Above: Photo by Bruno Brokken.
Still feel like stretching your skydiving skills after a busy summer season? Well, how about a trip to southern California in October to meet up with some of your best friends (and most talented skydivers) from around the world to try out new, challenging formations that no one has attempted before? And what would you say to these formations being blindly picked at random from a big, black top hat (you know, the kind rabbits get pulled out of at magic shows)? Well, Abracadabra! Enter the world of P3 The Games with Patrick Passe!
Conditions were ideal for jumping at Skydive Perris from October 9-12, with a bit of chill in the mornings that warmed up to be perfect by midday. Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld and Patrick Passe, event organizers extraordinaire, designed formations that were not for the faint of heart. The formations were intricate; the build sequence and dynamics of the inter movements were exact and required extraordinary focus and detailed attention beginning with the dirt dive through the formation attempt.
Photo by Kristian Caulder.
The first day involved 60 or so jumpers in three Skyvans, with additional jumpers joining for the next three days for jumps from two Twin Otters and two Skyvans. In true P3 style, Brodsky-Chenfeld and Passe consistently challenged the jumpers, at times slotting them to fly in positions that they had rarely experienced. When they created formations with smaller, lighter flyers making up a 16-way base and larger, heavier flyers on the outside (the opposite of the norm), the overall attitude was, “Sure, we can do this!” An amazing crew of camera flyers—Bruno Brokken, Kristian Caulder and Craig O’Brien—expertly captured the action.
Photos by Craig O'Brien.
Every few jumps brought on new formations, and the prevailing attitude was, “What’s next?” from all the eager jumpers. Although the weather was hot, it made the end of the day perfect for relaxing by the pool with a cold drink, celebrating with an extraordinary group of friends, some old, some new! On top of that, Brodsky-Chenfeld was back to jumping with the group after recuperating from a series of hip and shoulder surgeries that, on and off for the past few years, have mostly restrained him to the roles of enthusiastic ground-crew, motivational organizer and formation-creating machine!
It was a truly memorable weekend, full of crazy cool formations, double gainers, backflips, sun, laughter and the infamous margaritas and tacos. The weather was nearly perfect and allowed for more fun than could be hoped to be stuffed into a stretch of four days, much less into one big, black top hat. What will get pulled out of the magic hat next year?
Laura Galdamez D-41824
The Woodlands, Texas
Photo by Bruno Brokken.