Have you ever wanted to fly? I know it’s a recurring dream for me (but then I am a falconer in my spare time so that’s kind of expected!).
Any-who I tested out our latest product yesterday and i have to tell you that after skydives, bungee jumps and various other methods of thrusting myself airborne this is THE closest that i have come!

Introducing the Flyer One Plus E-Foil from Waydoo, designed in conjunction with DJI (the drone and osmo people) it is a surfboard with a difference, well two differences actually, the first is the addition of a mast and hydrofoil below the board, the second is the fact that it is POWERED!! Comprising a lithium battery and a powerful motor all encased in a very robust and sleek looking package.

I found that the component parts slid and clunked together in a very well thought out and reassuringly solid manner, assembly time was a very swift 5 minutes, battery charge time from flat was 2 hours (the remote about the same time – but this is only necessary every few outings).

Once all pre flight checks were done it was time to don my open cell wetsuit (yes with hood and gloves), open the Waydoo app on my phone to unlock the remote (designed so nobody can steal off on it if left by the lake) and break the ice near the shore to get out onto the lake – it’s cold in north Wales at the moment!! Lying on top of the EPP foam board is very comfortable and a good deal warmer than lying on a cold carbon board, but we aren’t here to lie down are we??

I set the speed to 10 (of 24 potential settings) and set off, this was enough to plane the board but not to lift onto the foil, so after getting the hang of standing on the board at planing speed, turning and only falling in once, I decided to up the speed setting to 15. I felt a lot more push coming from the silent motor and once I was standing the board started to just kiss the water, sith reduced drag the speed increased and the board lifted out of the water and I was flying!!! Higher I soared until my elation was ended as the motor breached the surface and cavitated, drive having been lost the board nose-dived, as did I, straight in face first – brrrr…

So this is only my second e-foiling experience and the last one was in the summer when it was a good deal warmer, i decided that I was too far back on the board last time and thats why it had ridden too high. Next go (chastened by the cold dip) I was determined to stay airborne for longer, however, it was not to be as I had stood too far forwards on the board and it would not lift onto the foil.

Third time’s the charm they say so off we set again, throttle pinned at speed 15 (all these speed settings are fantastic as you can really dial in the optimum speed for your style and weight) we set off, perfect launch, once on plane i popped up, adjusted my feet to where i thought would be just over the balance point and stood. Immediately i could feel that i was in the sweet spot as all i had to do was shift my weight back a little and the foil jumped into action rising us out of the water, a little push down with my front foot and she pitched down very predictably and smoothly, i found that it was easy to adjust the attitude with these small movements in body posture. I was actually flying!! Wow, I could feel the cool air on my face and see the mirror flat water below – but somehow felt disconnected from it – a new and beautifully serene experience. If i didn’t know what all this foiling fuss was about before, now i got it, what a buzz!!

Ok time to turn, i leant very gently over to my heel side and the board followed very smoothly, i needed to adjust my weight back a little to give more lift whilst in the turn but it was all very intuitive. I had been up for a good minute and was feeling like this was a piece of cake when we had another cavitation event and I got a dunking for my impunity. After an hour or more of foiling i was over the learning curve hump, i had a good feel for where my feet needed to be – an absolute key to success, and could alter the attitude of the foil with confidence and corner fairly smoothly, i was still overwhelmed by the feeling of flight – really liberating – but my battery light (and my core temperature) was suggesting that it may be time to head for home!

In summary this product is expensive (but still around half the price of its competitors) at £6k, but if you have the spare cash, and if you love cool stuff, and if (like me) you need to be ‘doing’ rather than just being, then i would certainly recommend a Waydoo Flyer One Plus E-Foil, they are robust, excellent quality, and VERY user friendly. We at Bill Higham Marine have them in stock and ready to rock, we offer a next day delivery service so you can be foiling tomorrow if you get your order in now!!