Evelyn 0 #1 July 14, 2005 I jump in the desert. I've never done a beach landing. But I am planning to jump at Cabo at the end of the month, and you land on the beach. I saw an aerial view and it was gorgeous, but it was all ocean with a little finger of land. I'm a little nervous. So can you give me some tips for beach landings. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydvr737 0 #2 July 14, 2005 I just got back from Cabo where I did my first beach jump. Was a little concerned about ending up in the water but the wind was blowing along the beach so no problema. Check out which way the moored boats are pointing also for wind direction. I had a great time there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #3 July 14, 2005 beach landings are amazing! Gulf of mexico they are usually cross wind landing..but no biggie _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #4 July 14, 2005 I've not done many, but the things I look out for: Wind direction. You don't want it to be offshore. Spot. Look before you get out! Random spectators. Especially kids. Sand will get everywhere. I don't think there's anything you can do about that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #5 July 14, 2005 Beaches are looong. Very easy to land on. Just fly along the beach until you get to 100 feet, then just do a gentle turn into the wind and land. Usually a nice breeze to make standup landings a cinch, lots of soft sand if you fall down. Think about floatation gear though. You probably should have something with all that water out there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
br0k3n 0 #6 July 14, 2005 the added bonus with beach landings is that they always come with a swoop pond ----------------------------------------------------------- --+ 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
bob.dino 0 #7 July 14, 2005 And a slalom course around the boat masts . Slightly more seriously: salt water near your gear is a very bad idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #9 July 14, 2005 Beach landings make you sound like less of a whiner when you refuse to wear a weight vest. Think seriously about how you are going to discard your weights if you open too far from shore. Hint: mud flap weight pockets are available for Talons. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #10 July 14, 2005 Just another reason I wear my weights on the outside of my jumpsuit. If I know I'm going to land in water, my weights would be off me so fast. I can always buy another weight belt.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigra 0 #11 July 14, 2005 I was kind of nervous about that when we went to Ixtapa in February. But we had excellent spots on every load, and the landings were soft and easy. The landing direction was always along the shore line (north or south) regardless of wind direction. More often that not we were at least a little crosswind, but it wasn't a problem. My suggestion would be to make your first jump something small and low pressure, open a little high if you can and follow others down. You'll love it, I promise! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveNFlorida 0 #12 July 14, 2005 I saw your post on landings but don't remember how accurate you said you were. Accuracy is VERY important for some beaches. I know when I went to the Key's Boogie we were only supposed to land on a small portion of the beach that was blocked off for us so as not to hit people, trees, etc. It looks small from the air with compare to the water, and it IS small, don't let anyone fool you by saying it isn't. If you are not accurate, just wait on the beach landings. But, to comment, beach swoops rock! -A Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #13 July 14, 2005 You should also be confortable with cross wind landings. Some one posted to turn into the wind at a 100 feet above... Sometimes, that not either possible, no proactical. In Borneo, we were to land along the direction of the beach, with a slight crosswind for exemple.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PesadillaK 1 #14 July 14, 2005 Hi Evelyn: don't worry. Beach landings are great. There is wind, but it does not change direction easily and you can tell well in advance what your landing patter is going to be. Just make sure people in Cabo explain to you the landing pattern, how to recognize the landing zone from above, and any alternate landing areas. Sometimes it looks like your spot was not so good, but you'll find that is very easy to get to the expected landing area, because they adjust the spot to match the wind. In any case, if the wind is really strong there won't be jumps! Just review your water landing instruction and bring water gear to be prepared. The beach might look small from above, but it really is long and wide. I'm sure you won't have any problems.Full Planes and Blue Skies Always! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douva 0 #15 July 14, 2005 QuoteI jump in the desert. I've never done a beach landing. But I am planning to jump at Cabo at the end of the month, and you land on the beach. I saw an aerial view and it was gorgeous, but it was all ocean with a little finger of land. I'm a little nervous. So can you give me some tips for beach landings. I want a full report on skydiving in Cabo. I'm headed there with some friends next month. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
