july-2012

Above: Many jump styles are possible, whether freefalling in formation as here or performing individual aerobatics Below: A soft landing made on the African sand
This is the price tag for a place on one of his forthcoming
jaunts, the all-inclusive Gambian Beach Boogie, a series of
African sky-diving holidays scheduled to take place towards the
end of this year and the beginning of next.
Passe began parachuting 35 years ago and has seen the sport
change over the decades, from participants simply falling
forward onto their fronts as they accelerate up to speeds of
200kmph, through to more innovative jumpers who, in the
nineties and over the last decade, began to try newer “freestyle”
moves and brought surfboards up with them to “ride” on the air.
Passe, and his Belgian business partner Ronnie Limborg, took
part in the world record-breaking freefall formation jump in
Thailand back in 2006, when they were among some 400
jumpers who leapt into the sky simultaneously. Having tried all
styles and parachuted across the globe, he believes The Gambia
is the perfect environment for his breaks.
brussels airlines b.spirit! magazine jul-aug
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“It’s a small country, and there’s not a lot of air traffic, and a
river runs through it,” he says, “and so it’s fun for aviation.”
He’s also especially pleased to have found good accommodation,
right next to their drop zone. Passe’s guests will be staying at the
Senegambia Beach Hotel, one the country’s largest and most
comfortable hotels.
“We needed to find a beach where you can land, a restaurant
to hang out in, a place where you can pack the parachutes,” he
explains, adding that the Senegambia had it all.
They plan to book out around 80 rooms for their hundred or
so guests. Some will be experienced, pulling group jumps and
freestyle tricks, yet Passe and his team say they can turn a firsttime
jumper into a solo freefaller in six or so goes. Initially,
newcomers jump strapped to an instructor. Yet once they’ve
overcome their inexperience, they’re welcome to jump simply
accompanied by, although not attached to, their tutor.
He never forces nervous jumpers out of the plane, and Passe
knows more or less exactly what is likely to go through the mind
of a first-time skydiver.
“When the person first arrives on the drop zone, prior to their
jump, their excitement is stronger than their fear,” he explains.
“Once in the aircraft, the fear grows. When the doors open, and
the wind is in the craft, and the person is in the frame of the
door, he can get a little confused. But then later, two or three
seconds into freefall, once they’re feeling the air on their belly
and they can see the smiles of their instructor, all the fear is gone
and the excitement is back.”
And this winter, 4,000 metres above the Gambian coastline,
excitement should be riding particularly high.
skydivediscovery.com
Brussels Airlines flies to Banjul four times weekly