Shannon had that edition of the mag in his hand and Billy was right there with us, so I put two and two together and asked Billy for the scoop on this infamous pic.

Here is the scoop. Bill was doing tow ups while out there.
But.... he was also jumping HUGE with his 10.5 in 30 to 35 knots and getting anextra rocket boost from a strong thermal updraft.
So, Billy doesn't even know for sure what particular moment in time that photo captures.

I asked him if he felt like he hit any 70 foot jumps while out there and if the picture is even possible without a towup.
He said yes that he did hit several monster jumps, and was certain a few hit 70 feet.

So, it seems to me this might be a picture of an non tow up jump.
If anyone can do, it's Bill. I have never known him to exaggerate, so it's probably the real deal caught on film.

He went on to say his absolute highest jump ever was at P.A.G behind Shell Island with only 2 older people as spectators. He said the jump was so high, he immediately stopped kiting for the day and called it quits.
That must have been high if Billy actually decided to hop off the water.

Oh, he told some more funny stories to us as well (as usual). One about being sucked under the skyway as a newbie.

Favorite story quote - "Hell no! I've watched shark week on the Discovery Channel, I wasn't gonna swim in!"
Second favorite quote - "Definitely don't piss yourself".

If Billy was the worst kiter in town, he'd still be one of my favorites, no doubt.
He earned my respect the first day I saw him ride. I still remember it fondly and vividly.
East beach, this guy pumps up a 7.5 Naish in solid 30 knots and tries to jump repeatedly about 40 times in a row, each time getting his as# handed to him.. HARD.
He just kept doing it. I still remember telling Donna "If this guy doesn't die today, he is probably going to get pretty good".
The next week he earned even more respect and I will definitely never forget him actually swimming out in the channel to help me after I got totally worked at Bunces Pass.
I will never forget that day and to me that aspect of Billy's personality will always dominate my impression of him as a kiter. It's great he is on a cover now, but to me, he was a great kiter from the get go.