ntrprnr 0 #1 October 8, 2005 Hey gang... Examining my options for the week between Xmas and New Year's, (because it's freaking pouring and I just got my gear and it's sitting here looking at me going "why can't we jump?" and I have to explain to it that it's raining...) Would love to go to a holiday boogie somewhere, burn a few frequent flier miles... But I have some questions. Forgive me if they sound incredibly stupid... 1) I'm still majorly learning. I like to think I'm safe, but I'm certainly not (with 49 jumps) at the point where I can give others advice... So I usually keep quiet and try to learn. Is it cool to attend a boogie where I'll be in the presence of people with thousands of skydives? I just want to go, meet cool people, jump, and have a good time - is it ok that I'm not great yet, and don't stand up all my landings? From some of the videos I've seen on skydivingmovies.com, the majority of the boogie attendees look really, really good. 2) People just... what? Bring tents and crash on the drop zone? I wouldn't mind, it sounds like fun - but is that just what people do? And they just jump all day, party all night, and crawl into their tents, to do it again the next morning? Again, sounds cool, just trying to figure it out. 3) Do most people just fly to the boogies then rent a car to get to the DZ? Seems like a waste to just keep a rental car parked there for 5 days or whatever... But I guess it's a good place to store your gear when you're not jumping. I probably have about a thousand other questions, but figured I'd start with those... Of course, the most obvious, which boogie to go to, but that probably has as many different answers for as many people as are on DZ.com. Thanks, guys!_______________ "Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?" "Even in freefall, I have commitment issues." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #2 October 8, 2005 1) Better DZs provide a variety of load organizers. Some of these load organizers specialize in planing dives for small groups of junior jumpers. Their goal is to set achievable goals while staying safe. Often these load organizers don't charge, because DZOs recognize that LOs improve turn-around times and reduce accidents. 2) Some people "crash" in tents, while others bring trailers or rent hotel rooms. Trust me, a good night's sleep vastly improves your chances of surviving a week-long boogie. Remember that temperature often dip below freezing during winter nights at some popular desert DZs. 3) Greyhound buses visit most of the small towns that have DZs. Taxi drivers will cheerfully drive you from most major airports to the DZ of your choice. Or try calling ahead, because most DZs have some one who will drive you from and to the airport for the cost of little more than gas. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #3 October 8, 2005 QuoteIs it cool to attend a boogie where I'll be in the presence of people with thousands of skydives? Why wouldn't it be? People with thousands of skydives are just people who've been skydiving longer than you have. They won't bite - and many of them would be happy to jump with you. Quote I just want to go, meet cool people, jump, and have a good time - is it ok that I'm not great yet, and don't stand up all my landings? That's all I ask of a boogie... and I'm not great yet and don't always stand up all my landings either. As for which boogie, I'd suggest the dz.com holiday boogie at Eloy. Good times, good planes and lots of people you'll already kind of "know" from posting here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #4 October 8, 2005 Quote1) I'm still majorly learning. I like to think I'm safe, but I'm certainly not (with 49 jumps) at the point where I can give others advice... So I usually keep quiet and try to learn. Is it cool to attend a boogie where I'll be in the presence of people with thousands of skydives? I just want to go, meet cool people, jump, and have a good time - is it ok that I'm not great yet, and don't stand up all my landings? From some of the videos I've seen on skydivingmovies.com, the majority of the boogie attendees look really, really good. I went to my first boogie when I had 45 jumps. I went to two more before I had 100 jumps. If it makes you feel any better, I just got my 200th jump and I still don't stand up all my landings (though I can bring 'em in soft my feet don't always cooperate and keep me standing). Honestly, what you see on boogie videos is usually the good stuff ... the cool jumps, the fun jumps, and the bad-ass swoopers doing the cool landings. If you see a bad landing, it's probably some swooper creating a big splash in the swoop pond and walking away from it. You, me and the majority of jumpers who do a nice, slow, downwind/base/final landing approach don't really make for fascinating boogie footage. PLFs and butt slides and stumbles aren't that interesting for the video, but rest assured, they happen at boogies, too. Quote2) People just... what? Bring tents and crash on the drop zone? I wouldn't mind, it sounds like fun - but is that just what people do? And they just jump all day, party all night, and crawl into their tents, to do it again the next morning? Again, sounds cool, just trying to figure it out. Yup, the DZ is generally the place to be, and the closer you can be to the DZ at the end of the day, the easier things will be. Hotels are nice for a more restful sleep, but it'll require having someone sober enough to get behind the wheel. Which may be a problem, but may also be good discipline if you want to pace yourself for a week-long boogie. I've learned