Call me a ferry
It flies, it floats, it’s electric — and now it’s officially a hit. The world’s first electric hydrofoil ferry, a Candela P-12 vessel named Nova, has wrapped up its first season of public service in Stockholm, and new data confirms what many suspected: this sleek, silent, water-skimming machine isn’t just a cool piece of tech — it’s also wildly successful. The Nova, which first entered Stockholm’s public transport system last fall, uses a combination of electric propulsion and hydrofoil technology to quite literally lift above the water. This reduces drag, increases efficiency, and makes it the fastest electric passenger vessel in the world, cruising comfortably at around 29 mph. As it prepares to return to the water on April 15 after a winter pause, Stockholm’s public transport authority has released performance data from Nova’s autumn run. The numbers reveal that the boat isn’t just fast — it’s popular, green, and pulling people out of their cars.
Compared to the diesel ferries it operates alongside, Nova emits 95% less CO₂ and uses 84% less energy per passenger-kilometer. That translates to just 23 grams of CO₂ per passenger-kilometer, compared to 439 grams for the older diesel vessels. In other words, it’s a drop in a bucket compared to the old standard. A you can charge it with the Ford F-150 charger. It’s a rider favorite too. With 80% average occupancy (and many trips fully booked), Nova has become quite literally one of the hottest tickets on Stockholm’s Route 89. Some of that success may come from its 30-minute travel time roughly half the time it takes to get there by car or bus.
Candela isn’t stopping in Sweden, either. The company already has customers lined up in Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and the U.S., suggesting that this may be just the beginning of the era of flying electric ferries. Even when compared to traditional electric ferries, which are already an improvement by reducing emissions, electric hydrofoil ferries like these go so much further. They not only use even less energy than a traditional electric ferry, but they offer a faster trip and a smoother ride, making the idea of ferry travel that much more enticing. In this case seen in Stockholm, commuters get to arrive faster, more comfortably, and in a pretty cool way. That’s a win-win-win if you ask me!
Ferrly funny Jokes
How do Viking ships communicate with each other?
Norse code.
Two Finnish guys are sitting in a ferry, drinking vodka.
After a few bottles are empty one of the Finns says, “This was fun.”
The other one replies:
“Are we here to drink, or are we here to talk?”
What do you call a boat full of dentists?
A tooth ferry.
The captain has good news and bad news.
The Egyptian royal barge returns to harbor after a long day ferrying the pharaoh up and down the Nile. The captain says to the tired oarsmen ‘Right, lads, I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?’
The oarsmen consult among themselves and decide they fancy some good news first.
‘The good news,’ says the captain, ‘Is that from now on your rations are doubled. The oarsmen cheer and start talking excitedly amongst themselves.
‘The bad news,’ says the captain, ‘Is that Pharaoh wants to try water-skiing.’
April 29th Birthdays
1971 – Uma Thurman, 1997 – Katherine Langford, 1959 – Michelle Pfeiffer, 1999 – Hanna Hayes
1970 – Andre Agassi, 1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, 1934 – Willie Nelson, 1952 – Dale Earnhardt