By . Catherine Eade . It is the bizarre new extreme sports craze that is sweeping Europe... enabling thrillseekers to fly underwater. Called 'Subwing', the unusual new adrenaline-fuelled activity involves diving underwater and gripping onto a 4ft carbon-fibre 'wing' that is dragged behind a speedboat. And now the world's first official Subwinging centre has been opened at the Peligoni Club on Zakynthos, Greece. A Subwing is a device with two wings that is towed along by a boat to enable a person to be pulled along underwater while twisting, turning and performing acrobatics . The adrenaline sport was invented by Norwegian teenager Simon Sivertsen who, bored on a family holiday, fashioned together a 'wing' from old banana boxes. Sivertsen, now 22, then tied the splintery device to the back of a yacht with 30 foot of rope and persuaded the driver to dag him forward. Seeing the vast potential for fun he soon refined the art - discovering that tilting the wing could easily control direction and depth underwater. With the help of some exciting You Tube videos the 'simple to manoeuvre' exploit soon became popular - earning Sivertsen a slew of design awards and manufacturing opportunities. You'll need to take a deep breath before you go down a few metres, but Subwing users can surface to take a few gulps of air when they like by pointing its wings in the direction in which they wish to travel . What if the key  to flying lies in the depths of the ocean? With a Subwing you can fly... like a penguin . Subwing is an incredible sport that has reinvented the way you can experience the ocean, where riders are towed behind a boat and have the ability to spin, turn and dive almost anywhere, says Director of Subwing, Mats Westgård. 'Riding the Subwing will make you feel like you’re flying underwater and gives the rider a sense of dolphin-like freedom,' he says . The Subwing is being launched during the Club's Beach the Blackberry young professionals fortnight. Defined as requiring 'little or no . training', and underlining the need to resurface to breathe 'whenever you like' the exciting new watersport has gained fans quickly. Beginners will typically spend between . 10 and 15 seconds underwater at a time, diving to around three metres - . but with more training and practice users can go much deeper and for . longer. The carbon wings' hollow design and foam . filling allows the Subwing to float when it is not being towed some 10 . to 12 metres behind a speed boat. Once they’re in motion, riders can steer the Subwing up and down, left and right, or perform spins by angling or twisting the wings. Sivertson, a Norwegian sailing fanatic discovered the new way to travel underwater with the agility and grace of a dolphin . The adrenaline sport was invented by Norwegian teenager Simon Sivertsen . The user . is pulled along at anything from two to four knots, (2.3mph to 4.6mph . with a scuba mask being the only other piece of gear required to create a . sense of underwater flying. A deep breath is required but Subwing users . can surface for breath when they like and manoeuvre the device by . pointing its wings in the direction in which they wish to travel. Because of the way the ropes are attached . to the wings, a force balance between the user and the tow ropes is . created, which reduces the energy required to operate the device and . allows divers to hold their breath for longer, the company says. A Facebook page has even been set up exhorting people to try the sport and comparing it to the flight of the penguin. 'Have you ever dreamed of flying? You are not alone... but what if the key lies in the unexplored and deep substance that is covering most of the earth’s surface, water. 'A species that has learned to harness the water’s abilities in a way nature originally didn’t intended is the penguin. It left the sky in favor of the ocean, unlocking the great potential of underwater flight. 'This potential has never been harvested by humans, until now…Introducing the SUBWING, human underwater flight with virtually full freedom of movement is now made possible. So grab your SUBWING and go fly. Underwater,' the site urges. Sivertsen says the Peligoni club was chosen as the location for the Subwing centre as 'The water . is ridiculously clear and the mountains there shelter the coast from the . waves.' The Subwing consists of two separate wings connected in a rotatable swivel.By grabbing the grip on each wing, it can easily be controlled in all directions.Users can tilt both wings downwards to dive, and upwards to resurface, while if attempting a roll, a person twists the wings in opposite directions.The company says that controlling the Subwing is easy to learn and comes naturally to many first- timers. Water is about 800 times denser than air and therefore high speeds are not necessary to achieve what feels like a fast speed under water. The company recommends a towing speed around 2-4 knots, (2.3mph to 4.6mph) which can be achieved by a boat with a small motor . Peligoni Club: Where the water is 'ridiculously clear' and the mountains shelter the coast from waves . Penguins in Greece? The Subwing was introduced at Peligoni's Beach the Blackberry fortnight for young professionals .
Norwegian sailor built prototype with a piece of driftwood .
Subwing is a hand held fin with two 'wings' for towing behind a speed boat .
Device costs from £296 and users can select video camera accessories .
