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Candela has just revealed its latest hydrofoil electric boat, the Candela C-8. With the high-tech, ultra-premium electric boat designed for mass production, the company is calling this “an iPhone moment for the boat industry.”

Candela’s first flying electric boat, the C-7, debuted last year as a radical new option in the boating industry. It flew above the water on hydrofoils, allowing it to achieve far better efficiency and range than any other electric boat.

While it excelled at demonstrating the efficacy of Candela’s innovative technology, the boat was also largely hand-built from exotic materials in low-scale production for individual buyers.

The C-7 sold so well that it greatly outstripped supply, leading Candela to develop the C-8 intended for mass-production.

As Candela’s founder and CEO Gustav Hasselskog explained:

“With the C-7, we demonstrated that our hydrofoil technology not only allows for long range on electricity, but also provides a better experience than conventional boats. Thanks to our hydrofoil system, you get a smoother, nicer ride. However, the C-7 was more like a hand-built sports car; never intended for volume production.

With the new C-8, we’re pushing the technology to the next level, and at the same time focusing on making a boat that has all the comfort you would expect, while designing it for efficient mass production.”

Now the company is officially debuting the new larger and roomier Candela C-8 electric hydrofoil boat that includes a cockpit for eight passengers, a large sun bed, roomy cabin with beds for two adults and two children, and even a marine shower and toilet. Despite the suite of improvements, the larger and better outfitted C-8 still touts a price that is on par with the smaller C-7 as well as gas-powered premium boats in the 28- to 29-foot class.

That’s exactly the type of boat the company has its sights set on, hoping to edge out gas-powered premium vessels in the market.

As PR and communications manager Mikael Mahlberg explained to Electrek:

We aim to sell thousands of C-8, and we think it will be the first electric boat that has the potential to outsell combustion engine boats in the premium class. I suspect it will do so with a wide margin, we hope it’s an iPhone moment for boats – something that will radically change how we perceive how boats should be and look like. Not loud, costly to run, shaking and slamming and poisoning the very nature you came to enjoy – but completely silent, intuitive to use, fun to drive but still relaxing for passengers, respectful to nature, maintenance-free, very cheap to operate and upgradeable OTA.

Despite being larger than the previous C-7, the eight-passenger C-8 actually uses less energy thanks to its ultra-efficient C-POD electric drive unit developed in-house by Candela.

The C-8 will include Candela’s new next-generation hydrofoil system with an improved sensor suite and avionics.

The flying boat is jam-packed with embedded technology. Similar to Tesla’s self-driving cars, the C-8 features Autopilot that keeps the boat on a pre-set course, reducing the load on the captain and allowing for a more relaxing experience.

The hydrofoils are also tied into an automatic system developed by Candela, adjusting in real time to maintain a perfectly level flight despite shifting waves.

The team designed the boat’s carbon fiber hull to be much more efficient than typical planing boats. It helps reduce the energy required to get the C-8 up to a speed of 16 knots, at which point the boat extends its hydrofoils to lift up and become foilborne. The boat can then reach its electronically limited top speed of 30 knots (35 mph or 55 km/h).

Foiling allows the C-8 to literally fly over the tops of waves, making the ride smoother and more comfortable than typical shaking, bouncing speed boats. In particularly rough seas, the hull is designed to help pop the boat back up onto its foils after hitting a large wave. And if the sea is simply too rough for hydrofoiling, the C-8 can be operated like a normal boat, though with reduced range. When foiling is capable, the C-8 boasts a cruising range of over 50 nautical miles (58 miles or 93 km). The boat’s 44 kWh battery can be recharged fairly quickly in two hours with a three-phase charger.

Other premium features in the C-8 include a four-person sofa in the cabin, a freshwater shower, optional hard top for cold environments or for sun protection, premium sound system (which is apparently a unique experience in the cabin as the ride is virtually silent without motor noise or any waves on the hull), and a 15.4-inch high-resolution touchscreen for navigation and controls.

The C-8 also boasts huge maintenance and operating cost advantages over typical gas- or diesel-powered boats, and even over other electric boats. The sealed C-POD drivetrain is nearly maintenance-free thanks to a 3,000-hour maintenance cycle (compared to around 100 hours for gas boats). The C-8 is also 95% cheaper to operate than gas boats and more efficient than any other electric boat, resulting in lower electricity costs too.

Of course those electricity costs pale in comparison to the purchase price of €290,000 before VAT (approximately US $339,000). Candela says that’s on par or even below several gas-powered competitors in the 8-meter premium boat class.

While I probably won’t be the proud new owner of a C-8 any time soon, its technology can already help replace noisy, polluting gas-powered luxury boats in marinas around the world, and hopefully continue to work its way into ever more affordable designs.

Very few of us lined up to buy a Tesla Roadster a decade ago, but I see a pile of Model 3s everywhere I go today. That doesn’t mean we’ll see a Candela on every trailer in a decade, but the model of entering the premium market first is fairly tried and true in the EV industry.


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Ed Sheeran apologises to Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim after interrupting Sky interview

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Ed Sheeran apologises to Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim after interrupting Sky interview

Ed Sheeran has apologised to Manchester United’s new manager for interrupting him during a live Sky Sports interview.

