Awake completes country to country eFoil crossing
By Paul Ridden
The trip from Malmö in Sweden to Copenhagen in Denmark riding a Vinga eFoil is reported to be the first crossing of the Öresund Strait using an electric personal watercraft
Awake Boards
The Öresund Strait crossing on the Awake Vinga eFoil clocked up 27.5 km and took a little over an hour
For the crossing between Sweden and Denmark, the Awake Vinga eFoil was paired with a Flex XR (extended range) battery pack and Powder Wing 1800 wing
The Vinga eFoil riders arrived in Copenhagen with enough juice left in the battery to install it in a Rävik S22 and enjoy some electric surfing
A few months after releasing its first eFoil board, Awake Boards has now realized a five-year dream and made a sea crossing on the Vinga board over the Öresund Strait from the company's home turf in Sweden to the capital of Denmark.
"Ever since our first offices in Malmö I've always been dreaming about crossing Öresund on our boards, now with the Vinga it was finally realized," said company founder, Philip Werner.
Reported to be the first crossing of the Öresund using an electric personal watercraft, the two board riders were blessed with good weather and low winds – though the 27.5-km (17-mile) trip wasn't without its issues.
Strong currents coming in from the Baltic Sea on their way up through the Strait to the Atlantic Ocean can hamper progress, as can the heavy marine traffic in the area and encounters with seaweed.
However, the Vinga plus the combination of the Flex XR extended-range battery and a wing best-suited for heavier riders proved up to the task, and the journey from Malmö in Sweden to Copenhagen in Denmark was completed in one hour and 10 minutes. And there was even enough juice left in the battery to hotswap into a Rävik S22 electric surfboard and have some celebratory fun.
"It was surely an overwhelming feeling being in the middle of the sea with kilometers to land in both ways and seeing the impressive Öresund bridge high above us," added Werner. The short video below shows trip highlights.
The Vinga electric hydrofoil features a carbon fiber short board paired with an eFoil liner jet system that can be matched with a standard Flex battery for up to an hour and 20 minutes of per-charge foiling fun, or the extended-range battery for up to two hours. Prices start at €12,900 (about US$12,700).
SWEDEN TO DENMARK ON EFOIL | Awake VINGA World's first crossing
Product page: Awake Vinga
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Paul Ridden
While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before hopping over to France for 10 years, where he started work for New Atlas in 2009. Now back in his native Blighty, he serves as Managing Editor in Europe.