Carl Boenish

[guest]

Does anyone know when Carl Boenish was born and when he died?
I am putting a little history together and your help would be much appreciated.
Please email me at Cliffhumit@aol.com
Harry

[guest]

I think you may find a couple of photos of him and jean
in the old skies call books printed in the 80's
night base jumps as well.they also did a jump onto
a platue some years back which was on main stream tv
i did bridge day 10 years ago loved it everyone was really
great.ohh to be an american good luck with your search
regards robw

[460]

>Does anyone know when Carl Boenish
>was born and when he
>died?
>I am putting a little history
>together and your help would
>be much appreciated.
>Please email me at Cliffhumit@aol.com
>Harry

Rick Harrison (BASE 38) constantly tells me stories about his jumps with Carl. Consider talking to him or his twin brother
Randy (BASE 36). They know the history.

If not, consider the best source - Jean Boenish.

[Nick]

Hello Harry,

While I don't have the month and day of his birth in front of me, I know Carl began jumping in Lake Elsinore, Ca. in 1966 at the age of 21. That makes the year of his birth 1939. He was killed BASE jumping in 1984.

(Here's a partial list of BASE fatalities I compiled. . .) http://www.baselogic.com/forum/board/13.shtml

It took Carl until 1966 to make a hundred skydives (not uncommon in those days) and this is also the year two policemen from Lake Elsinore, Michael Pelky and some other guy (no one seems to remember who the "other" guy was) drove to Yosemite and jumped El Cap using Paracommanders. (Both were injured badly, but they deserve an A+ for courage).

That event set in motion all that Carl accomplished in later years. At the time (1966) he felt himself too inexperienced for such jumps, but "jumping from objects" never left his mind.

In 1975 Carl filmed Rich Piccirilli and Brian Johnson jumping from a hang glider flown by Jim Hanbury in Yosemite. (Jim Handbury is the rigger who built the first Velcro closed BASE rigs for Carl years later). That trip (Carl's first to the Valley) convinced him foot launched jumps were possible, and more importantly, with the (then) new ram air canopies and the ability to track, repeatable.

Carl suggested the idea to Rich, Brian and Jim for a later expedition, but the stink raised by the Rangers over the hang glider jumps is too much at the time. (This takes nothing away from these guys (who are all true legends) but they were all starting new business' and families and there is endless hassle and large fines involved. Sound familiar?).

This turmoil actually marked the beginning of parachute problems in the Park and the first time the Aerial Delivery regulation was applied to anyone other than hunters. (Back country hunters were being resupplied with ammo, food and water by parachute to extend their time on the hunt).

It took three more years for Carl to put together the first trips to the Valley with the purpose of foot launching parachute jumps from El Cap. The new team consisted of Kent Lane, Mike Sherrin and Ken Gosselin, and that's the order they jumped in. The date is August 8, 1978 and this is the actual birth date of "modern" BASE jumping. (Why we don't celebrate that day every year is beyond me)! I say "modern" as there were many documented one-off type "Stunt" fixed object jumps made throughout the 1900s.

Sorry, Harry, I know you know all this. However, I always feel it needs repeating for the young who go around pretending they invented BASE jumping. :-)

Nick
BASE 194

[guest]

August 8th is coming up. Thanks for the info. This means a lot to the younger generations, of which I am. Tweleve days from now is Christmas, new years, fourth of july and all the rest rolled into one...