Blaine man celebrates 73rd birthday with seventh tandem skydive

Video edited by Kyra Planetz

Jumping out of an airplane at nearly 14,000 feet and free falling for a full minute may sound extreme, but for many, it’s something to experience at least once. For Gary Farrow, tandem skydiving isn’t just a bucket list item. It’s a yearly tradition. This year, the Blaine man jumped for his seventh time – on his 73rd birthday.

“Every year that we jump, it just gets better and better,” Farrow said after his jump on July 19.

Farrow has lived in Whatcom County all his life and has always been a self-described fan of “high adventure,” with “a passion for the sea and the sky.” Farrow still works seasonal jobs around town, but is taking a break during the pandemic. In his free time, Farrow volunteers with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Civil Air Patrol and enjoys exploring the San Juan Islands with his wife.

“I’m kind of at a point where I don’t have to work. So it’s just play, play, play,” Farrow said.

Farrow first went tandem skydiving seven years ago after meeting a coworker who had jumped the previous year. Farrow and Jimmy Bernard, the then 19-year-old coworker, soon became close friends despite their age difference. Skydiving was on Farrow’s bucket list, and he asked Bernard to join him on his first jump.

“That first time kind of sealed the deal for him, ever since then he’s been hooked,” Bernard said.

After Farrow’s first jump, an annual tradition was born. Though Bernard no longer lives in Whatcom County, he makes a point to reconnect with Farrow once a year to go skydiving. Each year the two drive to Skydive Snohomish, always toward the end of July, a midpoint between their birthdays.

First, they stop for Spanish omelets at a diner along the way. Then they check in at Skydive Snohomish and prepare for their noon jump time. Once the two finish their training and sign release forms, they board the airplane and ascend to 13,500 feet in 30 minutes. Each strapped to an instructor, Farrow scoots to the open door and jumps, and Bernard follows.

Once in the air, Farrow and Bernard free-fall for about a minute, going approximately 120 mph, before the instructors open the parachutes. At this point, the two are able to talk to each other and to the other skydivers in the air. From that height, the skydivers see breathtaking views of the West Coast, from the San Juans to the Cascades.

“You can almost reach out and touch Mount Baker and Mount Rainier,” Farrow said.

Finally the two land back at Skydive Snohomish, receive certificates verifying their jumps, and head to Buzz Inn Steakhouse for celebratory nachos. Farrow enjoys the tradition of following the exact routine every year, Bernard said. He even requests to jump with the same instructor, Kelly Craig, each time. Craig, who has jumped approximately 12,500 times in 20 years, said he admires Farrow.

“I think it’s amazing. It gives him something to look forward to,” Craig said. “He wants to do it until the day he dies, he wants to break the record.”

That record, the oldest person to tandem skydive, is currently held by 103-year-old Al Blaschke. But Farrow said he will continue to stay active and hopes he can beat Blaschke someday. For now, he plans to “live life to the fullest every day,” and continue to stand by his motto:

“If it ain’t fun, I’m not doing it.”