10
way weekend at Robertson
By
Lara Kruger
Thanks to Karl Hayden, and a few
eager beavers to help, a weekend
of 10-ways jumps from two planes
followed by a potjie kos competition
was planned (in just two weeks) for
the weekend of 16 August. The turnout
was superb but Saturday was a day
of frustration as an ever-growing
number of skydivers waited for the
rain to stop, and the cloud base
to lift. Meanwhile tents were pitched,
briefings were given, and potjie
recipes were prepared for the evening
braai. Finally, just after lunch,
the rain abated and the cloud base
lifted. Some low loads made it up
and finally the last load of the
day managed to go to altitude. The
10-way did some dirt dives and hoped
for the best, but eventually the
call of "Bar Open" was
heard without a 10-way gracing the
skies. Then it was time for the potjie
competition to start.
After
a free fall initiation, beers were
opened, fires were lit, veggies
peeled and secret ingredients prepared.
Most of the competitors were seasoned
potjie makers and a few first timers
at this game joined them. The Robertson
flying club participated in the
fun and entered two of their own
pots as well as providing the judge
for the competition. After some
intensive tasting our chief instructor,
Barney, walked away with the winning
pot. The evening coincided with
a fantastic Lunar Eclipse and everyone
went to bed content and with great
anticipation of the jumps that
awaited them in the morning.
Sunday
greeted us with clear skies and
no wind. Loads started to flow
and then the first 10-way went
up. It was a reasonable success
with all getting to the base even
though the first point was not
completed. Unfortunately it was
not possible for another attempt
to be made to nail that 10-way.
We
would like to again thank Karl
for this exciting weekend, and
to all the jumpers, and whuffos
who made it possible. There is
definitely a new vibe starting
to flow in this Skydiving Club,
and we are heading to more exciting
weekends. Keep your eyes open for
the next event weekends (canopy
seminar, 2-way scramble and accuracy
landing) to come and join us at
our current DZ in Robertson – she's
a true beaut.
PS:
Thanks Rob for showing how to do
a "boep" swoop!!!
