World’s first sea crossing from Sweden to Denmark on an electric personal watercraft. The Awake VINGA eFoil has enough range to cross between the two countries, on one single battery! The birth of Awake took place in Malmö, located at almost the utmost southern tip of Sweden. Malmö lies on the Öresund coast with Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark just on the other side of the water.
In the early days of Awake, a dream quickly grew, to one day cross the Öresund strait on an Awake board. Five years later that dream came true.
With the 35 km range of the VINGA eFoil the 27,5 km/17,1 miles journey from Sweden to Denmark was finished with battery life to spare. The ride started in Malmö went along the iconic Öresund bridge and ended in Copenhagen with a total duration of 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The world’s first crossing of Öresund on an electric watercraft was done on one battery with power to spare
“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. The forecast looked almost perfect but we still ran into some issues with seaweed and currents forcing us to do some extra stops on the way. Luckily the range of the batteries was still more than enough. 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. So proud of this machine we have created, the Awake VINGA is nothing short of amazing.” Philip Werner, Founder & Chief Innovator.
When the two riders touched down in Copenhagen, the world’s first crossing of Öresund on an electric personal watercraft was made. All done on one battery with power to spare.
Technical info about the electric surfboard made by Awake
The crossing was made possible with two vital elements, the Awake VINGA eFoil, and the Flex battery XR. The eFoil is a highly efficient watercraft and for the crossing, the Awake VINGA was paired with the Powder Wing 1800 for maximum range and that it allows lower speeds with high lift. The choice of wings was also due to the weight of the riders, 105 kg/231 lbs, 95 kg/209 lbs.
The Flex Battery XR (Extended Range) with excellent battery life and safety features made the ride smooth, safe and easy. The battery life lasted the 27,5 km journey and even had some extra power to swap it over to the RÄVIK S22 and go for a joyride in Copenhagen.
Even though the weather was superb with clear skies and almost no winds there are still always quite a lot of currents in the Öresund strait since it’s the narrow opening from the Baltic sea to the Atlantic ocean. Combining the current with stray seaweeds and the fact that Öresund has heavy marine traffic, the crossing quickly becomes quite tricky.
