Jumping Into Water
Free falling 25m from Mostar bridge to the water
Recently, I saw this video of a guy jumping from a cliff almost 60m high, and it reminded me how scary it was to jump from "just" a 25m high bridge... Let the story begins.
Back in 2012 during my Balkan trip, I stayed for a short while in Mostar a small town (around 60 000 inhabitants) in Bosnia. In the city centre, you can find the Stari Most (literally "old bridge"), which crosses the Neretva river. The bridge was constructed in the 16th century but was destroyed on November 1993 during the war opposing Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks which started in the middle of 1992, so only just a bit more than 20 years ago. The Croat Force kept the city under siege for about nine months and eventually bombed this old bridge, the relic of the Ottoman Empire. The shelling was pretty intense and the town still bears the marks of the damage done at this time.
Destroyed buildings in the city center
The city could not live without its bridge and soon after the war, it was planned to be rebuilt and finally reopened on July 2004. Since then, not only you can admire this new version of the bridge, which was reconstructed with the same design, the same techniques and the same stones as the original, but you can also jump from it.
Mostar bridge - Bosnia
There is a diving club regulating the activity around the bridge and the members are collecting money to show their skills. Once they get enough money, a diver will stand on the edge, in the middle of the bridge, and jump into water, 25m below.
The professional - Jumping for money
I always liked to jump into the water, I did that almost every summer with my brothers in the south of France, and this jump was looking some kind of doable to me, although being twice as hight as what I was used to.
This act is often considered by people as totally useless, stupid and insanely dangerous. Well, it is a bit the case... But the feelings you have before jumping, while jumping and after having jump are so intense, a mix a fear and adrenaline, that it makes you want to do it one more time.
This was clearly a challenge, to jump from such a high. You have to overcome fear and stay really focus. You need all the concentration you have to visualize the jump and do not get distracted by other elements such as people watching/talking or the wind blowing (which was for me the scariest). Get over the leap, free fall, enter the water... and most important, stay tight.
There is a 10m platform nearby to get prepared for the real deal, and here is how a practice jump looks like:
After you signed up and gave the club some money (yes, you need to pay for jumping), they give you a wetsuit and take you to the middle of the bridge. Some of the divers are also going next to the water to be ready to grab you back to the shore in case something goes wrong. You are now good to go.
And, hop!
I was really scared but I finally made it. Like many others... The first jump recorded was in 2004 when the bridge reopened. I was number 614, and two or three other people jumped the same day (well done Jay, my training partner of the day!) as me. If you do some calculation, there are in average around 6 new divers per month (614 jumps in 155 months).
Call me "Number 614"
They also organize a competition, and you can watch the video under:
I hope you found this post interesting. Do you have any suggestion? leave me a comment!