Third Annual Wine Country Invitational - Photos by Bryan Harrell

For the third year in a row, Skydive Elsinore’s Wine Country Invitational has grown in size and spirit. With nearly 60 participants for 2004, there was much fun to be had in the air and on the ground. Jack Burke, Doug Forth (Scotty Latinis), and John Hamilton organized challenging dives drawing on all the talent in every group. Strong prep, good vibes, and ok, discipline too, resulted in a lot of successful jumps, and high-quality digital stills taken throughout the weekend by Bryan Harrell, Chris Fiala, and Joel Kiesel. After many debriefs, “Stay in the knife fight, and think light thoughts,” won as the fan-favorite saying of the weekend—thanks, Jack!

People come to this event year after year to put their little big-way skills to the test— turning larger pieces, building delicate shapes, formation loads— and always to enjoy the homegrown vibe that is Elsinore. Even beyond all that, there is the icing on the weekend— the final demo jump into Wilson Creek Winery, and this year was no different. In fact, it was the clearest, crispest view to date with the colder temperatures of November 13-14. The rolling green hills of the Temeculan wine country is a sunset jump for the books— and the logbooks.

Then it was pack-pack-pack and party! Wilson Creek had a full tent completely decked out with dressed tables, a dance floor, and of course a stocked wine bar. During dinner, Pat Newman kept us amused on the big screen with his and Dave Szkeradek’s video footage from the day. Pat and Eric’s two-way into the winery was especially entertaining! Later in the evening, Fiala spun tunes to keep the party going. As always, some partied into the wee hours, while others headed for home early—but either way, everyone ended the weekend with the high we only get from jumping into a winery with 50 of our best friends.