Save Stories – Caroline O’Hagen (UK)

Skydiving has changed a lot over the years, but one of the most remarkable things about out sport is that people who started jumping in former days and previous ways are still active among us, and can be met on the dropzone and seen in the sky. It is always a huge privilege to interact with and learn from skydivers who began on a round parachute in the days before the CYPRES – and especially so when one such person is saved by their unit much later…

Gosh That Was Quite Uncomfortable

“I started skydiving in 1972. I don’t jump much these days because I work in India for nine months of the year and there isn’t a dropzone nearby. I only did one jump last year while I was in the UK, which is normally from around late June until early September. This Summer I was looking to make up for some lost time, so had arranged to meet a friend for some formation skydiving.

On the jump in question, the freefall went fine and we achieved everything we set out to do. On deployment I had what I thought must have been a line over. The parachute was asymmetrical and the slider was asymmetrical, and I didn’t like the look of it. It was not rotating but I thought it might, and I had some line twists.

Once I had kicked out of the twists, I cut away. My left shoulder isn’t as strong as it used to be so likely I used both hands to perform my emergency procedures. I remember thinking that my reserve was taking a long time to come out, so began checking that I had actually pulled my reserve handle properly. I don’t have an RSL and couldn’t locate my second handle by sliding my hand down my harness, so had a quick thought about how I might be going to die.

My reserve opened quite dramatically, and I remember thinking gosh that was quite uncomfortable, but I was glad to see it. I had a short ride under my reserve, but was miles from the packing area, so I had quite a long trek home (Salisbury Plain is a huge military training area.”

Your Parachute is on a Cow

“After a bit of embarrassing talk with the chief instructor, I headed back out to look for my main and freebag. Someone asked me if I had put my reserve handle back in the harness after landing, but I think I had not actually got it out of the pocket. These days I often do things more slowly, and my reactions are not perhaps as fast as they used to be.

The acting chief instructor told me where he though my parachute had landed, which was out by a big water bowser used for the cows. They said there was a bull out in the field, but he seemed quite well behaved so I wasn’t too worried about it. They are quite beautiful cows actually, a rare breed with black ears and noses called White Park Cattle.

The guard room staff (Netheravon is a military and civilian dropzone) said that they had seen my canopy on top of a cow. I think they had come across it on the grass and then played with it, throwing it around with their horns and walking over it. Anyway, it was a complete mess. I was thinking about taking it back to India to give to my paramotoring friend as patches for his canopy or to someone with a sewing machine to make clothes. I washed it endlessly in the bath, but it still stank, so this week I put it in the bin.

I have had five malfunctions since 1972, with a few of them on round parachutes. I don’t jump that much and so keep notes which I use to remind myself about packing. I am now nearly 80 so things like this help me to stay switched on.”

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A great thing about skydiving is that should we want to, we can keep doing it for a long time. All of the things we need to successfully navigate the sport are designed to support us along the way – be that the safety apparatus of the dropzone, our skills and experience, or the equipment we apply.