French stuntmen performs death defying base jump off the cliffs – PHOTOS

A group of French daredevils wanted more than just afternoon tea and union flag merchandise from their first trip to Britain, so decided to risk their lives BASE jumping off a 1,000ft cliff.

Members of Skyliners, a group of like-minded adrenaline junkies, took death-defying leaps off the cliffs at St John’s Head, Orkney, as well as performed high wire walking acts on some of the island’s most iconic landmarks.

After travelling to Oban in a former fire engine, the group headed to Orkney to demonstrate their fearless prowess for jaw-dropping suspended stunts in mid-air.

Cartwheeling off crags and jumping into the abyss between mountains, the Skyliners have toured the world filming their stunts — from backflipping over the waters in Norway, suspending themselves at nail-biting altitudes over Chamonix’s Mont-Blanc, and spanning the Parisian skyline, hundreds of feet up, on nothing but a highline.
 
The group, who live in different areas of France, came together to drive to Oban where they chartered a yacht and sailed to Orkney.

BASICS OF BASE JUMPING

BASE jumping is an extreme sport in which daredevils leap from a fixed point before using a parachute at the last minute to break their fall.

The word 'BASE' is an acronym of the four bases from which they can leap: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs).
Using Stromness Marina as a base, they sailed out to the various locations to perform their stunts, on the west coast of Orkney, which were captured on film by award-winning documentary maker Seb Montaz.
BASE jumping at St John's Head was never going to be enough for the Skyliners.

They also walked on a highline wire put in place between North Gaulton Castle sea stack and the cliffs.

While at the same stack, which is considerably lower than the cliffs at St John's Head, group member Trancrede Melet performed a base jump into the sea.
The group performed the circus-like stunts with ease, despite being in potential life threatening situations.

Trancrede explained: ‘The remote beauty of the islands makes it the perfect destination, and we're excited to film and push ourselves to attempt jumps and lines which have never been seen before.

He called his experience jumping off the 1000 feet high cliff on Hoy an ‘adrenaline rush’ adding: ‘When you are BASE jumping, no one tells you to jump. You make your own decisions and your own judgements.

The jumps from the to p of St John's Head, to the water below, took only seconds. An eight second drop followed by five to eight seconds in flight, after the parachute opens.

Member Eudeline Melet explained: ‘Being on the stack was very poetic; it was a new experience for us. We try not to do the same thing again and again.’

/dailymail.co.uk/