Bungee Skimming: New Sport Tests Skill and Sanity

The dying swell on a recent evening in Ocean City didn't offer much for surfers, but it did create glassy conditions for four bungee skimmers.

The sport of bungee skimming has emerged at the Jersey Shore in only the past three or four years.. It involves stretching a bungee cord from a boat anchor planted in the surf, then launching a skimboard into the waves. It also requires a leap of faith—or insanity—to commit to instant acceleration over very shallow water.

 students Eric Plyler, Zach Greaser and Cooper Kernan, and a friend from Gloucester Catholic, Pat Kelly, were out at North Street Beach on a recent Thursday after school trying their luck.

Plyler, who has lived in both California and Ocean City, purchased the bungee cord online a couple years ago. He is seen in the last clip in the video.

Greaser, a member of the high school surfing and swimming teams, is second to last. And Kernan, who was trying the sport for the first time, is in the first clip.