These are some of the early BASE Jumping adventures in the UK & Europe during the late 1980’s, 1990’s & early 2000s.
My name is Doug Blane & I am an extreme sports photographer who worked with a number of BASE Jumping teams during the early years. These included the famous BASE Jump by Russell Powell (BASE#230) inside Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, the first ever BASE Jump off Canary Wharf Tower, London, by Mark Scott (BASE#165 / Australian BASE#13 / South African BASE #1) & BASE Jumping naked off all four classical BASE Jumping objects in the UK by “Rupert” (UK Naked BASE#1).
BASE is an acronym meaning Building, Antenna (aerial), Span (bridge, dam etc), Earth (Cliff). These are the four objects to parachute from in order to qualify as a BASE jumper. BASE jumping is the extreme sport of “object relative parachuting” and is the final frontier in parachuting.
A regular phrase used by BASE jumpers sums up their obsession: “How low can you go?”.
BASE jumping is not actually illegal in Great Britain, but is frowned upon by the British Parachute Association (BPA).
In the early years, BASE jumpers tended not to want their names known by the general public, the BPA or the police, so they used their BASE Numbers as a way of getting recognition for the jumps while keeping their identity hidden
These are my memories of the events that happened from my perspective only. The other team members will have their own memories & perspectives on these events & I appreciate that their views may differ from mine.
BASE Jumping adventures 