So I decided that I wanted to jump out of a plane 14,000 ft above the ground. I figured since I’ve gone on all the major roller coasters in the Northeast and have gone parasailing I needed to try something else that would give me a great thrill (perhaps I’m an adrenalin junkie?). My friend Ally and I booked a tandem skydive with Skydive Sussex and had an amazing time!
I was attached to the front of my instructor while we rode in a miniature plane with two small benches. The hatch was open and I could barely hear above the roar of the wind but I did not feel nervous at all; on the contrary I was quite excited and felt sure that everything would go smoothly.
My instructor and I were the last to make the leap and I can hardly describe how amazing it was to free fall! He tapped my shoulders to let me know that it was ok to let go of my harness and allow my arms to go straight out as we fell parallel to the ground. When I gave my instructor the thumbs up he started to spin us all around as the free fall continued. After at least a minute and a half he pulled the parachute and we soared up into the air!
I could see the New York City skyline and was finally able to spot the other divers. In order to make me more comfortable, because the harness was very tight, my instructor had me stand on his feet while he loosed all of my straps (the picture above was right after the dive and that is how loose the straps were! Looking back, I definitely should have been more apprehensive about this part…). He gave me the chance to steer us by pulling on the cords attached to the parachute and it was absolutely amazing. I kept gasping as I was able to take in the views; especially after I removed my goggles and only had my eyeglasses on.
We landed so easily and I was upset it was over but had a truly unbelievable time. I hugged my instructor and then took a few pictures with Ally to remember this breathtaking experience by. Can’t wait to go again!
Leave a Reply