There was something noticeably different about the December 27-January 1 Invasion boogie at Skydive Sebastian in Florida this year: the weather! It was phenomenal. With temperatures in the 80s, it was easy to forget it was the middle of winter. Of course, it wouldn’t be Sebastian if there wasn’t at least one minor cloud hold, but the weather gods got that out of the way on the morning of the first day. And the organizers made the most of the short hold by providing seminars in the packing area.

The event offered something for everyone, so all the attendees had a great time. Activities included head-down and big-way camps for experienced jumpers, skills camps for novices, novelty jumps for those wanting to do something fun and different and Alter Ego Fastrax canopy courses for those wanting to dial in their canopy skills. Vertical formation skydiving team SDC Core and local organizers led freefly, head-up and angle-flying skills camps that gave participants opportunities to work on docking, levels and safe breakoff procedures. Formation skydiving team SDC Rhythm XP hosted 8-way and big-way camps, while Lauren Byrd from the Women’s Skydiving Leadership Network led a coed skills camp that provided jumpers an opportunity to improve their belly skills.

More than 250 skydivers from around the world attended and made more than 2,700 skydives from two Twin Otters, a Caravan, a CASA and a Sikorsky helicopter. High-altitude jumps were, as always, a big hit. Robert Kraft led the nightly activities (which included the very entertaining eating contest), and the hot tub was very popular despite the warm weather.

Karen Woolem | D-32973
Vero Beach, Florida