MacDill parachutists hoping to establish world record finish with 103 jumps

Lt. Col. Kristine Gould, center, celebrates with Kirk Knight after she and retired Lt. Col. Harold "Chip" Bowlin, far left, made their record-setting 103rd jump. [KERI WIGINTON, Times]

ZEPHYRHILLS -- Powered by baby food and cranberry juice, two military parachutists hoping to establish a world record for most tandem skydives in one day have finished their high-flying effort with 103 jumps. 

Bowlin, above, and Gould as they make their 103rd jump in less than 24 hours. [Photo by BILLY PORTER] | Bowlin's and Gould's Web site.

 Lt. Col. Kristine Gould and retired Lt. Col. Harold "Chip" Bowlin, who serve on the parachute team of the Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, skydived continuously for more than 20 hours, spectators at Zephyrhills' Skydive City said. They took only a few short breaks to use the restroom, gobble PowerBars and ease their muscles with ibuprofen. Then, it was back on the plane.

"First I thought it was pretty insane. I still think it's pretty insane," said Gould's daughter, Ashley Marquardt, 20. "But they're doing some awesome jumps and I'm really proud."

Gould and Bowlin originally said they would skydive for 24 hours straight but decided to end the stunt early due to fatigue, said drop team assistant Hans Bush. "They're wiped out. They're tired. You've got to balance safety whenever you make a record attempt. It was their call."

Because no one has set a tandem-skydiving record, Bush said Gould and Bowlin will now be in the Guinness World Records.

The parachuting pair planned to begin the stunt at 8 a.m. Tuesday "come rain or shine," but they hadn't planned on the heavy thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes that swept through Pasco County. Gould and Bowlin slept all day, began at 6 p.m. Tuesday and dropped through the night.

"They got more sleep than the rest of us did," Marquardt said.

An army of support crew and spectators worked hard on the ground, switching out pilots, packing parachutes, photographing the drops and inspecting equipment during every 10-minute cycle. Both jumpers are highly trained -- Gould has completed 200 dives and Bowlin about 1,500. Yet a number of factors raised the bar on this unique stunt: the low visibility at night, intermittent cloud cover, and the fatigue that comes with falling 5,000 feet over and over and over.

"I was very careful and critical about this whole endeavor," said Ted Strong, who runs the Orlando parachute designer Strong Enterprises. "They have it together. They've already worked out the what-ifs."

Gould and Bowlin's 103rd and final jump was from more than 12,000 feet up, flanked by 14 other parachutists. Jumpers and crew exchanged hugs and high-fives.

So now, with a record under their parachuting belt, how is the pair celebrating?

With "a good, well-deserved nap," Bush said.

Drew Harwell, Times staff writer

Lt. Col. Kristine Gould, front, and retired Lt. Col. Harold "Chip" Bowlin float down after make their 103rd dive. [KERI WIGINTON | Times]

Comments

[DoneEatin]

So what's the current record?

[Times Editor]

DoneEatin, that's a good question and it took a while to figure it out. Apparently there is no record for this particular feat, so it would be a new entry for the Guiness record-keepers. The post has been updated to reflect that.

[millertime]

There's apparently a "Fastest Text Messaging While Skydiving" world record...