My first skydive was in 1998.
I was in Florida with friends and we wanted to do something exciting so we chose skydiving. We did a tandem skydive and absolutely loved it. After climbing in the plane I remember being almost overwhelmed with feelings of nervous excitement. Those feelings only grew as we climbed to jump altitude but by the time we got there I was committed and ready to jump. What happened next was almost a blur but I still remember it to this day. The door opened. We slid to the edge. My instructor gave a count and then we left the plane and we were in freefall!
The intensity of the experience of freefall is something that is very unique to my life experience. It’s hard to describe but the sky feels really big when you are right in the middle of it. You are going 120 mph so it is very windy but it doesn’t feel like falling. It feels more like floating. After 45 seconds of freefall (which seemed like it was over in a blink of an eye) the parachute opened and I got to experience the serenity of parachute flight.
We were about 5000 feet over the ground. It was quiet and peaceful and we had an amazing view of the ground below. The fun wasn’t over though. My instructor did some spiral turns and showed me how well the parachute could perform. Then we came in for a soft, sliding landing right in the middle of the airport field. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment and I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. I’ve never looked at the sky the same way again.
As an instructor at Skydive Chesapeake I am fortunate enough to be able to give that first time skydiving experience to people of all ages and walks of life. There are many reasons people decide to make a skydive. They may be celebrating a milestone like a birthday, anniversary or graduation. It might be part of their vacation or bachelor/bachelorette party. Some people come completely by themselves because they wanted to do something to challenge themselves. Others may have just received serious medical news and they have decided that this is the time to do the things they’ve always talked about. No matter what their reason is, I feel honored to give people the life changing experience they came for. It’s the best job in the world.
During my decades of skydiving I have jumped at dropzones all over the country. One of the things I love about Skydive Chesapeake is the individual attention we give to our customers. Everyone from the instructors, the owners, the managers, the ground crew, the pilot and the recreational jumpers go out of their way to make a welcoming environment for first time skydivers. It’s also one of the most scenic places I’ve ever jumped with beautiful views of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay.
If you’ve read this far, I’m grateful and I hope you come out to jump with us!
Gregor Weeks
