WATCH: Kiteboader soars over Anna Maria Island Pier

ANNA MARIA ISLAND (FOX 13) - It’s not unusual to see kiteboaders swinging through the skies around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  It’s not every day that one of them catches enough air to soar over the Anna Maria Island Pier, but that’s just what one wild video shows.

Thursday, during the breezy aftermath of last week’s storms, kiteboarders were out in force to take advantage of the perfect conditions.  Anna Maria Realtor Billi Gartman of Anna Maria Island Real Estate was on the pier and caught the stunt on camera.

The video shows the man gliding past the setting sun and gaining speed, then shooting about 15 feet into the air.  He twirls over the pier for about 20 feet before confidently landing back in the water.

“Wow, that was unbelievable,” tourists along the pier can be heard murmuring amidst applause.

“I still can't believe I actually had enough wherewithal to grab my phone,” Gartman later told FOX 13 News.

Commenters on Gartman’s video suggested that the soaring surfer is a professional kiteboarder who co-founded Epic Kites, but that could not be immediately verified.