Nothing says summer in northern Michigan quite like getting out on the water, and thanks to a relatively new trend in the watersports world, locals and visitors alike have a brand-new way of doing just that.

The innovation is eFoiling, which uses an electrically-powered foilboard – a type of board that has an airplane-like “hydrofoil” mounted on the underside rather than the standard fins you’d find on a typical surfboard or paddleboard – to elevate the board and its rider a foot above the surface of the water. The resulting experience is said to mimic the feel of flying – or at very least, hovering.

There are non-electric foilboards out there too, which riders can use with kites, wings, or other implements to gain momentum and achieve liftoff. But since eFoils are equipped with both an electronic motor and a propeller, they allow riders to soar over the water even with zero wave or wind action—and to do so at pretty decent speeds.

In Leelanau County, Paul Andrus is bringing the eFoiling craze to the masses with his business, Lake Life Efoils. Andrus and his wife started the Lake Leelanau-based company back in 2021, and are now in their third summer of giving eFoil lessons and selling boards. Even just a few years ago, Andrus says that eFoils weren’t really in the popular lexicon. But strong word-of-mouth for eFoiling – both locally and abroad – has meant that Lake Life sees a significant uptick in the number of people interested in trying out an electronic hydrofoil experience every time a new summer rolls around.

“The first year, people were like, ‘What is that thing?’ [when they saw an eFoil]” Andrus says. “Last year, people were like, ‘Hey, that’s a hydrofoil!’ This year, people are saying, ‘Hey, that’s a Lift-brand eFoil, isn’t it?’ So, people are just becoming more aware of foilboards in general, and more curious to try them out.”

Andrus comes to the eFoiling world from a kiteboarding background, but kiteboarding demands certain conditions – specifically, certain wind patterns – that places like northern Michigan don’t get a whole lot of during any given summer season. Andrus fell in love with eFoils because they offered “a good way to get out on the water on those non-windy days.” In a tourist mecca like northern Michigan, he figured that giving others an opportunity to learn the ropes of eFoiling would be a pretty sound business model.

It has been. Heading into summer number three, Andrus says Lake Life Efoils is “pretty much booked through August” with lessons and will stay busy through September or early October. “We’ll be doing lessons five days a week for the next few months,” he says. “I’ve got one full-time instructor and another part-time instructor, and then I handle quite a few lessons myself, too.”

Lake Life also sells eFoils, but because the equipment itself is still extremely pricey, the majority of the business’s revenues continue to come from lessons. Lower-end eFoils, Andrus says, cost around $6,000 or $7,000, but the average price lands somewhere in the $10,000 to $14,000 range. “We probably sell 18-20 units per year,” Andrus shares.

To try eFoiling in a rent-and-learn capacity is significantly more affordable, and has become a popular activity for “big groups or families looking for a fun afternoon activity on a hot July day,” Andrus says.

One of Andrus’s favorite things about eFoiling is that it tends to draw a broad clientele, from eight-year-old kids to 70-something adults. “And they all come off the water the same way: with these huge smiles and just raving about that feeling of being on the foil and flying over the water.”

A fairly gentle learning curve doesn’t hurt things, either.

“When you’re being pulled by a boat, like if you’re learning how to wakeboard or waterski, you’re going to fall down a lot,” Andrus explains. “You fall, and then you have to go through all these steps to get everything reset. With an eFoil, you’re in control of everything. You’re not relying on a driver or things like that. There is a hand controller that controls your speed, and from there, it’s all about learning the little weight shifts needed to stay on the board. So, all of our students start lessons on their knees, but by the end of the first two-hour lesson, I would say 70 percent are standing up and foiling.”

“It’s a uniquely accessible watersport,” Andrus continues. “If you want to kiteboard, you have to get used to that kite before you even get out on the water, and then you still have to practice all the board stuff. With eFoils, you’re just out on the water and on the board right away, which people love.”

As for getting up to the 30-mile-per-hour top speed that most eFoils are capable of? Well, that might take a few more lessons. It all depends on how quickly riders master the art of staying on their feet.

“Some people get comfortable right away and they're cruising by the end of the first lesson,” Andrus tells the Leelanau Ticker. “Once you're dialed in, it's only like a 5-10 percent weight shift that controls everything. But when you're learning, people are often just overdoing it. They're leaning too far forward, or leaning too far back. The hardest part [of giving lessons] is just getting people to calm down so they can get their balance and their speed dialed in.”

Andrus and his fellow instructors also have to make sure their skills are always in tip-top shape – something he says isn’t such a burden when it just means cruising around the waters of northern Michigan all summer long.

“I get out a lot, just to work on my balance,” Andrus explains, adding that his favorite type of professional development activity is to take “open water rides on Lake Michigan in front of Sleeping Bear Dunes or Pyramid Point.”

“We’re so lucky to live in such a beautiful area,” Andrus says. “Going out for the sunrise or sunset on a calm day and just cruising the big lakes, that’s probably the best experience out there.”