Current Record - Highest big-air height on a sit-down hydrofoil (unassisted)

The Story Behind the Record

When Billy Rossini submitted his Guinness World Records attempt, he initially proposed measuring the jump height through frame counting. Guinness, however, did not feel there was sufficient historical data or validation to accept that method. Instead, the team brought in a professional survey company. Using triangulation and filming from a fixed dock roughly 20 feet above the water, they worked to reduce visual distortion and produce a measurement Guinness could stand behind.

The official attempt was not easy to dial in. Rossini used a kicker boat for the first five runs, but the timing proved difficult to perfect within the short setup window. For the final five attempts, the team switched approaches, towing him at approximately 30-32 mph on an 85-foot line. On one of those runs, Rossini launched to just over 23 feet, securing the recognized world record.

But the wildest jump of the weekend came the day before the official attempt. During the safety meeting and practice session, Rossini charged at the kicker boat, a 32-foot Sea Ray, and went absolutely ballistic. The survey crew recorded that the practice jump was at roughly 30-31 feet. It would have been far higher than the official mark, but Rossini over-rotated on the landing, was knocked unconscious, had the wind knocked out of him, and woke up back in the boat. Because it happened during practice and was not a completed official record attempt, it could not count. Still, after taking a crash like that, returning the next day to post a Guinness-recognized 23-foot jump was a record-setting performance with a story all its own.