Loving The Danger
I love surfing, me. I won’t go in to why I love it, because 1) there are far too many reasons to list here, enough that an oversized beach towel times one million with one reason on each would not be enough and 2) surely everyone, even if they dislike swimming, can understand why the open ocean is such an alluring place to be?
Now, usually I don’t even consider doing other sports: surfing has always been it for me, and I have never needed to look any further. I don’t watch much TV either. But low and behold the other day I found myself doing both: watching a documentary about base-jumping that seriously blew my mind. It followed two of the UKs most prolific base jumpers, as they considered how long they would continue this lethal sport for.
Base-jumping, for the uninitiated, is when you climb to the top of a massively tall structure – skyscraper or cliff – and chuck yourself off with a parachute. For at least a while you are in free-fall, terrified, before your parachute (unless you are not one of the 1 in 6 who perish in the world’s most dangerously extreme sport) opens and you hopefully survive intact (unless you are one of the unfortunate few who’s chute gets tangled on opening and lands with both legs snapping simultaneously on impact).
There are a lot of unlesses.
Despite all that, It intrigued me as much as the idea of surfing. I’m not saying I am going to do it…but I definitely like the idea of having a go. Who knows? It’s better than being eaten by sharks.
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