What is a Tandem Skydive?

Very little preparation is needed for a tandem skydive - they are convenient and fairly well priced if you just want a sample of the sport - you are simply strapped to an instructor and they do the hard work. The cost is in the region of £220 or £300 with video.

Perhaps a better option than a tandem is an AFF level 1 jump - it costs around £350 but you are taught to skydive, it counts towards progression (you can continue if you wish) and you jump out of the plane with two extremely experienced instructors. In terms of value for money, this option is exponentially better.

[oldcollegecoed]

As a certified open water diver, there is no way in hell that I’d ever enter an underwater cave. But, I experienced potential crisis while diving not long after I was certified which made me realize how much worse everything is underwater. Unbeknownst to me, the mouthpiece of the regulator I’d rented was defective, and during a group dive at a massive lake, about 25’ down, my mouth suddenly filled with lake water, while my mouthpiece seemed to fall apart, and I completely panicked. When I say panicked, I mean I experienced the absolute worst fear I’d ever had! I can’t even describe it, because when I realized what was happening, I only remember feeling and hearing my heart beating insanely fast. The next thing I remember is desperately needing to breath and hightailing it straight up to the surface. Just as my chest feels like it’s going to explode, I feel my dive partner grab my leg and drag me back down, and I am PISSED! He finally gets me to the bottom and gives my shoulders a good shake and motions me to try to clear my regulator. That’s when he understands my problem & hands me his air and heads to the surface with me. me back down, got my attention, helped me to clear my mouth, and then accompanied me up to the surface sharing his air. Although this may not seem like a major life threatening event for many divers, I was pretty new to Scuba, and it terrified me. But I was determined to keep diving and decided to make myself go right back down once my regulator was replaced. Honestly, my hands were still shaking as we headed down again, but I’m so glad I did because I have been able to have experience the most uniquely beautiful and enthralling places of my life. I was 40 when I had my regulator issue, and I’d had more than my fair share of shockingly scary things, but any fear I experienced on land was just a slight shudder compared to what I experienced diving. The reality is that no matter how comfortable you may be underwater, it is still a foreign unlivable world where a minor problem can kill you within seconds. When you add the enclosed, unknown spaces and complete darkness of caves, I am out. Call me a wimp, a wienie, whatever, because the very idea of experiencing the same malfunction in a dark cave tunnel, where I’m unable to navigate to safety or share oxygen is completely horrifying. No way in hell!