The VS–9 is heading to the Northern Irish wilderness
When Michael Beare, co-owner of Finn Lough, a luxury eco resort in Northern Ireland, was considering options for electric hydrofoiling vessels, he settled on the VS–9 as the key to unlocking a new level of guest experience at the forest hideaway on the shores of Lower Lough Erne.
Now, Beare can say Finn Lough will be the first luxury hospitality destination in Europe to offer its guests transport with an electric hydrofoiling vessel. The VS–9, our battery-electric nine-metre catamaran, will be used to transfer guests to and from their accommodation, as well as explore the lough.
By flying above the waves on carbon fibre hydrofoils, the VS–9 generates very little wake and no on-board emissions: the ride is smooth, silent and clean. When you’re flying on a VS-9, there’s nothing interrupting the tranquility that guests come to Finn Lough to find.
Beare said the VS–9 would allow Finn Lough to more deeply connect people to place, expanding on Finn Lough’s wildly refined approach to hospitality, which is characterised by innovative design that enhances guests’ experiences of the stunning Irish wilderness.
In announcing the news, NBR described the VS–9 as one of the most-cutting edge marine technologies to emerge from New Zealand, where almost every aspect of the vessels, from hardware to software, is designed, built and assembled at our facility in Auckland.
Beare told NBR that the VS–9’s fully retractable foils were the “stand out feature” that convinced him the vessel was well placed to navigate wind, rocky shallows and low bridges.
Lower Lough Erne is home to modern distilleries and ancient monastic sites; Beare told us these treasures are best accessed from the water. “The road journey... it’s just a road that you've seen a million times before. But when you go by boat, you get all the nuances of the landscape.”
“You get to see what someone doing that journey a hundred years ago saw. And the stories have much more resonance when you do it like that.”
The VS–9 will arrive at Finn Lough next year. Meanwhile, we’re scaling production to meet global demand.
