Leap of faith |
| | Like so many skysurfers Mark Harris, a | | | | and surfing the waves, participants |
| | slender Cornishman, is addicted to the | | | | jump out of a plane with boards |
| | thrill of the fall. So, despite the deaths | | 35 | | strapped to their feet and surf on the |
| | of two friends in skysurfing accidents, | | | | slipstream. ‘The buzz is phenomenal,’ |
5 | | here he is in a plane climbing over the | | | | says Dr John Carter, medical advisor |
| | Cambridgeshire landscape. | | | | to the British Parachute Association, |
| | Harris jumps and rides the roaring | | | | (BPA), who has completed 40 skyboard |
| | air currents at 120 miles per hour, | | 40 | | jumps. |
| | increasing to 180 mph as he dips the | | | | Yet skysurfing seems not exciting |
10 | | board’s nose down. He decides to try a | | | | enough for some, for even as the |
| | move called a ‘helicopter’, flipping | | | | number of parachutists increase, they |
| | himself upside down, straightening his | | | | seek ever more extreme thrills. |
| | body and spinning, the board on his | | 45 | | [id:48929] , as our extraordinary |
| | feet rotating like chopper blades. | | | | photograph shows, some skysurfers in |
| | | | | | the States jump while inside dinghies, |
| | | | | and others ride convertible cars out of |
| | | | | the back of planes. As the car falls, the |
| | | 50 | | ‘passengers’ clamber out, pulling their |
| | | | | chutes at the last moment. The vehicle |
| | | | | lands with a ground-shaking thud in |
| | | | | the Arizona desert, spewing dust |
| | | | | clouds and leaving a huge crater. |
| | | 55 | | The acrobatics of simple skysurfing |
| | | | | are more elegant, for sure, but also |
| | | | | more breathtaking because, as Mark |
| | | | | Harris knows, it’s easy to get into a |
| | | | | dangerous spin. ‘We all have our hairy |
| | | 60 | | stories, but there’s nothing like seeing |
| | | | | how far you can push your body,’ says |
| | | | | Dave Sturgeon, British skysurfing |
| | | | | champion. |
15 | | Faster and faster he twirls, until he | | | | The extra stresses on the body at |
| | becomes a blur, spinning so savagely | | 65 | | high altitude and the rapid spinning |
| | he can’t stop what he has started. | | | | can take their toll and affect your |
| | Hurtling towards the ground, he has | | | | brain, says Dr Carter. It all depends on |
| | only ten seconds to right himself. A | | | | how long you are up there. If you jump |
20 | | bleep warns him that he must activate | | | | fairly quickly, your brain recovers |
| | his parachute - now! Desperately he | | 70 | | quickly.’ Most sky board jumps start at |
| | stretches up to grab hold of the board, | | | | around 14,000ft. |
| | halting the spin, then he tugs on the | | | | The BPA has the strictest safety |
| | cord of his Icarus Extreme parachute. | | | | regulations in the world. From 1996 to |
25 | | He is jolted upwards and slowed from | | | | 2000, there was an injury rate of only |
| | 120 mph to about ten. Then he touches | | 75 | | 1.5 per thousand jumps in the UK, |
| | down, his heart beating wildly against | | | | mostly minor to medium injuries, such |
| | his chest. ‘Well, I needed another story | | | | as sprained ankles. |
| | to tell in the pub,’ he says ironically. | | | | And residents of Cambridgeshire |
30 | | No extreme sport promises as great | | | | can rest easy that they are safe from |
| | a thrill - or as much danger - as | | 80 | | high-flying cars - the practice is very |
| | skysurfing. A cross between skydiving | | | | tightly controlled in this country. |