Close to 100 Kiwi skydivers thoroughly enjoyed the second and even better "Good Vibes" Boogie, run by Skydive Abel Tasman in sunny Motueka over 15-17 August 2003. The forecast was for nationwide clag that weekend; but not in Motueka! From midday Friday to end Sunday blue skies and low winds dominated, with just a couple of short weather holds. This allowed everyone to jump their hearts out over the 3 days with close to 100 loads from the Skydive Abel Tasman turbine Fletcher and - visiting from Skydive Auckland - the Pilatus Porter! Both jump ships took 8 jumpers to 13,000 feet for a flat rate of NZ$35 each, though the Fletcher was a bit faster to altitude than the Porter. Excellent scenery over the hills, beaches and oceans, and it wasn't that cold- at least, not all the time. Suffice to say the skydivers from small Cessna-dependent DZs were thoroughly spoiled, and several larger RW and freefly loads were attempted. These included many successful formation 4, 8 and 16-ways. Among the funniest jumps caught on camera was the 'Superman', by guys all wearing the required red undies, and a couple of formation 'Rodeo' dives. Several tube jumps were made by the freeflyers, and a tracking chase with smoke and flour trails provided spectacular visuals. Special mention must be made of the very successful training camp subsidised by the NZPF, offering RW and Freefly coaching skydives - with video - at the bargain rate of just $10 extra per slot. Thanks to the NZ 4-Way and Freefly Champion coaches and camera-flyers who freely dedicated their time to these jumps. A lot of locals lined the airfield fence to watch jumping over the weekend, and were treated to the sight of several swoop landings....and some not quite so good. Excellent safety during the boogie however; one malfunction, no injuries and no close calls. Big thanks must go to Skydive Abel Tasman for their great efforts in organising the event and all the registration extras - including t-shirts, BBQs, prize draws and copious free supplies of Mac's lager at the end of the boogie! NZ Aerosports and Cloud 9 Skydiving were both offering demo flights on their respective canopy ranges, and kindly sponsored goodies for jumpers. So if you weren't there - you missed out – big time! If you were there, see you again next year!
