©Nohcab Crossing the Channel: From Blériot to Franky Zapata
Crossing the Channel has never been a simple journey. It's a challenge. A symbol. A human and technological adventure. For more than two centuries, the thirty kilometers separating Calais from Dover have inspired pioneers and adventurers who have come to push the boundaries of what is possible. First flight, sporting feats, futuristic inventions The English Channel is a stage where great epics are played out. And this tradition continues today, on the coasts of Calais and Sangatte-Blériot Plage.
The big firsts of the Channel
The English Channel is a link between legends and the future. From 2025th-century balloons to the piloted drones of tomorrow, the Channel remains a place of experimentation and self-improvement. With the return of Franky Zapata in XNUMX, Calais and Sangatte confirm their central role in this great human and technological adventure. The Channel has seen the wildest dreams come true. Here are some of the most notable exploits:
- 1785 : first aerial crossing of the Channel in hot air balloon by the Frenchman Blanchard and the American Jeffries, departing from Dover.
- 1875 : English Matthew Webb becomes the first man to cross swimming.
- 1909 : Louis Bleriot enters into legend by making the first crossing by plane from the current Blériot-Plage.
- 1979 : Bryan Allen crosses the Channel in 2 hours 49 minutes aboard the Gossamer Albatros, a pedal-powered airplane.
- 2004 : Richard Branson and another businessman cross the Channel aboard a amphibious car Aquada.
- 2005 : James Cracknell, double Olympic rowing champion, successfully completes the crossing paddling on a surfboard.
- 2010 : Philippe croizon, with all four limbs amputated, achieves the feat of crossing the Channel swimming in 13h26.
©Nohcab A tradition of daring between land and sea
The Calais coastline carries within it the spirit of great crossings. On Calais beach, a stone's throw from Blériot beach, or at the Ferry Terminal, monuments pay tribute to these pioneers : a stele in memory of Louis Bleriot and another dedicated to Matthew Webb, first swimmer of the English Channel. We also find the two planes (a Blériot XI and a Spad VII) created by the aviator Louis Blériot, in the entrance building of the new port of Calais.
Today, Calais still embodies this symbolic link between France and England, between tradition and innovation. Franky Zapata's return in 2025 reaffirms this role as a messenger of eras, a witness to progress, a springboard to tomorrow.
©Nohcab 
©Nohcab Franky Zapata: The Flying Man
Remember: the August 4, 2019, Franky Zapata enters history. The whole world has its eyes fixed on the sky above the English Channel. A man flies over the sea at nearly 170 km/h, standing on a futuristic platform: the Flyboard Air. In 22 minutes and with a refueling stop at sea, Franky Zapata connects Sangatte-Bleriot Beach at the cliffs of Dover. A technological and human feat, 110 years after the crossing of Louis Bleriot, by plane.
This July 25, 2025, Exactly 116 years after Blériot's flight, Franky Zapata attempted a new challenge from Sangatte-Blériot Plage, aboard its brand new Airscooter (a single-seater flying machine, half drone, half capsule). From the first biplane to the Flyboard, to this astonishing autonomous vehicle, each generation of inventors pushes the limits of individual flight. Beyond the performance itself, the strong mobilization around this event testifies to a real enthusiasm for aeronautical innovations and dreams of elevation which continue to link Calais to the history of great technological advances.
©Timothé Lovergne 
©Timothé Lovergne