Update
MOSSEL BAY NEWS - When Sakhele Tuyakume, then 27 years old, walked into a skydiving club in Grahamstown for the first time, little did he know that he would one day inspire others to "fly with no wings".
In 2003 he was introduced to the sport when he first worked as a manifester at a drop zone; an administrative position responsible for doing the bookings and running the office of a skydiving club.
Soon, however, this charming young man whom colleagues describe as a fun person to have around, a dedicated, focused and caring person, systematically progressed through the ranks. He joined a club in Knysna where he became a packer, taking on the extremely responsible job of ensuring that parachutes are carefully packed and functional and reliable. When that club closed down, he joined the team of Skydive Mossel Bay where soon his potential was spotted by owner Henk van Wyk.
A phenomenal 800 jumps later Sakhele, with Van Wyk's assistance, qualified as a tandem instructor. The Aero Club of South Africa (AeCSA) Transformation and Development section and PASA provided Sakkie with sponsorship to help his progress. He now is one of the tandem instructors responsible for making other people's dreams come true when they trust him enough to steer them safely through the sky to a safe landing.
"Tandem jumping consists of an experienced jumper, called the tandem instructor, and a passenger. The tandem instructor rides on the back and wears a parachute system designed to safely suspend two people. The passenger wears a specially designed harness that attaches in four points to the front of the tandem instructor. A tandem freefall generally lasts between 30 and 45 seconds, followed by a four-minute canopy ride to the ground," the Parachute Association of SA (Pasa) website states.
"Sometimes people are afraid, but mostly when we land they would say the jump far exceeded their expectations," a shy Sakhele told the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
He says he cherishes the opportunity to grow, to gain even more experience and to learn more about the sport as he has now set his sights on becoming a coach to do progression for jumpers who have their A-license and who want to progress to a B-license. Ultimately he is working to become an accelerated freefall (AFF), Pasa qualified instructor.
For now, however, Sakhele says he enjoys the responsibility of the job, which also nowadays sees him supervise the other parachute packers as part of a hectic day's job. That is when he is not taking to the skies to help other people tick off an item on their bucket list.
The best ever experience, he recalls, was his participation in a successful 18-way freefall jump in Botswana in 2017. The scariest, his first ever tandem jump.
This father of six boys has one maxim; if you want something, make the effort!
Read a previous article: Look to the skies!
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