By . Catherine Eade . It is the bizarre new extreme sports craze that is sweeping Europe... enabling thrillseekers to fly underwater. Called 'Subwing', the unusual new adrenaline-fuelled activity involves diving underwater and gripping onto a 4ft carbon-fibre 'wing' that is dragged behind a speedboat. And now the world's first official Subwinging centre has been opened at the Peligoni Club on Zakynthos, Greece. A Subwing is a device with two wings that is towed along by a boat to enable a person to be pulled along underwater while twisting, turning and performing acrobatics . The adrenaline sport was invented by Norwegian teenager Simon Sivertsen who, bored on a family holiday, fashioned together a 'wing' from old banana boxes. Sivertsen, now 22, then tied the splintery device to the back of a yacht with 30 foot of rope and persuaded the driver to dag him forward. Seeing the vast potential for fun he soon refined the art - discovering that tilting the wing could easily control direction and depth underwater. With the help of some exciting You Tube videos the 'simple to manoeuvre' exploit soon became popular - earning Sivertsen a slew of design awards and manufacturing opportunities. You'll need to take a deep breath before you go down a few metres, but Subwing users can surface to take a few gulps of air when they like by pointing its wings in the direction in which they wish to travel . What if the key  to flying lies in the depths of the ocean? With a Subwing you can fly... like a penguin . Subwing is an incredible sport that has reinvented the way you can experience the ocean, where riders are towed behind a boat and have the ability to spin, turn and dive almost anywhere, says Director of Subwing, Mats Westgård. 'Riding the Subwing will make you feel like you’re flying underwater and gives the rider a sense of dolphin-like freedom,' he says . The Subwing is being launched during the Club's Beach the Blackberry young professionals fortnight. Defined as requiring 'little or no . training', and underlining the need to resurface to breathe 'whenever you like' the exciting new watersport has gained fans quickly. Beginners will typically spend between . 10 and 15 seconds underwater at a time, diving to around three metres - . but with more training and practice users can go much deeper and for . longer. The carbon wings' hollow design and foam . filling allows the Subwing to float when it is not being towed some 10 . to 12 metres behind a speed boat. Once they’re in motion, riders can steer the Subwing up and down, left and right, or perform spins by angling or twisting the wings. Sivertson, a Norwegian sailing fanatic discovered the new way to travel underwater with the agility and grace of a dolphin . The adrenaline sport was invented by Norwegian teenager Simon Sivertsen . The user . is pulled along at anything from two to four knots, (2.3mph to 4.6mph . with a scuba mask being the only other piece of gear required to create a . sense of underwater flying. A deep breath is required but Subwing users . can surface for breath when they like and manoeuvre the device by . pointing its wings in the direction in which they wish to travel. Because of the way the ropes are attached . to the wings, a force balance between the user and the tow ropes is . created, which reduces the energy required to operate the device and . allows divers to hold their breath for longer, the company says. A Facebook page has even been set up exhorting people to try the sport and comparing it to the flight of the penguin. 'Have you ever dreamed of flying? You are not alone... but what if the key lies in the unexplored and deep substance that is covering most of the earth’s surface, water. 'A species that has learned to harness the water’s abilities in a way nature originally didn’t intended is the penguin. It left the sky in favor of the ocean, unlocking the great potential of underwater flight. 'This potential has never been harvested by humans, until now…Introducing the SUBWING, human underwater flight with virtually full freedom of movement is now made possible. So grab your SUBWING and go fly. Underwater,' the site urges. Sivertsen says the Peligoni club was chosen as the location for the Subwing centre as 'The water . is ridiculously clear and the mountains there shelter the coast from the . waves.' The Subwing consists of two separate wings connected in a rotatable swivel.By grabbing the grip on each wing, it can easily be controlled in all directions.Users can tilt both wings downwards to dive, and upwards to resurface, while if attempting a roll, a person twists the wings in opposite directions.The company says that controlling the Subwing is easy to learn and comes naturally to many first- timers. Water is about 800 times denser than air and therefore high speeds are not necessary to achieve what feels like a fast speed under water. The company recommends a towing speed around 2-4 knots, (2.3mph to 4.6mph) which can be achieved by a boat with a small motor . Peligoni Club: Where the water is 'ridiculously clear' and the mountains shelter the coast from waves . Penguins in Greece? The Subwing was introduced at Peligoni's Beach the Blackberry fortnight for young professionals .
a device with two wings that is towed along by a metres behind a speed boat. Once they’re in being the only other piece of gear required to breath is required but Subwing users . can controlling the Subwing is easy to learn and