Normally at 6am on a Saturday morning my (almost) three-year-old son, Marley, wakes.
He comes in for a cuddle, drags his blanky to the couch and watches Thomas the Tank Engine, with warm milk.
By 6.30am Lily, 4.5 months old, wakes and needs a bottle and a change.
It’s then eggs on toast, household duties, and a walk on the beach.
But not this past Saturday.
Not one bit!
The 50th Australian National Style and Accuracy Parachuting Championships were in town and, with the prestigious event, came the opportunity for me and my husband, Toby, to dive head-first into what can only be described as one of the most exhilarating, adrenalin-charged experiences of our lives — and then some.
Event co-ordinator, Debbie Sommers, in conjunction with Coastal Skydivers’ owner and operator Tony Maurer, organised a 10,000 feet skydive for us to get a “hands on” idea of what the sport was like.
A flag marker to test wind directions had to be dropped above Westport Park, the landing target for the day’s competition, at 7.15am on Saturday morning, and as it happened, we went along for the ride.
After signing some official forms and a thorough briefing on what was to come from Tony, who has jumped more than 7800 times since 1979, we dressed in our safety harness and clothing and boarded a plane piloted by Phil Perkins.
I was in the capable hands of instructor Tim McDonald, whilst Toby was under the watchful eye of Tony.
On the camera was Evan Lansdown.
Twenty minutes later, after further instructions and plenty of encouragement, I was standing on the wing of the aircraft, counting down to the biggest rush of my entire life.
Before I had the chance for a reality check about what I was ‘actually’ doing, I was tumbling out of the plane and freefalling towards the earth at full speed.
Charged with adrenalin and awe, and everything in between, I was cheering and chanting with a full blown grin.
Wow, woo hoo, wicked, wow!
After an estimated 45-second freefall, Tim pulled the parachute chord.
For the next few minutes you can take in the most amazing scenic highlights of the region from a perspective so rare and beautiful.
Tim, giving me an insight into the elements of the sport, shared some controlled turning manoeuvres and weightlessness exercises.
And the landing was smooth sailing. They’re experts, what more can I say.
Duplicate that experience, and that was Toby.
Yes, I’d jumped before, but there’s a big gap between your ‘backpacking days’ to being a wife, a mother-of-two, a mortgage holder and the Independent’s editor.
The odds of me doing it again were a million to one, but now those odds have turned about-face and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In fact I want to go back for more — right now!
To give skydiving a go, contact Tony on 0428 471 227, email jumpportmac@bigpond.com or go to the website www.coastalskydivers.com
Story: Kate Yates
