My first Skydive!

I was going through some old photos and came across pictures of my first Skydive, so I figured I would do a throwback to my jump day.

My first skydive experience was with Skydive Ireland, at the Birr Aerodrome in Offaly. I booked a Tandem Skydive on a whim, when I saw an offer online. Most people thought I was mad, while others took pleasure in telling me their stories of when they did a skydive, some extremely encouraging, amazing stories and some slightly off-putting ones (according to some people the freefall gives you the same feeling as morning sickness!?!).

As it is completely weather dependant, your jump day is likely to change, especially with the weather in Ireland, but thankfully my day didn’t have to be rescheduled. However I quickly learnt that it’s extremely important to get your name on the jump list as soon as you arrive. I dawdled for a little bit, getting my bearings and by the time I got my name down, I was stuck behind a big group of people which delayed my jump by a couple of hours. Lesson learnt for the next time!

After some training, finally it was my time to jump and surprisingly I was more excited than nervous. Some of the people in the plane with me were incredibly nervous, as in I'm going to my death nervous, but I couldn't wait for my turn! I was last out to jump, and as I sat on the end of the plane at 10,000ft, the adrenaline was coursing through me.

Honestly I've never experienced anything like the rush of the freefall, it only lasts for about 30 seconds but in that time you drop about 5,000 feet at a speed of up to 200km/hr. I never wanted it to stop, I've never felt so alive, as I did in those few seconds.Then the parachute was pulled and I jerked back to reality. For the next few thousand feet as we headed back to land, I got to help steer the parachute as I looked out over the amazing Irish landscape. The peace and quiet was a huge contrast to the intensity of the freefall but it gave you time to relax on the way back down and take in the green countryside that surrounds you. 

The moment I got back down, I wanted to go up again, and again and again. I wanted to get my licence, I wanted to spend my time down at the airfield. That's how excited I was. Honestly it was one of the best experiences I've had so far, made even better by the amazing instructors at Skydive Ireland. Since my jump, they have moved much closer to home, so now I have no excuse for not getting back in the sky!

I've included some pictures and the video of my jump below (let's all just ignore how dorky I look!)

Have any of you done a Skydive? If so, where? I'd love to hear your stories.

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Labels: adventure , Ireland , Skydive , Skydive Ireland , The Pieces Between , Travel