CHARLEVOIX — The oldest male to skydive in a wingsuit, according to the Guinness World Record, was Thomas Conner, who was 67 when he jumped.
Not anymore, according to Don Watkins.
On Thursday, the 77-year-old Elk Rapids resident says he broke that record.
Conner “did one wingsuit flight and was awarded the Guinness Record,” Watkins said, chuckling. “I do at least 40 a year, so this is an atrocity that’s not going to stand.”
The Guinness folks will need to corroborate it, of course. But Watkins made sure to follow the rules and document the jump, something he’s been doing since he started skydiving to bond with his son after he came back from college.
“He looked bored, and my kids learned: Don’t let Dad know you’re bored because we’re going to go jump off the high board at the YMCA or whatever,” he said. “A normal solution would have been to go scuba diving, but it was April; the water was cold. So we said, ‘Let’s take up skydiving.’”
Although his son has now graduated and moved out West, Watkins said he “caught the bug.”
He said he jumps out of the plane 40 times a year now and has dived at least a total of 500 times.
“It’s fun,” he said. “You feel like you’re an F-15 jet fighter. You fly all over the sky and, if you can flock with friends, as we call it, it’s just a great experience.”
Although Watkins skydived Thursday – along with several more times after he turned 67 – documentation of the record-breaking jump was what he needed to become the record-holder.
Not only did he need witnesses, but he also needed a police officer, an attorney, or a government official.
James Snider is a deputy sheriff at the Schoolcraft County Sheriff’s Office. He also skydives with Watkins. Snider said this record-breaking plan has been in the works for several months now.
“(Watkins) has put a lot of work into this. There’s a lot of documentation, a lot of other things that go into this,” Snider said. “It’s going to make it that much more special – considering how hard he’s worked.”
Snider said the process of record-breaking includes witnesses, correspondence with the Guinness World Records, equipment certification, photography documentation and video.
Another witness who was there was Nancy Wonch. She is an attorney and she was there to verify the action of the jump and the documentation for his age.
Wonch actually volunteered to be a witness after Watkins announced that he was doing the jump. Both of them are members of the same Rotary Club in Elk Rapids.
Wonch said this record-breaking event was a great way to represent the Rotary Club.
“I think it’s an excellent way to do two things,” she said. “No. 1: Identify that someone who is 77 years old can still be capable of doing something as active as wing walking and skydiving.
“The second thing is that it’s a great way to raise money for charity.”
In addition to breaking the record, Watkins is raising money for the Prytula Foundation. The foundation provides humanitarian aid to conflict areas in Ukraine.
“They go into conflict areas, find out what communities want, and then try to address that need,” Watkins said.
He said they have raised more than $4,500 for that foundation so far.
