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Reporter Kelly Crane takes the plunge - again - for your benefit.
The things I have to do for you, our loyal and trusty readers. You've had me jumping from aeroplanes at 10,000ft, losing the blood flow from my head quicker than I thought possible in a Red Arrow Hawk and now it's throwing myself from a platform, 60m above the Creek, with nothing but a rubber band to catch my fall. And all in the name of journalism!
But just so you know it's safe, possible and the most amount of fun you can have on your own in the sky. The Crane No 1 (me) took on The Crane No 2 — a towering 80m structure on Al Seef Street.
Bungee jumping is taking place as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) activities at the annual night souk which is open daily from 4pm to 2am.
Safe hands
Organised by events company, First Motions, agreeing to have a go puts you in the safe hands of Markko Eklund from Sky Breakers — an extreme sports company from Finland.
So I signed my life away once again on the dotted line, by way of a disclaimer, and took one last look at my opponent which was now hovering above the murky waters of the Dubai Creek.
I'll be honest, at this point I considered interviewing someone who had just done the jump and tried hard to convince myself it would be the same.
Utter fear
But then how would I have possibly been able to explain the utter fear that was running through my veins so quickly I wondered whether I might actually faint?
Next was the harness. A body harness, similar to some kind of giant baby walker was pulled up my legs, wrapped around my tummy and pulled tight (not tight enough I feared as I checked, and checked again, and checked just one last time to make sure).
Two more material-bound harnesses were attached to my legs and it was at this point I really got the feeling of being strung up. Hooks went here, clips went there and three of the Sky Breakers team rallied around checking clasps and tugging on ropes.
But it was the next move which really forced me to reconsider. I'm sure I temporarily went into shock as Markko got into a nice, secure-looking cage and proceeded to close the gate behind him.
"Am I not getting in?" I asked with hope plastered all over my face. "No," he replied, a little too quickly for my
liking.
"You stay on the outside of the cage until we get to the top," he added. "It makes it easier when we get up there. But don't worry, you have a safety rope on."
Oh, well that's OK then I thought… NOT!
What on earth were they thinking was closer to the vile and honest truth that I was just about to be hoisted around 60m in the air simply clinging to the outside of a purple cage. What?
Letting go
But I didn't have time for the panic to really set in as we were up, up and away.
As I started to notice the roofs of the buildings around me, I realised the enormity of what I was about to do.
"The big yellow crane has won," I screamed. "I can't do it. He's the winner and I don't care. I quite like coming in second place anyway. Surely, it's the taking part that counts!"
The sound of Markko's voice calmed me for a second as I realised I wasn't alone. "OK, let go of the cage and on three you fall forwards," he said.
It all seemed so simple and maybe if I hadn't thought about the fact I could see all over Dubai because I was unnaturally standing in the air about to fall off a giant platform into the sky, I may have just done it.
It took until I'm pretty certain that Markko was getting close to just shoving me off (even though pushing clients is strictly prohibited) for me to even manage to lift my arms from the cage.
Free fall
And then I did it. I fell. I felt my tummy get left behind and enjoyed the four-second free fall over the water.
The next thing I remember I was heading back up again as the giant elastic took me back up towards the platform.
And then it was all over — I defeated. The Crane No 2 (not in any kind of style at all I should add) and felt the adrenalin rush through my body from my head to my toes.
It's an experience, a nightmare, a death-wish and loads of fun all rolled into one — what more could you want from a Friday night on the Creek?
Fun jumping facts
A grasshopper can leap over obstacles 500 times its own height.
Dolphins jump to conserve energy. It is much easier to move through the air than through the water.
If a human had the jumping ability of a cat flea, they could jump 200m.
According to fossil records, frogs have been jumping around for 190 million years.
Kangaroos can leap up to 7.6m in the air, but they cannot jump at all if their tail is lifted off the ground.
Atlantic salmon are able to leap 4.5m high.
Kittens can cover about three times their body length per leap.
Rabbits never walk or trot, but always hop or leap. Both rabbits and hares belong to the mammal group lagomorphs, which means "leaping shapes".
Flying fish can stay airborne for up to 100m.
Penguins can jump almost 2m into the air.
The biggest
The Guinness Book of World Records states the highest commercial bungee jump is off of the Bloukrans River Bridge, 40km east of Plettenberg Bay, in South Africa. This jump takes place from a platform below the roadway of the bridge, and the height from the platform to the valley floor is 216m.
-The highest bungee jump from a building ever was recorded on October 5, 1998. AJ Hackett made a record jump of 180.1m from the Sky Tower Casino, Auckland, New Zealand.
-The biggest mass bungee jump recorded happened on September 6, 1998, when 25 people jumped 52m from the Deutsche Bank Headquarters in Germany.
Try it
Bungee jumping will be available every night at Al Seef Street until February 24 and visitors above 15 years of age can have a go between 4pm and 12.30am.
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