By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas appears set to have its first licensed skydiving operation after a Grand Bahama company conducted a successful demo dive under the watchful eyes of the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) yesterday.

Skydive The Bahamas conducted two safety jumps from 10,000ft that landed shortly after noon at Taino Beach in front of the Stoned Crab Restaurant.

Brian Strong, co-owner of the company, said the CAAB indicated it would sign the “authorisation to give us a permanent licence here in Freeport, Bahamas”.

“CAAB said everything went as perfectly as was planned. It was safe and secure,” he added.

CAAB officials Delvin Major and Chavez Thomas and the Grand Bahama Port Authority representatives witnessed the dives.

Jumps also will be conducted today, with donations from participants going to the Grand Bahama Children’s Home, according to the company.

Mr Strong said his company has been pursuing approvals for ten months and has worked on the project for over two years.

Bahamians Olivia Pages, the owner of Stoned Crab, and Ricardo Pierre said their skydiving experience was exhilarating. Their descent lasted about seven minutes.

“You see the whole island,” said Ms Pages. “You see the beautiful colours, the turquoise waters, the canals, and the houses, and then landing here was amazing.”

 “The simulation has nothing on the real thing,” Mr Pierre added. “It was a new experience.”

 “I am turning 30, so I knocked that off the bucket list early.”

 Mr Strong, who owns and operates a skydive operation in the US, said his company has been operating for 29 years and has a good safety record. He said experienced tandem instructors are a part of the team, including co-owner Jon Hartley, who has done 19,000 jumps, and Christopher Dunbar, who has just under 7,000.

 “The only incident we had was when an experienced skydiver passed away from something that was neglect,” he said. “We never had any deaths other than that. We have a very good safety record.”

 The company hopes to offer dives at various areas on the island and to conduct 10 jumps a day.

 According to the company’s website, a jump costs $599.