Nervous tension and massive smiles as 104 skydive for a good cause
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Get a thrill with these adventure activities in Nelson Tasman
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Monday, 15 February 2021, 1:16 pm
This past weekend on Saturday 13th of February Steve
Gregor and Brent Findlay successfully completed 120 skydives
each simultaneously in a single day, smashing a 22-year-old
NZ record in the process.
The Hundred Jump Project was
first attempted in 2018 but was cancelled due to dangerous
Canterbury weather conditions. This time around the project
was moved to Skydive Abel Tasman where Motueka proved why
it’s the sunshine capital of New Zealand providing
absolutely perfect conditions for the record
attempt.
The first load took off right on sunrise at
6:35am and utilising a perfectly orchestrated and rehearsed
jump/swap rigs/repeat method the pair achieved an average of
”I said to my friend, what do you think it would take to get into triple digits?” It took three years of planning and paperwork. With the attempt doable only at a closed airport, finding a site was “almost impossible”. But Skydive Abel Tasman and Inflite New Zealand helped them get “the big tick to close Motueka Airport to traffic on the day, Gregor said. A 50-strong support team included pilots, parachute packers, safety officers, caterers and a paramedic.
Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
Brent Findlay and Steve Gregor had a support team of 50, including caterers, safety officers, pilots and a paramedic.