We start the year 2024 with a very special activity. It turns out that the largest Cruise Ship in the World, the “Icon of the Seas”, had a technical visit scheduled to Puerto Rico, prior to its inauguration on January 20, 2024 in the Port of Miami, FL.
The place of stay for the next few days was La Guancha Marine Port in Ponce, which is located near where we make our flights every time we visit the southern area. So, without knowing what to expect, we coordinated the activity, with the idea of seeing if there’s a possibility to fly close to the Cruise.
Kamikaze Pilots and Family Present…
Luis Ruiz and his sons Ian Darrell (with his girlfriend Paola) and Noah Enrique
Darwin Hernandez and his daughter Emily
Deron Freeman, his wife Carla and family
Wilkins Torres, his wife Brenda and son Wilkins Jr.
Pedro Agostini and his girlfriend Nigmy
Edgardo Rivera
Enrique Gonzalez
Jomar Crespo
Luis Antonio Cruz
Randy Tirado
The situation…
The possibility of this fly was coordinated only for experienced pilots who also have reliable flight equipment. We did not want to have any situation near this area and make it to the News, perhaps at international level. The weather was also a factor to consider. The wind was constant at over 18 mph the entire time, and at times rose to 25 mph+. Definitely delicate situations, even for experienced pilots.
Who made the flights?
In the end, the pilots that flew in these conditions were Edgardo, Luis, Ian, Pedro, Enrique, Darwin and Jomar. All with their respective flight experiences, some of which we share below.
Edgardo Rivera – The first to fly in 2024 and didn’t had any problems flying his ultra fast paraglider, Flow RPM2 of 15-meters…
Enrique González – Even though he had a somewhat slow paraglider for the occasion, he managed to be one of the pilots who flew the most during the day. And not only in the direction of the Cruise, but he also ventured to visit Cardona Island with Darwin.
Deron Freeman – He decided not to fly, due to strong winds, but he managed to fly later in the week…
Darwin Hernández – Flew the entire coast that included a visit to the Cruise and a visit to the Island of Cardona.
Jomar Crespo – Like Darwin and Enrique, he was also flying along the entire beach coast.
Pedro Agostini – His personal paraglider could not handle the intensity of the winds in the area. This was solved with an Apco F1 paraglider loaned by Luis Ruiz, so that Pedro could fly with the other pilots in the area.
Ian Darrell – Using his sporty Sky Z-Blade paraglider of 18-meters, he had no problem navigating the entire coast and even doing a few stunts before coming down.
Luis Ruiz – Although he did not fly much, he took advantage of his flight to take a video close to the Cruise that captured attention on social networks. The video that we share below, has already over 220 K views on the TikTok platform, and has been shared by many people.
After the flights, we spent a pleasant afternoon among pilots and being happy to see the La Guancha area in Ponce, full of movement and happiness as in previous years.
Photos…
