Hello, I have been jumping for about 6 years with about 475 jumps and this weekend had a very interesting low point. I Have a conservative canopy Spectre 190. I'm a big girl about 160 lbs and 5' 10". It was late in the afternoon and after a normal 4 way, I was tracking away and dumped at about 2,300 ft and my ditter would show I had a full opening at 1,700 ft. At this point, it all started to turn and turn and set up line twists. I briefly tried to pull the riser apart.. Briefly and realized this was way out of control. Still time is so distorted in crisis and I swear it was briefly, but any time spent fixing this spinning, twisting is a loosing hand. I looked, reached for my cutaway handle, pealed it out and pulled, nothing. I looked again. I cursed for having a red rig with a red cutaway handle. Did I have it right? Yes, I did and pulled again and there was a little give. I'm still spinning Finally, I pulled as hard as I ever did.... Back to free fall and no more spinning...I feel a rush of joy. However, the ground is looking very close. I pull my Reserve and my ornage yellow PD reserve is there. I have a few seconds under canopy. I'm over tress but with a 90 deg turn I'm in a clearing. I land and look up, no trace of my main. Bryan is there is about 3 minutes, But it seems shorter. He has run the DZ truck though about a half mile of fields and wood lot. The sound of his approach is so heartwarming... Skydive Long Island is a great DZ and my friends want to help me and my silly little ass. OK, I get a lift back and I'm surrounded by friends . "Holy S--T" your were spinning so much and we kept wondering when you were you going to chop it... Then we were wondering when you were going to pull the reserve. It was the lowest deployment they had ever seen. About 300 ft. I actually feel OK very, very happy to be alive.. No estatic is the right word. I grab my other rig and grab the next lift... Yeah, it was a four way that sort of worked... But I was back in the saddle. Now I start to look for my main. Everyone points in the right direction. Hey what do I know.. I wasn't looking for my main after the cutaway. I was solving my problem... Dino and I search on an ATV.. We find it but it is about 40 ft up in a tree. We return for ropes, poles, etc. So I grab the DZ truck, Gray, tools, etc and return. We get it down, just as the sunset load takes off... OK what did I learn... alot When you suck it down, you are trading safety for a few seconds of joy... OK, OK the SIMS says 2,000 ft is the hard deck for C's and D's but why get close to the region of time running out. 3,000 ft ain't a bad tradeoff. Surprise that was my normal dump point. It is my dump point again. Second, the spin right at opening was propably caused by a brake line that came lose. My rig is an early Vector and I love it but the brakes are stowed with one line loop and velcro. No pockets to trap the handle, until they are released. Gues what I getting as soon as Mike, my rigger can get to it, new brake stowes. When you get severly twisted lines and they are working there way down to your neck, the tension on the cutaway gets very high. Fast action is essential. Trying to stop the spin and twisting is futile don't hestitate. Look, Peal, PULL..... ....Then pull the reserve Oh. a small point The spin was just fast enough to twist everthing but my decent was slow enough to not fire my Cypress. I pulled and it must have have fired after than . The closing loop on the resrve was in one piece but the cutter was fired...That expains the low opening altitude of my reserve. So When you butt is in the harness, don't allow your your brain to slow down. Luck may shine on you but she may be distracted. I think I learned a little about keeping my ass safer. Any comments? Antonia Gravity
