One has to admit that the Saint-François Porter can be seen from far way, thanks to its pink colour, sharply contrasting with the blue of the lagoons and the luxuriant green of the land. People come from distant places to see it and most of all, to jump from it... This B2H4 Porter from the Europlane company can take up to 10 skydivers to altitude and will remain there until the end of April. After that, there will be a Cessna 206 for the off-peak period and in October 99, a B2H2 Porter should be there for the beginning of next season. The year to year activity increase in Guadeloupe is certainly one of the most important in the French overseas territories: 350 jumps in 93, 600 in 94, 1 500 in 95, 3 000 in 96 (the first year with full time activity), 9 000 in 97 and 12 000 in 98. This did not happen by chance, all the ingredients for quality skydiving are combined in Saint-Franÿois, with a dream landscape and an ideal climate, a dynamic and capable staff, permanent structures, an adequate number of rental equipment and food on the spot (at the very welcoming Tiki). Blue Sunset is thus the first French school to use BOC pilot chutes for AFF students.
The dropzone started as an association, the Guadeloupe Paraclub, it is now going on as a company. The core of the staff is still the same: Franÿois-Martin Exertier, Joinville Francis, Manu Maiano, Christian Go, and some new faces who joined them, such as, for instance, Tatiana Pinard and Bruno Moulin. ParaMag faithful readers already know the DZ history since we have been regularly following it (see ParaMag n° 107, 118, 122, 130). Displaying the blue lagoons and green islands in front of your eyes seems better than talking about them for a long time, you will then be able make up you mind... Together with the Blue Sunset staff, and in order to do something really out of the ordinary, we have decided to offer you an extra, an uncommon skydiving morning for an uncommon story: 3 jumps in 3 hours over 3 different islands.
------ Marie Galante ------
A journey back in time, there are fewer tourists here than on the other islands, it has remained the same as it was 30 or 40 years ago, it is now a true emblem of the past of the archipelago. This is the place where Christopher Columbus landed during his second trip in 1493 before continuing to the West. The conqueror gave the island the name of one of his ships, the "Maria Galante". With sugar cane plantations, distilleries, oxcarts, windmills, coconut palms and dream beaches, Marie Galante is an island as wild as charming, but the Porter is already waiting for us !
------ Les Saintes ------
It is a piece of heaven, an archipelago among the archipelago, dominated by a series of "mornes" (hills in Creole) and by eroded rocks that shelter delightful beaches. During the day, tourists mill about, landing here for a couple of days. There is a lot to see from Terre de Haut to Terre de Bas: the Napoleon Fort, the Camel (the highest point of the island), the village with fishermen boats and colourful Creole cabins, the many creeks... We have barely enough time to savour a guava juice, we must already go to the briefing since the next island is "not to miss", in every meaning..
------ Petite Terre ------
As suggested by the name (small land in French), it is a small part of land lost in the middle of the sea! There is no room for a spotting error. There is no windsock on the ground, the wind direction is given by the catamarans being at anchor in the middle of the lagoon. The landing area is on the only sandbank of the island, so it is impossible to make a mistake. The open canopies surprise the few tourists who came to spend the day on this almost desert island. Of course, the plane cannot land here and the skydivers had to go back to Saint-Franÿois by boat, the mind full of images and full of joy. This is January, 2nd at 11:30 am and the new year has pretty well started.
In Saint-Franÿois, where the Blue Sunset, school is located, one is already dazzled! However if the following photos make you want to go, be aware that with Blue Sunset, it is also possible to jump over the Désirade, Marie Galante and Les Saintes islands. There is only one condition: the jump tickets must be booked in advance in order to fill all the slots in the plane. For further information, go to the "Bienvenue à Bord" column in your ParaMag issue.