itllclear 1 #16 July 15, 2005 If you plan any jumps with sandals or bare feet, remember that sand can get HOT in the middle of the day. You're all cool after a freefall with the breeze between your toes, and your feet land on the HOT sand! Ouch. Have fun! Harry"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgskydive 0 #17 July 15, 2005 Accuracy is the key here Eve. You must be accurate. If you land in the water all knids of bad things can happen to you. Maybe do a refresher water class with Jim Wallace. Talk to him and have him watch your landings and get his advice Before you do this jump.Dom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evelyn 0 #18 July 15, 2005 QuoteAccuracy is the key here Eve. You must be accurate. If you land in the water all knids of bad things can happen to you. Maybe do a refresher water class with Jim Wallace. Talk to him and have him watch your landings and get his advice Before you do this jump. I'm going to do canopy coaching tomorrow and that is one of the things I'm going to work on is accuracy. And that's a good idea to talk to Jim, so I'll do that too. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #19 July 15, 2005 Yeah, what Dom said. Plus, you need to be able to addapt well to varying winds. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I would consider a Beach landing a demo of some sorts when it comes to level of difficulty (this coming from a non-pro rated guy, so take it for what its worth)Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evelyn 0 #20 July 15, 2005 QuoteYeah, what Dom said. Plus, you need to be able to addapt well to varying winds. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I would consider a Beach landing a demo of some sorts when it comes to level of difficulty (this coming from a non-pro rated guy, so take it for what its worth) When I get there I'm going to check it out, see how the winds are, watch people land, talk to people, and if I don't feel comfortable with conditions I won't jump. Also I'll see how my canopy coaching goes tomorrow. Since it will be hot in Perris there will probably be some variable winds to practice in . Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vdschoor 0 #21 July 15, 2005 Evelyn, I've been to Cabo and that was the first time for me to jump and land on a beach. I'll just warn you.. the first time you open, you're gonna freak out a little bit.. i know I did, but the spots were always great and I always made it back to the landing area. The cool thing about Cabo is that the landing area is at the end of a bay, and jumprun runs "through the middle" of that bay pretty much. There are enough outs everywhere, since the whole beach is your landing area.. and the beach is huge. If you want to see some pics of what it looks like over there, click here I happened to have a camera with me I attached a picture and marked the landing area.. this is what it looks like from the plane. Have fun and be safe!! Iwan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eule 0 #22 July 15, 2005 Disclaimer: I am a complete n00b and still a student; appropriate amounts of salt are advised. A couple of weekends ago, some of the experienced jumpers at the DZ I go to jumped onto a big sandbar in the river. Since I'm still at AFF (mumble), I was ground support, bringing post-jump medical supplies (disinfectant/anaesthetic) down to the sandbar, and providing transportation back to the airport. The sandbar was pretty big, but there was also a driftwood tree trunk lying on it. Fortunately it was far enough downwind that there was plenty of room past it for landings. Myself and the other ground support crew sat on the tree trunk and did quality assurance testing on the medical supplies. The jumpers had scoped out the landing area on foot earlier in the day and therefore knew about the tree trunk, plus we were sitting on it, so they were able to avoid it no problem. It sounds like this beach is a regular landing area, and maybe also used by swimmers, etc, so it may already be relatively clean. Also, if there is some driftwood lying around, it probably won't be as big as a tree trunk. But it's something you might want to think about. EulePLF does not stand for Please Land on Face. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VanillaSkyGirl 6 #23 July 15, 2005 QuoteAccuracy is the key here Eve. I'm going to do canopy coaching tomorrow and that is one of the things I'm going to work on is accuracy. And that's a good idea to talk to Jim, so I'll do that too. Evelyn, listen to Dom and Remi's advice. Remember that just four days ago (7/11th), you wrote this in a post about your last jumps: QuoteBut my accuracy was way off . I can never judge how to compensate for the winds and always end up landing short on windy days. Eve, even if you have canopy coaching, you may not see drastic results in your canopy skills right away. You already know that you need to work on accuracy, and that there is no reason to rush the beach landings. I know how hard you have been working on your canopy skills, and I think that is very safety conscious of you to be getting canopy coaching every few months. Keep doing that, girl! (I also plan to concentrate on improving my canopy skills with coaching when I begin to jump again.) One can never be too safe, right? Good luck, be careful and remember that you can always do the beach jumps on another trip, when your canopy piloting skills are much stronger. Bye for now! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douva 0 #24 July 15, 2005 QuoteI've been to Cabo... Did they provide flotation gear, or did you have to bring your own?I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vdschoor 0 #25 July 15, 2005 QuoteEve, even if you have canopy coaching, you may not see drastic results in your canopy skills right away. You already know that you need to work on accuracy, and that there is no reason to rush the beach landings. Rosa, I'd agree with you here if this was about a boogie or event like that. The staff in Cabo is very good, they even do AFF over there, and the students land on the beach too. If you're not comfortable Evelyn, talk to the staff and explain your situation, maybe bring a radio on the first time out. Have fun.. Iwan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
