Previous Record - Most sit-down hydrofoil riders towed behind a single boat - 28

How This Epic Thing Went Down

The 2017 Chain of Records event brought together water ski and hydrofoil athletes in Central Florida for a multi-day push to break national and world records across a wide range of tow-sports disciplines. Organized under event director Geno Yauchler, the gathering ran from April 19 through April 23, 2017, using several lakes in the Winter Haven and Auburndale area, including Lake Ariana. Before the event, organizers were already discussing substantially increasing the number of sit-down hydrofoil riders per boat, building on an earlier 24-rider benchmark discussed in the watersports community.

The hydrofoil group made its record attempt on Saturday, April 22, when Chain of Records’ foiling page called riders to assemble at the Lake Ariana Yacht Club with their foils and gear ready by noon. The goal was one of the most visually dramatic challenges of the event: create the largest line of sit-down hydrofoil riders ever towed behind one boat and keep the group together long enough to complete the required distance.

They succeeded. Twenty-eight hydrofoil riders were towed behind a single boat for one nautical mile, or roughly 1.15 miles, setting the Guinness-recognized world record for the category. Later reporting on the event stated that Guinness certified the records from the 2017 Chain of Records gathering in 2018, and Guinness’s current page for the same record title confirms that the 28-rider 2017 mark stood until Chain of Records raised it to 31 riders in 2021.

Contemporary event-side social posts also reflected the result while it was still awaiting formal approval, stating that the final tally was 28 and describing it as a pending USHA and Guinness record. Chain of Records’ own Instagram trail later celebrated the “largest hydrofoil line of 28,” reinforcing that this was one of the featured hydrofoil accomplishments of the 2017 event.

The 28-rider line mattered not only because of its size, but also because of the coordination required. A large group of sit-down foilers had to launch, stabilize, space out, and hold formation while one towboat managed the load, and the line completed the full course. Unlike an individual speed, jump, or flip record, this was a community-scale hydrofoil achievement: dozens of riders turning a shared tow into a record-setting spectacle. It became the direct predecessor to the later 31-rider Chain of Records mark in 2021 and remains an important milestone in the history of large-group sit-down hydrofoil records.