Manteo couple to attempt to land Guinness World Record for most tandem skydives in a day on Sept. 22

Sven Jseppi (right) and Heather McLay stand in front of a plane before they skydive. (Photo courtesy Sven Jseppi/Skydive OBX)

By Corinne Saunders

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MANTEO — A Manteo couple will attempt to break a skydiving world record at their business location on Monday, Sept. 22, by jumping out of an airplane together over 105 times, approximately every seven minutes from before the sun rises until shortly after sunset.

The public is invited to attend at any point during the day at Skydive OBX, located at 410 Airport Road in Manteo, and to participate in a slate of events held in conjunction with their attempt, including a raffle and free fitness classes.

“We’ll be going from 3:30 in the morning until sunset, so we’ll be there all day,” world champion skydiver Sven Jseppi told Outer Banks Insider over the phone. “If somebody had a minute, you know, throughout their day to swing by, come take a peek real quick. We’ll be jumping every 7 minutes, so I mean, spare 15 minutes, you might see us jump twice.”

Jseppi and his wife Heather McLay will attempt to break the Guinness World Record of the most tandem skydives by an individual in 24 hours—a record that has stood for 14 years, at 105 tandem skydives.

Jseppi will be pilot-in-command with McLay, who has logged over 700 skydives, as his passenger, according to a press release about their attempt.

Originally from Switzerland, Jseppi grew up in Canada. He’s jumped on all seven continents, has logged over 18,500 jumps and has set previous records for taking the most solo jumps in 24 hours, first with 50 jumps and then with 157 jumps.

He holds several Canadian and international records in canopy piloting, the press release said, most notably winning the World Canopy Piloting Championship in 2022.

“Jseppi is a world championship title holder for canopy piloting, a discipline of skydiving where competitors ‘swoop’ over a body of water to measure speed, distance and accuracy,” according to the release.

Sven Jseppi following his championship-winning canopy piloting skydive in 2022. (Photo by Michelle Matte-Stotyn)

“I’ve been skydiving for over 20 years,” Jseppi said in the release. “I want to achieve more than just a high number of jumps. I love the competition aspect of the sport and can’t think of a better partner to achieve this goal with than my wife, Heather.”

McLay also looks forward to taking on the world record.

“It feels amazing to attempt such a large feat at our business that we built together over 10 years ago,” she said in the release.

They launched Skydive OBX in 2011, and over 1,000 people jump with them from April to October annually, according to information from the business.

McLay is from Clearwater, Florida, and the couple met at a drop zone in Florida, according to the release.

“We jump together, travel together and work together,” Jseppi told Outer Banks Insider.

Their draft Sept. 22 schedule puts the couple’s 106th skydive at 7:24 p.m.

“For somebody who doesn’t know what we’re about to do, it seems like a really large undertaking…like having to do a lot of training for it physically…and all this sort of stuff, where that’s just my life,” Jseppi said. “I jump every day.”

Although he acknowledged that he doesn’t jump every few minutes every day, he is undaunted by the challenge.

“I take good care of doing it in a fashion where it doesn’t cause, you know, muscle fatigue or muscle damage—in a way where I can do it repetitively,” he said.

The couple has turned their attempt into a community event, encouraging spectators to come for free but donate if they can to one of two local nonprofits that will have booths onsite: OBX Room In The Inn and the Outer Banks SPCA.

“We’re on our fourth senior chihuahua…We love animals,” Jseppi said. The couple also believes OBX Room In The Inn, which provides temporary overnight housing for adults from November to April, is “a really good project.”

The day will feature collaborations with multiple local businesses, including a 6 p.m. raffle drawing for a wide array of prizes. There will be a sunrise yoga session, an evening CrossFit session and afternoon vendors and live music, according to the event schedule.

For more details, visit the dedicated event page at www.skydiveobx.com/tandem-record/#Vendors or follow Skydive OBX on Instagram or Facebook.

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