Red Bull No Limits New Years Eve Jump

On New Year's Eve, my twins Alan and Diana and I went down to Seaport Village to see the jumps. They had erected an elevated, fenced in runway, about a 1/4 mile long. It included a steep drop-off at the start, to help them build speed, and about 50 yards of take-off ramp at the end to shoot them over a span of about 100 yards of water, the entrance to the Marina. Then there was a humongous landing ramp on the other side. There was a crowd of spectators, but not a huge crowd-maybe 2,000. We got a good spot, opposite the very end of the take-off ramp, about 20 yards to the west of it. There was heavy fog in the area, from our arrival at 7:30 till 8:30, when it cleared up. After a few run-ups by both Robbie Maddison (on the bike, a Yamaha) and Levi LaValle (on the snowmobile, a Polaris), the actual jump took place, a little after 9PM. As they approached it was obvious by their speed that they were going for it this time. I mainly followed the flight of the bike. He flew higher than the sled and made a very definite flight attitude correction at the apex of his flight, to come in for the landing. This guy is used to flying. The video by Alan is good because it captures the take off, which the ESPN coverage did not. If you ever get the chance to witness a big jump in person, do it, because TV can't do it justice. - Mark