in my short time in the sport that I need to pace myself ... I can't party like a 20 year old any more and still jump the next day. YMMV. Quote3) Do most people just fly to the boogies then rent a car to get to the DZ? Seems like a waste to just keep a rental car parked there for 5 days or whatever... But I guess it's a good place to store your gear when you're not jumping. I've either driven to boogies myself or with friends directly from home, or if I've flown in, have gotten a local friend to pick me up, so I've never had to worry about the "where to put my gear" question. I know Eloy's bunkhouse has lockers - you get a key for a locker when you get your key for the bunkhouse. Not sure about other DZs. QuoteI probably have about a thousand other questions, but figured I'd start with those... Of course, the most obvious, which boogie to go to, but that probably has as many different answers for as many people as are on DZ.com. Thanks, guys! There's some great info in these threads, too, about boogies and how to approach them: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1574697 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1786106 Where you should go? Eloy! (Though I did just find out bunkhouse/team room space is booked solid. There's always camping and local motels, though). I'm sure there's lots of other great holiday events as well. One of the nice things about Eloy for a newer jumper is that they've got two main landing areas, one that's more geared to students and low-timers, plus all of the desert to land "out" in where your biggest obstacles are scrub brush and cacti (which can hurt, but probably won't break you!)."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ntrprnr 0 #5 October 8, 2005 Thanks all, for the answers! Very helpful. One more question - What about packers? If I packed my own gear, I'd get about 2 jumps in the entire week... Do they have enough packers to handle all the jumpers? Thanks!_______________ "Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?" "Even in freefall, I have commitment issues." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #6 October 8, 2005 Most boogies will have packers available, though it will probably depend on the size of the boogie how many will be there. If the packers are backed up considerably, you may find that even at your slow pace you can get packed up faster."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #7 October 9, 2005 Quote3) Do most people just fly to the boogies then rent a car to get to the DZ? Seems like a waste to just keep a rental car parked there for 5 days or whatever... But I guess it's a good place to store your gear when you're not jumping. One of the great things about these forums are the hook-ups you can get for things like hotel sharing and help with rides. If you do attend a boogie, post that you need a ride and usually someone can help you out. We've all been in the same position before...what goes around comes around. Don't be afraid to ask! She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #8 October 9, 2005 Crashing in a tent is my choice... I love doing that... FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #9 October 9, 2005 QuoteCrashing in a tent is my choice... I love doing that... I was going to do that, but it's cheaper for me to get bunkhouse space than to go buy a tent, sleeping bag, etc cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #10 October 9, 2005 Check with Eloy, but you may well need your own sleeping bag in the bunkhouse. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #11 October 9, 2005 QuoteCheck with Eloy, but you may well need your own sleeping bag in the bunkhouse. They have sheets and stuff available, but I'll probably bring my bag. The thing is just that I'd have had to buy a decent bag if I were camping, since it'd be too cold out there for the one I've got.cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elisha 1 #12 October 10, 2005 Ummm...grue? Read below. Quote Where you should go? Eloy! (Though I did just find out bunkhouse/team room space is booked solid. There's always camping and local motels, though). I'm sure there's lots of other great holiday events as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #13 October 10, 2005 Quote 1) I'm still majorly learning. I like to think I'm safe, but I'm certainly not (with 49 jumps) at the point where I can give others advice... So I usually keep quiet and try to learn. Is it cool to attend a boogie where I'll be in the presence of people with thousands of skydives? I just want to go, meet cool people, jump, and have a good time - is it ok that I'm not great yet, and don't stand up all my landings? From some of the videos I've seen on skydivingmovies.com, the majority of the boogie attendees look really, really good. I think this depends a lot on the boogie. How many people are going to be in the sky under canopy at once? How big is the landing area? How are the outs? Other than that, I've always found that noobs are welcome at boogies. There's always someone to jump with. Quote 2) People just... what? Bring tents and crash on the drop zone? I wouldn't mind, it sounds like fun - but is that just what people do? And they just jump all day, party all night, and crawl into their tents, to do it again the next morning? Again, sounds cool, just trying to figure it out. See if they'll have free camping, and if they do, do they have showers and so on. Otherwise you can share a hotel room with someone or some places can rent you a place to crash for pretty cheap. Oh and yeah, people DO just party all night, roll into