During our first weekend back in Sydney, Mark had the terrifying prospect of skydiving from 15,000 feet. This event had been organised for his 30th birthday by his brother (probably as revenge for some childhood incident) and mother (who then intentionally forgot about it to stop herself from worrying)
Following some brief instructions from his tandem partner and a farewell kiss to a very concerned Meg, Mark climbed into the rickety old plane and took his place on the floor. It took about 20 minutes for the plane to reach full altitude, all the while everything seeming like a dream.
At 15,000 feet he was clipped to his partner and received a last minute instruction to "just belly-flop out of the plane". The rear door of the plane opened and the first jumpers leapt out. Within an instant they were just dots above the clouds - it was at this point that the reality of what was about to happen actually hit home! When it was Mark's turn to go, his instructor edged them both forward and without stopping to think, they were falling out of the plane. Mark had asked "what happens if I bottle out at the last minute" to which he received the no-nonsene response "No sounds a lot like Go!"
The "bellyflop" turned out to be an understatement as they somersaulted several times before settling into a horizontal position.
They then fell free-fall for 50 seconds which was enough time to eventually stop screaming and enjoy it. But only just enough time!
The scariest part was falling through thick cloud and not being able to see the ground. But once he emerged from the cloud, the views were spectacular. After a few spins, the parachute was opened and they fell to the ground at a more relaxing rate, landing on their feet.
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