Did father and son really hoverboard over the channel?

In August this year, Rob Wylie, 51 and his 19-year-old son Morgan, became the first people to hoverboard across the English Channel in one stretch. They started their epic trip at Cap Griz-Nez in northern France and finished at Folkstone.

Their hoverboard across the channel adventure, took them across 23-miles of sea, where they were supported by a team from OTS Watersports on two boats that journeyed alongside them.

It took them just one hour and 44-minutes to hoverboard over the channel and they did it with one battery charge – Rob had just 4% of battery power left when he docked in Folkstone.

The pair made the journey on Fliteboards, which are hydrofoil boards, powered by battery that can travel of speeds up to 20mph. They can hover 3ft above the water.

“Ever since I first experienced riding on a Fliteboard, I was hooked as I knew this was going to be the next generation of water sports. I was so impressed that I invested in the company to join the Fliteboard story and support awareness around the product and eFoiling as a whole,” Rob said.

The channel crossing on hoverboard was not without incident as both took a tumble when their boards got tangled in seaweed. “We both crashed about four or five times because of the seaweed and choppy conditions,” revealed Rob. They also had to make their way around abandoned fishing crates and a container ship.

Rob added: “The channel crossing has not only set a new world record, but also proves how advanced Fliteboard’s technology is, that we successfully made the crossing on a single battery charge. It was 112 years ago that somebody first flew across the Channel in a plane. Now, 112 years later, we have flown across on a self-propelled sufboard, powered by electricity.”

Their hoverboard English Channel speed was an average of 20mph, and they set a world record by becoming the first to complete the challenge. An e-foil can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

If you want to hoverboard across the English Channel, you won’t be able to use an ordinary hoverboard – you will need an e-foil, which is powered by a Lithium battery that has a running time of 45 – 105 minutes, depending on your weight and the riding conditions.

Foil surfing, is one of the newest extreme watersports. The board flies above the surface of the ocean, thanks to a hydrofoil, which lifts it. There is an electric propeller just beside the wing of the hydrofoil.

Don’t attempt to hoverboard across English Channel alone as it could be dangerous – Rob and his son had a support crew all the way. And, we’d advise taking lessons in e-foiling before you being. OTS Watersports, who teamed up with Rob and his son, run the first official Fliteschool in the UK. eFoils don’t come cheap – a really good one can set you back almost £10,000.