VIDEO: Electric hydrofoil skims through Venice and could save sinking city

Swedish tech company Candela has showcased its electric hydrofoiling Candela C-7 through the waterways of Venice and says its wake-free design could save Venice from moto ondoso or wake damage.

Waves caused by speedboats have become a genuine threat to the residents and buildings of Venice. The wake of the myriad taxi boats, water ambulances and police boats needed for transport in Venice erode the wooden pillars on which the city’s iconic houses stand.

According to the manufacturer, the Candela C-7 is the first speedboat that doesn’t create wake. ‘Flying’ above the water’s surface at high speeds, the company says hydrofoiling is the future for waterborne transportation.

Candela is currently working on the P-12 water taxi and the P-30 electric ferry, the latter has been purchased by Swedish authorities for public transport use in Candela’s hometown of Stockholm.

In a report by Reuters, Candela’s Maria Rohman says: “The boat has five sensors that read the water and speak to the computer system in the boat and the computer system tells the foils to move and they move 100 times a second, back and forth and diagonal to keep the boat stable. So when you are up flying it takes off at about 15 knots.”