Have you ever wanted to try surfing? As a kid I wanted nothing more. I spent days at school plotting my move to California or Hawaii and imagining the laid-back, beach-dwelling lifestyle of the surfers I saw on TV. However, like most childhood dreams, it didn’t pan out. Instead, I’m enjoying a heat wave in the Twin Cities: it’s a balmy 11 degrees today.
This weather has me thinking about a sunny day back in September, when my coworker Lily and I drove up to Chisago County and made that childhood dream come true… at least for one afternoon.
We didn’t use a wake boat, we weren’t at a water park, and we didn’t try virtual reality. We used something called an eFoil.
In case you haven’t heard of these yet, eFoils are essentially surf boards that propel themselves. No wake, no noise, and super easy to learn. They have a tiny prop about a foot and a half underneath the board, carbon fiber wings above that prop, and batteries that can propel the board for hours. You can either glide along the surface of the water, feeling like the Silver Surfer, or try “flying:” an indescribable feeling where the board comes up off the water and you leave the lake behind.
We started learning in the early afternoon, and after an hour of instruction we were zooming across the water, practicing flying like it was nothing.
Once we reluctantly returned to the boat, we were talking to the folks who took us out. Their names are David and Steve, and they own a small business that sells these eFoils called Glyde Watersports. They were explaining how this new sport had the fun of wake surfing without the controversy, safety risks, or potential for harming the lake. Lily and I couldn’t help but agree. It had been easy to learn, produced no wake, and the boards are near-silent while you’re cruising around. It has all of the potential upsides, without the disturbance.
A local fisherman who had been watching us all afternoon stopped what he was doing and was mesmerized by the sight. No noise, no frightened fish, just a good time on the lake. He wasn’t upset, he wanted to know where he could get one.
If you’re an aspiring surfer at heart, or just want a new way to to enjoy summer lake days, try an eFoil. I’m eagerly awaiting the next time I can take one out.
