Wing foiler in seven-hour glide across the Channel

A man has pulled off a Channel crossing on a wing foil, gliding from Plymouth to France in less than seven hours.

Martin Gavériaux, 41, from Larmor-Plage in Brittany, covered about 120 miles (196km) to reach Roscoff in six hours, 56 minutes in what is thought to be the first crossing between the two points of its kind.

"I love doing long distance," said marine engineer Gavériaux, who completed the same crossing on a windsurfer in 2014.

In wing foiling, a rider stands on a board and uses the wind's power via a handheld, inflatable wing to glide across the water on an underwater hydrofoil.

At one point, near the French coast, the wind nearly vanished, said Gavériaux, who was born in Yeovil, Somerset. "I had, I would say, five knots wind speed, maybe less, so I was completely stopped," he said.

The conditions mostly held on the day of the challenge, 9 May, and there were moments of magic too, including close encounters with dolphins.

"I passed very, very close from two of them," he said.

Gavériaux said he had completed several other long-distance journeys around the north western coast of France, prior to the latest challenge.

"I am in the water most days," he said. "I like long distance sailing, to go from one place to another one."

He admitted wing foiling was easier physically than windsurfing, but the constant task of balancing above the water on a foil while battling fatigue and staying razor sharp, took its toll.

"When you are tired, or the more you are tired,[the] more it is difficult to be precise," he said.

"I fell in the water around 15 times.

"But the days that precede the challenge, organising it, is almost harder than the challenge itself for me."

Safety was front of mind throughout, with a support boat and experienced friend shadowing him across the Channel. "I have to be responsible, so I have to maximize all the security aspects of it," he said.

Crossing the line in Roscoff brought relief and pride.

"Of course, I was happy, when you succeed in a challenge," he said. "Less than seven hours, I was happy."

The crossing was about one hour quicker than his crossing on a windsurfer but Gavériaux said finishing was always his main objective.

"I always have some plans," he said, speaking about the future.

"This kind of experience has given me memories I will never forget."

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