Kai Lenny Downwind SUP Foil

[Admin]

Well, we wondered who was going to be first to move past chatter and strap a foil on a downwind board.  Looks like it was Kai.

[Easy Rider]

A) Looks fast.
B) Looks a little weird.
C) Bummer no leash.

[addapost]

Someone please help me out here because I am suffering from a severe lack of imagination. What the hell is the point of that thing?

[Admin]

Someone please help me out here because I am suffering from a severe lack of imagination. What the hell is the point of that thing?

The dream would be near zero drag/resistance/chop contact to stall your glides on a downwinder.  Pass from one cup to another without stalling off.  All that plus the fun of soaring.  I imagine the board could become very narrow and efficient when stabilized by a deep underwater wing. 

[Badger]

C) Bummer no leash.

Why would he need a leash? That board isn't going to float away. It's a perfect sea anchor.

I love the idea of soaring above the water.

.

[addapost]

Someone please help me out here because I am suffering from a severe lack of imagination. What the hell is the point of that thing?

The dream would be near zero drag/resistance/chop contact to stall your glides on a downwinder.  Pass from one cup to another without stalling off.  All that plus the fun of soaring.  I imagine the board could become very narrow and efficient when stabilized by a deep underwater wing.

Thanks, