Standing upright on their electric motor surfboards with the little trigger in hand, Christophe Defrance and his friends caused a sensation on the La Franchi stretch of water in Leucate for the Mondial du Vent which took place on last month. The general public discovered, first-hand, this strange machine (a board equipped with a foil and a propeller to propel itself) which gives the disconcerting feeling of literally flying 40 cm above the sea.
“The feeling is intoxicating, addictive. It is very popular with kiteboarders, windsurfers and surfers,” explains Christophe Defrance, the founding president of PWR-FOIL, the French leader in the design and manufacture of these “motorized nautical plans” as defined by the new regulations from the French motorboating federation to make a difference with jet skis.
“We had to develop unique skills”
These flying electric surfboards have been designed and manufactured in the PWR workshops for four years, today in Canet-en-Roussillon after Perpignan, which employ twenty people including four dedicated to research and development. “To succeed in developing our motorized boards, we had to develop unique skills in terms of electricity and electronics in the water, in waterproofing” continues Christophe Defrance, a board sports enthusiast who had made his first industrial weapons with the development of paddles.
“Today, surfing on the main spots in the Basque Country has become difficult. Too much people. With the e-foil, I use the motor to position myself on the wave and even on inaccessible waves, 400 or even 500 m from the edge. Pedagogically this allows you to progress more quickly. In the event of a fall, you can restart from where you are,” explains Xabi Adhemard, who came from Hendaye for this first official competition organized at the Mondial du Vent and won by the Swiss Christophe Carpi. Absolute paradox, the practice of E-foiling on Swiss waters remains prohibited to this day. While waiting to make the regulatory distinction between jet-skis and silent and non-polluting e-foils.
An e-foil has a range of 1h30 and costs a minimum of 6,990 euros. You can practice in around forty rental centers in France: Surf & Kite in Barcarès, The Hydro Expérience in Saint-Cyprien. In Carnon, La Grande-Motte… Prices: 90 euros for 45 minutes. 100 to 120 euros for an hour. www.pwrfoil.com