Ruben Amorim was speaking after United’s 1-1 draw with Ipswich on Sunday when the singer walked up to hug analyst Jamie Redknapp.

His intervention brought the interview to a halt before Redknapp told Sheeran to “come and say hello in a minute”.

Some people on social media said Sheeran had been “rude” and called for him to apologise.

Pic: AP
Image:
Sheeran celebrates during the match. Pic: AP

“Apologies if I offended Amorim yesterday, didn’t actually realise he was being interviewed at the time, was popping to say hi and bye to Jamie,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram.

“Obvz feel a bit of a bellend but life goes on. Great game though, congrats on all involved.”

The game at Portman Road was Amorim’s first since he left Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon to take over at United.

Marcus Rashford scored after two minutes before Omari Hutchinson equalised for the home side.

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Sheeran, a lifelong Ipswich fan, holds a minority stake in the club.

He was pictured celebrating after Hutchinson’s goal.

Last week Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton said Sheeran helped the club sign a new player in the off-season by taking a Zoom call with him just before he went on stage with Taylor Swift.

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Kate Nash says selling photos of her bum on OnlyFans paid for an extra tour crew member

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Kate Nash says selling photos of her bum on OnlyFans paid for an extra tour crew member

Kate Nash says selling photos of her bottom on the X-rated site OnlyFans has allowed her to add an extra crew member to her tour staff.

The 37-year-old singer says the fact she is having to subsidise her shows in this way shows that the music industry is “completely broken”.

She announced she was launching her OnlyFans account last week as she began the UK leg of her tour, and has previously said on Instagram that, “touring makes losses not profits”.

Speaking about her new venture to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she said it was “very funny” and “fun to do,” adding, “My industry is completely broken, I don’t think it’s sustainable, and I think it’s a complete failure, I think it will collapse as well”.

Going on to talk about “people finding solutions to fund their art,” she said: “I think it’s quite empowering, and I’m also creating jobs with my bum now.

“For example, I couldn’t bring a crew member that’s on tour with me in the UK to Europe, but now I can, because of my OnlyFans website.”

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She has previously described the career move as a “punk protest,” containing “lots of comedy”.

Speaking to LBC last week, she said: “The cost of touring has gone up. Just like the cost of living crisis, there’s a cost-of-touring crisis – where the cost of travel, accommodation, crew wages, bus rental, all the things that you need to pay for when you go on tour, everything’s gone up.

“But a lot of bands’ and artists’ fees for gigs have not gone up, whereas ticket prices have gone up.”

Nash also said music was an “exploitative industry,” adding, “I have had lots of experience of being exploited”.

She said it could “learn a lot from the sex industry”.

Beginning her career in 2005, Nash has had one UK top 10 single – 2007’s Foundations – and two UK top 10 albums.

She has just finished a three-week US tour and is now touring the UK before moving on to Europe. Her London gig later this week is sold out.

And Nash isn’t the only one branching out to bring in cash. Lily Allen said earlier this year that she had joined OnlyFans to sell photographs of her feet.

The 39-year-old Smile singer, who moved to the US in 2020, says she has “very strict guidelines” and is charging subscribers $10 (£8) a month to view images of her feet on the platform.

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Davina McCall says she has short-term memory problems after brain tumour surgery

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Davina McCall says she has short-term memory problems after brain tumour surgery

Davina McCall has said her short-term memory is “a bit remiss” as she recovers from brain tumour surgery.

Speaking from her bed, the visibly emotional TV presenter posted a short video updating her Instagram followers on her condition, saying it had been a “mad” time.

She expressed an “enormous heartfelt thank you” to people who had messaged her after she revealed this month she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.

Looking bright, but with a visibly bruised left eye, McCall said: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss.

“But that is something I can work on, so I’m really happy about that. I’m writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe.”

She added: “It’s been mad, and it’s just really nice to be back home, I’m on the other side.”

In a message posted with the video, she reiterated her thanks for all the support she has received, adding: “Had a great night’s sleep in my own bed. Have a couple of sleeps during the day which keeps my brain clear… Slowly, slowly…”

When she first shared her diagnosis, she said chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.

The 57-year-old star said support from her fans had “meant the world”.

She said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by her partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and her stepmother, Gabby, who she calls mum.

Becoming tearful, the presenter said: “I’d quickly like to say big up the stepmums. I don’t really say thank you to Gabby enough. She’s been an amazing rock my whole life.”

McCall was estranged from her birth mother, Florence McCall, who died in 2008.

Kate coming out of the Big Brother house in 2002
Image:
McCall with 2002 Big Brother winner Kate Lawler. Pic: Rex Features

With a catch in her voice, McCall went on: “I’ve got a massive dose of vitamin G – I’m just really grateful. I’ve always been really lucky in my life, but I feel unbelievably grateful right now. So, thanks for everything, all of you.

“I’m on the mend, I’m resting and sleeping loads and I feel really good. I’m just very lucky.”

Stars including presenter Alison Hammond, singer Craig David and radio host Zoe Ball quickly shared their delight at the positive update.

McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.

Davina McCall  with her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Pic: PA
Image:
McCall with her MBE, alongside her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson. Pic: PA

She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, the most recent being ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.

Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.

She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.

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