Looking For.... 'Big, Muscular and Hairy'

I Am Unable To Breath
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The two hour bus ride from Cairns to Mission beach really did not do much to ease my worries and diminish the fact that I am having a hard time breathing. In 4 hours and counting I will be, ejecting my body from a plane the size of a large truck. Trying not to think about it, but failing miserably, I count down the minutes. It’s time! I will at this point try to explain exactly how it felt to fall 10, 000 feet in 60secs of free fall

-the skydivers arrive at the hostel to pick me up! They are early... What is going on? I should still have 40 mins to prepare.

It's Not So Bad
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-hop in the bus....Take a look at the instructors responsible for keeping my alive. They seem like a burly enough bunch. ‘Big, muscular, hairy’...I think that these qualities are probably important even in the woman.

-try to find "Hot Dan". Yep there he is. I had been told about him by other girls who had jumped with "Jump The Beach" skydiving. Apparently by looking into his eyes, you can forget for a minute that you are maybe about to die. It works, I have a hard time forming normal sentences, but get my point across. "Please don’t kill me", and in my head, " You are so hot." Pass the time by trying to figure out what the tattoo is behind his ear.

Almost Done
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-meet the people I am going to dive with. 3 Irish men. Tall, muscular and extremely big sissies. These guys need to pull it together!. Who is wearing the panties here? Obviously all 3 of them.

-try to calm their fears. Who is calming mine? Give a round of high fives. Get a pretty pathetic high five in return. They are making no sounds... It’s quiet... Who are these people? I can’t seem to stop talking.....The sky divers love me... I’m very charming at this point.

Still Alive!
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-get suited up. No hot Dan 4 me. Just a girl, the size of me with very hairy legs. What’s going on? This doesn’t seem right. Where is the 200lb man that I should be jumping with?

-hop in the plane, have a video made as I make the progression from suiting up to landing. It’s weird!! Looking around the faces at me, the guys appear absolutely gutted. Their faces are a white and green combination. Do I look like this? No time to find out. I am still talking- ‘Why can’t I stop?’

-get to the jump site, have to turn around due to weather disturbances. I am starting to feel really calm at this point. The pilot is turning the plane around to find us a suitable jump site so that we don’t have to jump in the rain and get bruised by the raindrops as we fall. Smart choice!

- I am feeling ok! Really weird. It is like I have reached the point where I realize there is no turning back. I want to enjoy this. I take three deep breaths. I can’t fill my lungs completely. My gear is too tight.

-IT"S TIME!

There is no time to even hesitate. We have to jump now to miss the rain clouds. 1, 2, 3 jump ahead of me in an assembly line. There is not a break in between. We all roll out. I am last. I have time to look in the camera, smile, brush my hair out of my eyes and say, "I can’t believe this!"

-I look down. I can’t see the ground. I am sitting on the edge of the plane. There are cloud-. Wmisty clouds. The count begins- ONE, TWO, HEAD BACK- I’M OUT!!!!!

-I am falling too fast to realize what it feels like. There is no time to scream. And even if I wanted to I couldn’t. The initial 10 seconds is the worst. I can’t describe what it feels like to fall 10, 000 feet is 60 secs. It’s cold!! I open my eyes and spread out my hands. The initial feeling of weightlessness is gone. I am floating down.... The wind makes all the skin on your body shake. I am almost unrecognizable. I can see the ground, the beach, the ocean. I am able to form words again. The wind rushes around my ears- the ground seems to be getting closer and closer!

-The parachute opens! Your stomach falls as you slow your ascent so rapidly. My gear gives me skin burns on my arms. I don’t even notice! The parachute is fully open. We are floating to the ground. The only thing I can do is scream.

-this has been the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. I can’t stop smiling....We get lost in a cloud. There is only white mist around us. This is scarier than the free fall. I can’t see the ground!!!

-the cloud breaks. We land without any difficulty. I have never felt anything like it. I am in an adrenalin high.

-It starts to rain. I am sitting on the beach in the rain. I am soaked. I have in my life experienced anything like it. No regrets!!!! Wishing it wasn’t over! Would jump again in a second.

-mark it off my list of things I must do before I die. I’m still sitting. My heart continues to pound.

Wait till you guys see the video. It is completely and utterly priceless!!!