MY FIRST TANDEM SKYDIVE

TANDEM SKYDIVING IN PERTH: MY FIRST TANDEM SKYDIVE!!

Tandem skydiving is often the first experience people have with the incredible world of skydiving. Perth’s Skydive Jurien Bay have introduced thousands of adventure seekers to this thrilling sport over the years; here is one account of a first jump from a happy Skydive Jurien Bay tandem skydiver!

My First Tandem Skydive

By Ake Tekorona, August 2014.

I’d always wanted to try skydiving, but never thought that I would until my partner told me he wanted to do it, so I made it happen for both of us. I decided to wait until his birthday so I could give him the best present ever! It was our first ever tandem skydive and we were going to jump from 14,000 feet.

It was only a two-hour drive to Jurien Bay from Perth and it was a pretty cruisey drive up the coast. We arrived early so I had some time to calm my nerves and get myself pumped to jump out of a plane. I will admit, I WAS TERRIFIED!! I was going to do a tandem skydive, meaning that there would be a professional skydive instructor strapped onto my back who would monitor our rate of fall, control our descent and deploy the parachute.

Everyone who was doing a skydive watched a three-minute training video about what we had to do when we jumped. The instructions were simple: look up when we leave the plane, open our arms when the instructor gives us a tap on the arm, and lift our legs when we land. After that the Skydive Jurien Bay staff strapped our harnesses on, reminded us what we had to do, answered any questions we had and then we were ready.

The Lead Up

We first drove in the Skydive Jurien Bay bus to watch other tandem skydivers land on the beach, so could see what we were about to do. I was so excited and it was awesome to watch. Once they had all landed we drove to the airport to meet our plane, less than a kilometer away from the beach.

At the plane I was introduced to Chris, who was my tandem skydive instructor. I chose to have video taken of my skydive so when we met he started interviewing me with his GoPro video camera. Chris was very welcoming and friendly and I felt very safe with him.

As the plane took off and climbed towards our jumping altitude of 14,000ft, I started to get really nervous. Watching the houses and trees become smaller and smaller and knowing that we would, in a few minutes, be jumping from the safety of the plane, was unnerving. The view of the Coral Coast and Jurien Bay Marine Park from the plane was incredible.

The Jump

Once we reached 14,000 feet, Chris nudged me towards the now open door, we were about to jump. My partner was first to jump then me. Sitting at the edge of the door and looking out at the vast openness below, I questioned my sanity. Was I crazy for doing this? And then before I could say “Wait,” we left the plane and were flying.

The first few seconds seemed to be a blur due to the sensory overload but I quickly became fully present again and it was such a rush! I felt like I was on a rollercoaster, a really big 14,000 feet roller coaster. It was beyond amazing.

After a minute of freefall, Chris opened the parachute. I felt calm and amazed and the view over Jurien Bay was awesome. It’s beautiful up there. Chris let me control the parachute which was so much fun. As we were getting closer to land he talked me through the landing position (legs up). I was concerned we were going to land hard but it was unbelievably soft thanks to Chris’ skills and the soft sand on the beach.

Once we landed on the beach, Chris interviewed me, asking what I thought of the experience. I was so relieved I was back on land but I felt so alive and I could’ve definitely done it again right away.

Rush of the Jump

It was worth the trip from Perth to Jurien Bay and I am thankful to all the staff, my instructor, Chris, and my partner’s instructor for looking after the both of us. I am forever the best girlfriend in the world according to my partner!!!!

The video that the staff at Skydive Jurien Bay edited for us both was awesome. It had all the interviews, footage of the plane ride, freefall, parachuting, landing on the beach, and cool background music. The views are just mind-blowing and I’ve watched my video over and over.

To book your tandem skydiving experience, click here to book online with Skydiving Jurien Bay today!