Since Belgium is not that far away, I figured I'd post this here as well!
There is a small group of us (4 so far) from Amsterdam and The Hague that are planning to go to the resort island of Texel for the weekend of September 10-12 for a weekend skydiving get-away. Exact details have not been worked out yet, but it will be a Sunday evening return with either a Friday evening or Saturday morning departure, with the later being more likely. We'd like to welcome others to join us, whether you plan on skydiving or not!! (The island itself has a summer-resort atmosphere and has great cycling and walking trails through dunes and pine forests)
Skydiving Info:
All info is available in English on <a href="http://pct.absolutions.nl" Target="_BLANK">http://pct.absolutions.nl</a>.
I've taken a tandem jump (you do nothing but enjoy the ride with an instructor taking care of business - AN ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS EXPERIENCE), but the other's in the group haven't. This costs 180 euro, requiring minimal training, and the only pre-conditions being that you're in good health and weigh less than 100kg. It costs about 75 euro if you want a cameraman to record your great leap, which includes a VHS video and the roll of film from the still-shots (you develop the film though). There's a special arrangement for groups of 10 or more, so it would be great to get others along for the company and the benefits. In addition to a 10% discount, they make a booking for us so we should know more or less what time we jump - otherwise if you go ad hoc you can wait up to 4 hours for a spot. This is especially the case during this weekend, where part of the attraction will be the sky-diving competition that will also be going on - something fun to watch and great inspiration.
Check out the site for other diving options.
One proviso: the airfield is literally on a(n unpaved) field - so if it rains a lot, there's no jumping. Always a risk in the Netherlands.
Transportation info:
There is a passenger & car ferry (<a href="http://www.teso.nl" Target="_BLANK">http://www.teso.nl</a>) with hourly departures from Den Helder, which is reachable by train. (The train station is about 5km from the ferry terminal). Texel is too large to cover by foot, and it's about 10km form the port to the airfield. You could come by bicycle, or we can car-pool it if there are people with cars willing to offer rides. The return cost of the ferry is:
Car(with passengers) 35.00 euro
Pedestrian 3.00 euro
Bikes 2.50 euro
Accommodation:
Ranges from 15 euro/night if you want to stay in the skydivers hostel, to about 60 euro/night for a reasonable room for 2 with at least breakfast (and sometimes dinner) included.
Organization and Planning:
Coordination and logistics are not my favorite activity, but I'll take the lead in this (BTW -assistance in this is welcome, if anyone would like to volunteer to help). The basic plan though is to get an idea of how many people in total are interested and make bookings by mid-August. So, e-mail me (<a href="mailto:ioannoux@yahoo.com" Target="_BLANK">ioannoux@yahoo.com</a>) with the subject "Skydiving" and the following stats:
-Your name (and the name of others you may bring along)
-the location you'll be coming from
-Whether you intend to jump or just join the group
-Whether you have a car and can offer a ride
-Whether you can attend a "pre-final" booking in Amsterdam on August 12 (Details TBD, according to prospective turnout)
I will post feedback on participation numbers on this board on the next 3 Tuesdays. I will NOT handle money or take care of payments - only coordination of car-pooling & accommodations, and skydiving group reservations. If I can secure a good rate at a nearby hotel I will communicate that back to those interested when it's time to book.
Right, I should really get back to work...