BASE Jumping, No Experience Necessary

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Tandem Base Goes Worldwide for the world’s first Tandem Building Jump

Posted by Sean Chuma on Sunday, September 22, 2013 ·


On Saturday Sept 21st, in Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia, Tandem Base Master Sean Chuma took passenger Rudy Anoi, Sibu Executive of the Sarawak Tourism Board, on the World’s first Tandem Base Jump off of a building. The two leaped off of the Sanyan Building above Sibu’s town square. The building stands almost 400 ft tall. Instructor Sean Chuma reports that the building was challenging due to the inability to achieve a good amount of separation from the building. Chuma has done over 240 Tandem Base jumps and basically wrote the book on the activity. Most Tandem base jumps have been off of bridges. It is far safer to perform the Tandems off of a bridge that will allow room in case the parachute happens to open facing the wrong way. If the parachute were to open 180 degrees toward the building, Chuma would have to turn the canopy away very quickly to avoid striking the object. He intends to keep the activity safe so the non base jumping world can have a peek into the world of BASE Jumping.
The City of Sibu is very proud to be the home of this historical jump. This is also a historical event for the sport of Base jumping, and Chuma is proud to be able to share this unique and amazing sport with the World.


Pre-jump interviews.


Tandem Base: Twin Falls, Id: Extreme Sports, Base Jumping
http://tandembase.com/

http://www.seanchuma.com/

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No Limits: Quadriplegic Tandem BASE Jump
By KMVT News

Story Created: Apr 30, 2015 at 3:13 PM MDT

Story Updated: May 1, 2015 at 8:22 AM MDT
Twin Falls, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KSVT-TV ) - Skydiving is a sport that tests the limits of what is possible.

But it's also a dangerous one that has risks involved.
Pete Bonser was injured in a skydiving accident in 2004.
Now, eleven years later, he is continuing to do the extreme sports he loves, just in a different way.

At the start of April 18th, Pete Bonser calmly said, "let's go have fun."
That day he was preparing for a jump at the Perrine Bridge, but this leap of faith was unlike any other.

Owner of Tandem BASE Sean Chuma explained, "he's a quadriplegic so he can't move his arms or legs. I met his friend Jake and Jake found out that I did tandem BASE jumps and he asked if I could take Pete on a tandem BASE jump and then we set a date and started figuring out what equipment I needed."

While most of his jumps were skydives, Bonser is no stranger to BASE jumps. He explained, "I've done five jumps already, previous to my accident. So I'm looking forward to getting back off the bridge."
But in order for this jump to happen, a lot of different elements needed to fall into place.

Chuma noted, "since he can't stand on his feet, I’ll go from a sitting position and stand up onto my own legs and then jump off the bridge. I have these leg restraints that put his legs up. We’ve got medical people here and a way to carry him out and boats and a lot of little pieces that are really important to make this happen."

The day also brought together two strangers who have a lot in common.

Lonnie Bissonnette was injured during a jump the same year as Bonser, but doesn't let that stop him from continuing to enjoy the sport.
Said Bissonnette, "as soon as Sean told me what was happening I said I need to be here in some capacity because I know both sides of the sport, the disability side as well as the jumping side, so I felt I needed to be here. It's actually hard to talk about because I'm getting emotional thinking about it, how it's going to feel, because I know what Pete's going through and I know how it's going to feel when he is out in the air again."

But despite all of the thought and planning that went into the jump, Bonser’s demeanor was calm.
He explained he was feeling, "Stoked. I'm just excited. Ready to get the day started."
The first ever quadriplegic BASE jump was a success, and perhaps the start of something new.

Chuma explained, "we've got bigger plans. The whole idea behind this is I want to do this and perfect it and I want to be able to share the sport of BASE jumping with people that are like that, paralyzed or terminally ill, and share how special of a sport it is."
Bonser said his goal is to “be some inspiration. For people to go out there and try new things and do new things."
If you would like more information about Sean Chuma's mission, visit www.tandembase.com.