their tents, crack it open at dawn, roll out and hit the planes Quote 3) Do most people just fly to the boogies then rent a car to get to the DZ? Seems like a waste to just keep a rental car parked there for 5 days or whatever... But I guess it's a good place to store your gear when you're not jumping. Post in the events area to look for a ride. Someone local at your fly in point might be going and it's always nice to split the gas costs. Also you don't have to do a "boogie" per se. The week between xmas and new year's sees a lot of stuff going on down in Florida. You could just take the week, fly in and spend some quality time jumping with the locals. Some places have events going on too. Sebastian does a slumber party and I think Zhills does night jumps on New Year's Eve. Airfair from New York should be pretty cheap too. There's a lot of NY/NJ people down here and there are specialty airlines that do cheap fairs between FL and NY. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vectracide 0 #14 October 10, 2005 Quote Better DZs provide a variety of load organizers. Some of these load organizers specialize in planing dives for small groups of junior jumpers. Their goal is to set achievable goals while staying safe. Often these load organizers don't charge, because DZOs recognize that LOs improve turn-around times and reduce accidents. I guess our DZ isn't one of the better ones.... QuoteDZOs recognize that LOs improve turn-around times and reduce accidents. I'd sure like to believe that of Pitt, but have yet to see it. ------------------------------ Controlled and Deliberate..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #15 October 10, 2005 QuoteUmmm...grue? Read below. Quote Where you should go? Eloy! (Though I did just find out bunkhouse/team room space is booked solid. There's always camping and local motels, though). I'm sure there's lots of other great holiday events as well. Yeah, I booked my space on the 17th of August. I saw this coming a mile away cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CSpenceFLY 1 #16 October 10, 2005 One more warning. Not all boogies are really boogies.Sometimes they are just feeble attempts by a DZO to keep people at the DZ when there is a Real Boogie going on somewhere else.Cheap beer and a buger don't make it a boogie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #17 October 10, 2005 QuoteOne more warning. Not all boogies are really boogies.Sometimes they are just feeble attempts by a DZO to keep people at the DZ when there is a Real Boogie going on somewhere else.Cheap beer and a buger don't make it a boogie. Buger???????My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #18 October 10, 2005 QuoteBuger?? Damm.. Thats a cheap boogie! But back to the initial quations... QuoteI'm still majorly learning We all are. QuoteIs it cool to attend a boogie where I'll be in the presence of people with thousands of skydives? Thats the best thing about traveling to different places: you get to see what kind of training / coaching you can get. Most large DZs will have load organisers for their big boogies. For the xmas boogie, Eloy will have the gang from Airspeed organising everything from smaller ways to larger formations. Same thing with Freeflyin: Omar and Greg Gasson were on hand to do stuff, even 1 on 1s with only their pack job to cover. Use them!!!! Having that level of talent, and coaching expertise at your disposal is priceless! Quote2) People just... what? Bring tents and crash on the drop zone? I wouldn't mind, it sounds like fun - but is that just what people do? And they just jump all day, party all night, and crawl into their tents, to do it again the next morning? It depends what you want to do. I used to tent it at boogies, but I'm old and married now, so we prefer to have the luxury of a Super 8 or Motel 6 . As far as the partying, you can party as much or as little as you want in the evenings. You;ll find people on the entire party/sleep-early range of attitudes. As for the getting around thing: For the Dropzone.com Eloy Xmas Boogie, we'll have a thread here for people looking to share rides and rooms. Other boogies will have similar things.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #19 October 10, 2005 QuoteOther googies will have similar things. Googie? Is that like a buger?"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeth 0 #20 October 10, 2005 QuoteQuoteOther googies will have similar things. Googie? Is that like a buger? ROFLMAO!!!! Boy, I needed that on a Monday! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #21 October 10, 2005 A googie is a french boogie: the term comes from the contraction of froG and bOOGIE And Krisanne: bite me! Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #22 October 10, 2005 QuoteAnd Krisanne: bite me! But Rémi, what will your hot wife say? Oh, nevermind, she can join in, too. So looking forward to the holiday googie."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sleddog 0 #23 October 11, 2005 What's the best motel to stay at in Casa Grande? Best = resonable price & clean. Usually come down in February & have stayed at Super 8 in Eloy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #24 October 11, 2005 We stayed a couple of times at the Motel 6 http://www.motel6.com/reservations/motel_detail.asp?MotelId=1263&state=AZ&full=Casa%20Grande&city=Casa%20Grande Call to make a reservation, and usually you can get a skydiver rate. It's cheap, clean, and cheap . It's a Motel 6, so dont expect the Ritz, but really, how many hours do you spend in that room?Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
