Ludovic Dulou is what we call a "waterman", a board sports aficionado. A professional surfer and Oxbow ambassador, he has also distinguished himself in paddle with several world championship titles. But it's in another sport that he has just achieved an incredible performance - a world first! : surfing the tidal bore* of the Entre-deux-Mers near Bordeaux on a board fitted with a foil.
A performance made possible thanks to three years of training and development to perfect the adapted equipment.
" It's a project, a dream I've had in my head for ten years. With my team, we have developed a carbon hydrofoil that we have been able to improve with the latest manufacturing technology. The mast and foil weighs no more than 2.5 kilos and today allows you to reach an amazing speed on small waves and in light swells, without any attachment and without being towed, with a stand-up paddle board or with a surfboard" he explained.
Ludovic Dulou was able to glide at a speed of up to 40 km/h on this wave that can reach up to one and a half meters and advance at 20 km/h. A performance that combines the hydro-foil (which needs speed to take off) and the low speed of the Tidal Bore.
" I slid 6.5 kilometres in effective distance and more than ten kilometres if you take into account the curves and twists that make surfing so much fun. For 21 minutes, I literally flew on the tidal bore. This session was an immense joy! The speed and accelerations were unbelievable compared to normal surfing. This experience was a physical and sporting adventure, a journey on the wave that was both technical and artistic."
* The Tidal Bore is a sudden rise in the water level of a river or estuary caused by the wave of the rising tide during high tides. This natural phenomenon is characterized by a wave, more or less high, which goes up the course of the river and whose power varies according to the height of the tide, the flow of the river at that time and the topography. (source: Wikipedia)
