Inventor Franky Zapata, a former jet ski champion, attempted to cross the stretch of water between France and England on a hoverboard, but unfortunately it ended in failure after he plunged into the sea. The journey came to an abrupt end around 11 miles after a failed refueling attempt. Fortunately, he was not injured and is expected to try it again soon. Read more for a video of the attempt and additional information.
Zapata’s wanted to cross the 22 mile stretch of water on a hoverboard to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the first-ever flight across the English Channel in an airplane by Louis Blériot. If everything went flawlessly, the journey to the English coast was predicted to take approximately 20 minutes. Last week, he put on a show for Bastille Day, but this record-setting attempt required a lot more power.
“I used 3 percent of the capacity of the machine, while for crossing the Channel I’ll need 99.9 percent,” said Zapata, adding that he believed he only had a 30% chance of making it to England.
