Skydive Vancouver Island — Attraction in Area E (Nanoose Bay)

We were vacationing on Vancouver Island a couple of weeks ago and came to Skydive Vancouver Island to do our first ever tandem jump.

We were staying near Victoria but we come from a land where something that is 2 hours away can take you 4 hours to get to in traffic, so we ended up arriving super early. We were met by Allison who was just a bundle of good vibe energy and made us feel comfortable and relaxed as she did our intake. She paired us with Joe and Guilly for our adventure and while Guilly was already assisting someone else safely back to earth, Joe geared us up and got us ready.

We piled into the van and off to the airstrip we went. Now, I’m not a fan of small planes so I was actually more concerned about the flight up in the Cessna than the actual jump itself but our pilot Ben was amazing and the incredible views quickly obliterated any fears.

The thought of this never crossed my mind before we went skydiving but motion sickness is a thing. Thankfully I wasn’t physically sick but I was definitely feeling the effects! Since our jump, I have done a little research and read in an article that if the motion is bothering you, you should communicate this to your instructor and they can help to manage your symptoms; I suppose by the way they control the chute. I don’t know if that’s true but it’s worth a try.

I think next time (because there will definitely be a next time), I will pre-medicate with Gravol because my brain is wired in such a way that, if something is fun to do but makes me feel ill, I will take whatever measures are necessary to build up a tolerance so I can do it ALL. THE. TIME.

That being said, I likely would not have appreciated it at the time but looking back, I’m a little jealous that my husband was somersaulted out of the plane and got to try his hand at controlling the parachute but I didn’t.

I think Skydive Vancouver Island pride themselves on being able to gauge the vibe of their customers so maybe Guilly felt that I was more reserved… or perhaps he just didn’t trust that we wouldn’t end up in Nanaimo, Whistler or Thunder Bay Ontario had he given the reins over to me. I don’t know… but next time Guilly, I want to somersault out of the plane and I want to try my hand at controlling the chute. I will come prepared.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this experience and I have thought about it every day since. I felt completely safe from bottom to top and top to bottom. I want to thank the entire team for making our first jump so memorable and to Guilly… Senna...

I'm truly starting to believe that the Hollywood trope of Skydivers being a close knit group that are very unwelcoming to outsiders is actually accurate.

Skydiving has been a lifelong dream of mine, but has just never worked out for me for one reason or another. From the time I was 6 or 7 and my father was a jumpmaster in Beiseker Ab, I've been fascinated with skydiving, and have always dreamed of getting my AFF certificate. But age, injury, financial priorities and life in general have always gotten in the way. But, still, I love to watch and take photos and live vicariously through others.

Today was my third visit to SVI in Nanaoose Bay over the past few years. Just to visit, watch, absorb and hopefully have someone talk me into making the leap. (pun fully intended) Once, I've visited by myself, and twice, I've gone with my wife and kids, just to observe, take photos and dream.

One thing that has remained consistent through all three visits? Not one person has ever so much as acknowledged my/our presence. Not a hello, not a "Hey, nice to see you, have you considered a jump?" or "hi there! Here's a brochure!". Nothing at all, like we're absolutely invisible.

I've tried a couple times to strike up a conversation with folks around the center, but just got blown off and dismissed. Kinda feels like being the new kid in a new school trying to talk to cliques in the cafeteria, ya know what I mean?

Just feels really, really unfriendly, unwelcoming and like if you're not a paying customer or an established member of the group, you're not worth saying hello to. It's just not a welcoming, friendly vibe. My wife has noticed it, and my kids have noticed it.

If I ever DO get to cross jumping out of a perfectly good airplane off my bucket list, I think I'' head to Victoria or Comox. At the end of the day, I've just never felt welcome at SVI, even as a...

I did my first (and second) tandem jump here yesterday and had an absolutely fabulous experience. There was an accident on the highway to the airport so they were a bit behind on jumps but it was no problem for me. There was plenty of places to sit and watch people land and everyone was sociable and easy to chat with. The confirmation emails all provided warning there could be up to a 2-3 hour wait so I was prepared. Before I knew it it was time for me to get geared up and jump out of a plane! I picked the Pro cam package (selfie cam and a separate jumper filming) but something messed up with the second jumper cam so I was only able to get the selfie cam footage for my first jump. Allison was super great and offered to let me go for a second jump to get the footage! I jumped with Aiden both times and he was awesome. Aiden made me feel prepared to jump and his confidence kept me calm the whole time. I wish I was the kind of person that kept cash on me so I could tip everyone at the end but I didn't even think about it till after... Sorry guys! I'll have to tip double when I come back for the certification course 😉. Thanks so much for the fantastic experience!!!! Would go again in...