PARIS Aug 5 (NNN-Prensa Latina) Frenchman Franky Zapata managed Sunday on his second attempt to cross the English Channel on the flyboard he invented.
In the midst of great media hype, the 40-year-old Marseille resident took off from the beach of Sangatte, in the northern department of Pas-de-Calais, and travelled the 35 kilometres separating the coasts of France and the United Kingdom.
Zapata, who had to make a stop to recharge the original device, arrived in the British bay of St Margaret after flying over the Atlantic at a height of up to 20 meters.
‘This is a step into the future’, said the hero of the day to the press after completing his feat.
The Frenchman took 20 minutes to cross the channel on his flyboard, a device capable of reaching 180 kilometers per hour.
Zapata had failed on a first attempt on July 25, when he fell into the water as a result of a slight impact with the boat’s platform on which he was trying to make a stopover.
NNN-Prensa Latina
