The daredevil kite surfer who jumped the Palace Pier has spoken about the feat for the first time.

Worthing-born Lewis Crathern revealed he waited for the perfect time to jump the landmark.

The four-time British kite surfing champion said: “I waited about two years for the right opportunity to jump Brighton Pier.

“I had planned it for quite some time – walking the length of the pier, measuring it on Google Earth, taking wind charts and wind readings.”

The 29-year-old said clearing the 20-metre high pier in 2010 fulfilled a “life-long dream”.

He worked out he needed to soar at least 20 metres into the air and jump off a huge wave at a perfect angle to avoid crashing into the pier and to complete a world first.

Crowds watched in shock from the beach and pier with camera phones at the ready as he cleared it easily and landed perfectly, 30 metres on to the waves on the Kemp Town side off Brighton beach.

“The main dangers of doing a jump that dangerous are smashing straight into the pier. That is the most obvious main danger.”

Another fear was “not getting enough height with the jump or having equipment failure as you go over”.

He said expert timing was essential to avoid landing on the deck of the pier.

“All I had to do was hold my edge, hold my nerve and make a big jump and I felt I would be safe,” he said.

Crathern, who is still based in Worthing, soared over Worthing pier in November 2009.

He spent three years planning that jump and flew over the structure in winds of more than 40mph. He called that stunt “terrifying”.

He is currently in Vietnam running classes for rookie kite surfers and in the summer appeared at Worthing International Birdman as a compere.

Speaking to adventurer Bear Grylls for the TV star’s Adventure series, Crathern said: “I waited two years for the perfect opportunity to jump the pier and it was not something I did willy nilly. It was a life-long dream.”

Grylls said: “If you risk nothing, you gain nothing – and if you don’t try, you’ll never succeed.”