Some people swim the English Channel. Others sail it. However, one man wanted to try something newâand unfortunately failed.
![](https://images.americanupbeat.com/posts/257/skynews-franky-zapata-flyboard_4726838.jpg)
Franky Zapata, a former jet ski racing champion, attempted to use his Flyboard Air vehicle to cross the Channel. However, he missed his refueling station mounted on a boat midway through and fell directly into the sea.
“When I got closer to the platform, the boat took a wave and it hit the foot of the machine and broke it,” the 40-year-old said during a press conference. “I lost balance, I fell in the water. The flyboard is damaged, the electronic part has to be redone, the motors are ruined but the base is saved.”
![](https://images.americanupbeat.com/posts/257/skynews-franky-zapata-flyboard-english-channel_4726785.jpg)
He was 11 miles from the end at St. Margaret’s Bay. “I could see the British borders,” he said. Zapata is determined to try again “as soon as next week.”