The Crew Perspective

One hundred and sixty-two years after the invention of the first hydrofoil, the very same technology of modern aircraft has inspired the creation of a revolutionary sports-craft, the Audi e-tron foil by Aerofoils. This incredible piece of technology sparked the interest of yacht crew, brokers and yacht owners firstly because of the reputation of the Audi brand, and secondly because of the originality of its safety features.

Backed by Audi, one of the most prominent and forward-thinking manufacturers of premium vehicles, the Audi e-tron foil is a pure masterpiece. It was created and engineered by co-founders Franz Hofmann, a developer for electric vehicles at Audi and Christan Rössler, an aircraft designer. Engineering, aeronautics and a love of water and flight, birthed an e-foil evolution.

We first met its inventors at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2022. If you ever get the chance to meet Franz and Christian in person, you’ll find yourself in the presence of enthusiastic and inspirational pioneers. Franz’s previous employees have described him as “having the right balance between pragmatism and professionalism”. These qualities are certainly some that we look for in the partners we choose at Ocean Premium. The product is, in itself, a game-changer, and we wanted to be partnered with the pioneers of that change.

A change that saw the creation of an innovative and revolutionary system using the same principles of aircraft technology…the jet propulsion system. This new system provides a safer and smoother ride, ensuring that its rider glides effortlessly over water, in a weightless flight on the ocean. According to Franz, flying over water on the Audi e-tron greatly reduces its energy consumption by 70-90 %, without compromising its performance nor its fun factor. And after all, isn’t fun the ultimate goal we try to achieve when e-foiling?

Ocean Premium took that end goal of fun in flight, to the Caribbean, with the Audi e-tron’s first Caribbean campaign for charter yachts. The successful Christmas campaign has turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving, as some of the most prominent charter yachts are still requesting to test-ride our boards throughout the 2022-2023 Caribbean yachting season.

The feedback? The Audi e-tron foil is the “sexiest” on the market, displaying bold colours and a finished patina. Yacht guests were immediately attracted to the board because of its stand-out color scheme and design, and also because the size of the board made it easier for guests of all sizes. Crew told us that it felt like they were the extension of an airplane, a sensation that its design team certainly intended to create.

Both our amateur and professional test-riders among the yacht crew and charter guests gave glowing reports of the ease of learning and maneuvering the foil, especially because of the smart functions on the controller, which allowed them to adapt the settings to their own skill levels. Getting up on the board for the first time, was not a daunting task, despite its light weight, largely due to the stability of the board itself. This stability was especially noticeable when doing sharp turns and when jumping onto the board during launching and docking.

They also raved about the long rides that the battery allowed, as on average, a fully charged battery allowed for two hours of playtime in the water. For the crew, this meant that they could keep their guests entertained out on the water longer, without having to interrupt their pleasure for battery replacement or top up charging.

The most consistent feedback we received centered around its ingeniuous safety feature…the fully shielded propeller. This is the feature that set the etron-foil apart from dozens of competitors. Personally, our favourite feature of this e-foil is the fact that it is emission free. Investing in an environmentally friendly product such as this, helps our yachting sector to reduce the carbon footprint on our planet, and protects the flora and fauna on our land and sea. We join the race to zero emissions, and the EU’s Action Plan towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil.

Ocean Premium is proud to bring the Audi e-tron foil by Aerofoils to you, our yachting community. It is now available as a part of our rental fleet and for purchase in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and across the globe.

Discover all the details about this incredible product. For water toy solutions for yacht charters, refits and new builds, visit our main pages.

Audi e-tron foil