugly head is the where factor. Mid-season this year we had a number of friends who were planning a trip to Eloy for a week around Valentine’s Day. I was pumped! It was skydiving buddies from Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But recent conversations prove that people are changing their minds at a quick clip.
Between boogies in Puerto Rico, Florida and Arizona throughout the winter, we skydivers are torn on where to end up.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind going to Florida and visiting a few DZs, including Skydive Miami where my career started at the end of my last vacation. But I also know that sticking to a single DZ and/or boogie will be a much more relaxing experience than chasing DZs for a week.
(With instructor Randy on the skydive that changed my life)
As of now, it’s me and my freefly partner making plans. Of course, we’re both pretty bad when it comes to making definititve decisions. It would be great to have other friends come along as well, though if it just ends up being us, I’m sure we’ll have no problem making new freefly friends at a week-long boogie.
So what are y’all planning for winter skydiving? Anyone going to an exciting boogie in warmer climates? We’re open to suggestions.
Blue skies!
Ashley
Jumping with Gloves
When I first started skydiving back in April, I was lucky that the weather was warm enough that I didn’t require too many layers, even at altitude.
Though after my first few AFF jumps, we had a spring cold spell here in NE Ohio and I was donning gloves and a hoodie. I was nervous the first time jumping with gloves. I was so used to reaching back and grabbing the hackey with my bare hands that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to feel it, or worse yet, find it with gloves on.
Luckily, my winter gloves have grippers on the palms and fingers, so I felt confident that deploying my pilot ‘chute would not be an issue.
Sure enough, the gloves worked perfectly. In fact, I came down from that skydive with a preference for gloves. Not only do they keep my fingers nice and toasty at altitude (as we’re all aware that I’m a little bit of a freeze baby), but they protect my hands in freefall too. After all, haven’t we all had those moments of,” hey, my hand is bleeding…how did that happen.”
No, just me? Well, okay then.
(Suited up in my RW gear, gloves and all)
Until the heat of summer set in, I was in the habit of donning gloves before every jump. It was something I became quite accustom to. It’s also something I’ve had to do this fall in order to ensure I can feel my hands post-freefall to work my toggles properly.
Not many of my skydiving buddies wear gloves on a regular basis, but I’ve heard from some who swear by it. I suppose it’s all what you get used to over time.
For me, gloves are where it’s at – though we’ll see if that holds true during heat waves next summer.
What’s your preference? Gloves or no gloves in freefall?
Blue skies!
Ashley
Trust among skydivers
*Photo by Lonnie Kirk
“You can trust a skydiver with your life, but not your money or your wife.”
This is one of many sayings that I’ve heard in the recent past – and not all of them are specific to the skydiving community. I’ve had ski and snowboard friends quote similar lines like, “you never lose your girlfriend, you only lose your turn.”
But that’s not the point. Believe it or not, this isn’t about relationship theft among athletes, it’s about trust.
Skydiving is a sport where you’re regularly trusting others with your safety. Whether it’s the pre-flight pin check, jumping with newbies on big-ways, or having someone pack your parachute, there’s some element of trust that needs to be involved.
You need to trust that these people are going to be thorough in their gear check, that they’re going to be safe on a dive, that they’ll double-check their work. And just like all other relationships, you have to trust that people care enough to take the proper precautions in the air and on the ground.
This is something I’ve come to learn with my regular jump buddies. I don’t think twice about asking any of my skydiving friends to give me a pin check or set my Cypress after donning my rig (what can I say, occasionally my mind slips and I’m too lazy or in too much of a rush to take off my rig before the next load). I’m always willing to try something new and exciting in the sky with my freefly partner. In fact, he’s the first person I turn to when I have any sort of doubt.
*Photo by Sandy Weltman
(Freefly partners in crime!)
Every skydiver needs a voice of reason. I’m extremely lucky to have someone so close to me who’s so supportive.
When I was going through student training, my instructor Tom was always there to provide insight. Having gone through ground school with him, I learned quickly that I could turn to him with any question, concern or issue that arose. In fact, I still can.
There aren’t many skydivers that I jump with regularly, or have jumped with in the past for that matter, that I don’t trust with just about any element of the sport. Of course, I do like to do my own packing – but that’s just one of those things.
The more time I spend in the sport, around other jumpers at different events and dropzones, the more I realize just how important trust is.
Doubts that creep up in your gut, the ones that make you stop and question, are there for a reason. If there’s someone you don’t trust in a certain situation, maybe you should avoid it if possible. Safety needs to come first, and sometimes listening to your gut – even if it means sitting out a load or not participating in a particular jump – is the safest option.
*Photo by Paul Iglin
(Recent balloon jump: this weekend I encountered a number of great jumpers that are extremely trustworthy. Great jumping with you, Neil!)
Finding other jumpers you can trust is critical to a happy, healthy skydiving career. As in life, positive relationships are built on trust, and what’s more fun than having lots of positive skydiving relationships to count on?
Blue Skies!
Ashley