Surfin’ Safari with Jaime Lee 

Lets go Surfing now everybody’s learning how….

Go Surfing with Jaime Lee and Randy Panzer as he takes us on a tour of his new eSurfFoils Even on the Wolf River here in Shawano these powerful electric surf boards hover easily above the water and current. As a beginner Jaime had no issues getting up on the board and navigating the River.

transcript

– Good afternoon and
welcome to Shawano News.

Your positive source in a crazy world.

I’m your host, Jamie Lee.

Today, we’re going surfing

with the latest eFoil,

right here in Shawano.

eFoiling!

(lively upbeat music)

I am currently with the guys

that brought these new surfboards,

these eFoils to Shawano.

Randy Panzer, how are you today?

– Good.

– How did you learn about these
surfboards? Where were you?

And why did you decide to bring ’em here?

– So, years ago,

I tried the surfboard
with a two-stroke motor

and I’ve been following
the technology for years.

And we’ve been water sports

water ski, wakeboards.

I’m a snowboarder.

And all of a sudden the technology,

I started learning more.

And last winter learned about this company

outta Puerto Rico.

They’ve been making
these for 10 years now.

And really it was the analogy,

it’s like riding a snowboard on powder,

but you don’t need a frozen mountain

that got my attention.

I test drove it in Florida, fell in love.

And the next thing I know,

they’re here in here in shawano.

– I’ve been seeing them around.

It’s kinda crazy when you
see someone going surfing

right down the Wolf River or Shawano Lake.

So, tell us about these babies.

It looks like they’re pretty heavy duty.

You got your son Zias here,

your co-worker and son.

So, tell me what are
these boards all about?

Tell me the equipment and the specs.

– Well, we have the carbon fiber fin,

and then the base which is…

What is it made out of?

– So this is a fiberglass board.

And then that is a carbon fiber board.

The difference is weight.

Obviously, fiberglass is a
little heavier, more stable,

carbon fiber being lighter

and maybe more sporty.

So, just a difference in material.

– Zias, why don’t you
pop the trunk for us?

I know the biggest thing about these

is the battery is what’s
kinda where the money’s at,

because we need the power to lift us.

Tell me about the battery.

– It’s a lithium-ion battery

that can last about 90 minutes

depending on your weight.

Then this is powered to this,

which charges it to the fin.

Has a cooling system,

and then a plug to connect everything.

– Okay.

Well kinda fancy.

Let’s drop that

and have some more fun.

Enough of the science.

I wanna go get on one of these babies.

We’re here at Smalley Park.

It’s a little windy.

I’m a little nervous,

but I got my 1980 ensemble.

(lively upbeat music)

Had to show this out.

So Randy, one thing is people can come

and do some lessons with you first,

because it’s kind of intimidating.

So, you or Zias can
come give them some time

to learn these things.

So, let’s go to the beach

and have a slight little lesson first.

– All right.

(lively upbeat music)

– Little lesson of what
you’re gonna teach people

when they book with you.

– All right.

Learning the remote really easy.

It has a governor on it.

So, you set it as fast as you wanna go.

That way, you don’t have to
worry about altering speed.

We can set it real low,

where you can only go

at a slow speed to learn.
– Here, let me see.

– And later on,

we can up the governor

when you get a little more advanced.

There’s also, it shows you how
much battery you have left.

Obviously, I’ll keep track of that.

– So, this is what powers it

and what makes it, the speed.
– Yeah.

So, in the water skiing world,

when you fall,

you can always blame the boat driver

and here you’re the boat driver.

So, there’s no one to blame.

– So, what’s the first progress.

You maybe just get up on your knees.

– You start on your belly.

So, you know, kind of like boogie boarding

or sledding down a hill.

You learn to turn,

you get comfortable.

You learn how to use the throttle

or the trigger with speed.

And that’s where you start out.

Once you get confident there,

you’ll get to your knees

or your hands and knees.

And you’re keeping the board

on the water at that point.

And then at some point,

you’ll learn to stand up.

Some people on their hands and knees

will actually foil

or maybe we call it flying,

where you actually get up a foot,

two feet off the water.

It’s a crazy feeling at first.

Most people are gonna get up,

let off the trigger

and nose dive and go for a little swim.

Later on, you’ll learn not
to let off the trigger.

Eventually, you’ll stand up

and again you’ll surf on the water.

You’ll lean back

and get up on that foil and flying.

And it’s an amazing feeling.

The sound of the water goes away.

You don’t feel these little ripples.

It’s an amazing feeling,

but it’s progression.

We’ve had people that their
first two hours never stood up.

We had people that were
foiling flying along

in 10, 15 minutes.

– So, it’s just to try it.

You know, sometimes we wanna
get out of our comfort zone,

try something new, innovative.

You know, anybody can do it, right?

Size, shape.

I mean, I have kind of
good balance with yoga,

but you think anyone can try this?

– Last weekend, I was with a group,

a family group,

and I had from age 12 to 68.

So, the most elder of the people

that have been on these boards was 68.

So, anyone can do it.
– Okay, well!

– Let’s do this.

Let’s do it.

eFoilng!

Surf and safari!

(upbeat music)

Woo!

I am a wet river rat,

but that sure was fun. I
got up, what do you think?

How did I do?

– Great job, you know.

What did you think of flying over water?

– I think once I got used to it

and I got stable,

I kinda felt like I was
on the beach in Malibu.

So, thanks for bringing this to Shawano

and teaching us.

If people wanted take a lesson

or buy one of these things.

They can get a hold of
you through Facebook.

And one more thing,

why should people try this?

– Well, it’s just a great sport.

One thing, nowaday, you
don’t need gasoline,

you don’t need a boat,

you don’t need a spot or
you don’t need a mountain.

You don’t need an ocean with waves.

It’s just you and your board

and get out there

and have some fun on the water.

Just another activity.

I think it’s a game
changer for water sports

but it’s just another option.

– Thank you for bringing this eFoiling

to Shawano.

This is Jaime Lee,

signing off for Shawano News.

Keep surfing

and living and loving in the 54166.

(gentle upbeat music)