Skydiving San Diego: First Tandem Jump from 13000 ft

First things are always special... First love, first scuba dive and similarly it was for first skydiving. It has left a long lasting impression that could last for a lifetime. Tandem skydive! It is a popular bucket list stuff and I chose my Oceans'13 conference trip for the dive. For a first time jump, there are three options i.e. a tandem jump where one is strapped to the instructor, a solo jump with 2 instructor holding on to you (requires 4-5 hours of ground training) and a static line jump (least popular) where a rope is attached to you to deploy the parachute. 

The tandem jump is by far the most common and popular method for first skydive. The reason i chose tandem and not Solo was simple, I was a bit scared. I wanted to get a feel for the complexities. But now I am etching find a window for another jump :). 

I chose San Diego Skydive for my first skydive and it will always remain my first. The skydiving with these guys was awesome. They were a good company, very professional and the whole process was very smooth. My instructor was Rory and special thanks to him for the first jump of my life. 

The tandem jump , it is just too simple. One reaches the reception, the first thing they do it sign there life away, literally. A big form and absolutely indemnifies every one. Some video to watch from 80's, not sure if it is important, i ignored it. Then we met our instructor. the briefing was "We will go up in that plane, at 13000 feet we will jump and then gravity will bring us down, I''ll open the parachute somewhere in the middle". We were very impressed.  5 more mins to put some gear and we were off. 

View from the gate, Just before the Jump

And here we go, Sideways

Don't forget to look back to the plane from which you jump. It is one of the two times when you will realize how fast you are dropping. The other time is when parachute is deployed the cameraman flies away since he deploys his parachute much later. 

The beat shot i could get

At 8000 ft, my instructor told me where to put my hand during the jump. He added "When i tap, open your arms then". I tried to obey him, observer the hand position just after the fall and later, but only after he tapped me twice. 

One the priceless moment of 50 seconds free fall, Open arm position for more stability

The Moment Parachute was deployed

The non free fall shot

Landing

And this concludes the skydive, 50 seconds free fall and 5-6 mins in parachute.  Once can watch the video.