Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I’ve always been something of an ‘adrenaline junkie’. Whether it’s careening around the Gulf Sea on a powerful aquatic machine or bungee jumping from 80m in Thailand, you’ll usually find me scaring the wits out of my panicking mother.
However, one thing on my bucket list that I’ve never had the chance to tick off is skydiving. Now, thanks to Gravity Indoor Skydiving in Sakhir, just down the road from the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), I’ve had the chance to sample the thrilling experience of what it feels like to jump out of a plane thanks to the world’s tallest vertical wind tunnel.
The centre, which opened in November, is already proving a runaway hit with a populace that has been crying out for something adventurous and fun to do on the island. And it’s easy to see why!
Arriving at the glistening location, I was greeted warmly by the team, and was quickly assembled into a group by instructor Garth Lewis and handed my gear: a fetching jumpsuit, a helmet and goggles.
I had some company alongside me, in the form of Editor Stan’s son Little Stan, and his pals Luke Williamson and Daniel Thornley. They enjoyed climbing over a Cessna parked outside to get into the flying mood.
An essential pre-flight briefing followed which involved having to sit through a 10-minute safety video, which is very important but also torturous when you can see the wind tunnel just outside the door inviting you to step inside!
Finally, we marched towards our destination with giddy excitement.
Sitting inside the cubicle waiting to enter the 12m-by-4.3m tunnel, I was told that I’d drawn the proverbial short straw and would be last of the group to try. I’d rather have got my first of the two one-minute flights out of the way early rather than try and follow those before me!
Sure enough, the weightless wonders that were Stan, Luke and Daniel glided effortlessly in the chamber, with their backs arched and chins up just as they were instructed. Instructor Garth occasionally stepped in to help, but I feel almost apologetic for what was about to happen.
Never the most graceful of individuals, my first sojourn into the chamber resulted in me battling to find my balance against the 290kmph wind. Forget flying like Superman, I was more like Spiderman as I grabbed at walls and careened into the glass desperately trying to remember all of the tips I’d been told beforehand!
Luckily, my second flight went a little better and Garth allowed me to do more of my own thing rather than manhandling me like a gruff bouncer trying to keep me on the straight and narrow! I even got the chance to go on a ‘twist’ flight up to the top of the chamber and get an even more authentic feeling.
It’s so difficult to arch your back and keep your head up while being buffeted by such strong winds, the moment you fix your mind on trying to correct one body positional error, something else goes amiss! However, it’s incredibly fun and I was left wanting much more.
Just to add insult to injury, once we’d all finished Garth stepped in for a quick 30-second acrobatic show including flips, somersaults and tricks. I watched on with a mixture of tongue-in-cheek resentment and sincere admiration, talk about showing how it’s done!
Afterwards, I spoke to him about how he landed his dream job and how he is doing his part to increase awareness of the pastime in the kingdom. The native South African said: “I started out as a network administrator working in the UK, bored out of my mind doing the traditional ‘nine-to-five’ routine. Then I got into skydiving five years ago and the passion grew and grew.
“I then managed to find a job at a wind tunnel two years ago, and when chief instructor Gary Sweeney asked me to join Gravity in Bahrain, I jumped at the chance to join the team. It’s the cliché story of following a dream, but it’s true! Now I do this all day, every day and I can’t get enough of it.”
As well as instructing skydiving enthusiasts in the tunnel, Garth makes sure to get plenty of practice in himself as he trains to enter regional and international competitions.
He explained: “All the staff here get to progress as a flyer personally, we have our own training time where we can push the limits of what we personally do.
“The competition scene is growing majorly, and one of the main reasons I came here was because I felt that my chances of reaching my goal of entering and even winning them will improve. Gravity has done lots for me to try and achieve that, so I hope to represent it in future.
“Bahrain has been epic, I’ve found the people to be really friendly and accommodating and the reaction has been great. It’s gaining momentum all the time.
“One of the best parts of this job is seeing someone’s face who has never seen this before. Sometimes I take it for granted and forget, but then I see someone standing there in awe and it takes me back to when I first saw a person flying in a wind tunnel. I was that guy, and now I’m the one on the other side of the glass.”
As for me, my day started with a smile outside the glass, gritted teeth inside it, and then a beaming smile afterwards. To be fair, this was my first time trying something like this, so I can put my lack of grace to being an amateur. I won’t be able to use the same excuse again though, so perhaps it’s time to book in for some yoga lessons so that I can flex more than a breadstick next time!
Gravity Indoor Skydiving is a project of the Samhaan Holding Company and offers a range of packages for prospective flyers. These start from BD19.500 for two one-minute flights for one person, and go up to BD500 for the ‘Boogie Time” package, which offers two one-minute flights for 15 people.
Opening times are 10am-10pm Sunday to Wednesday, and 10am-11pm Thursday to Saturday. For more information, email info@gravitybah.com or call 13100000.
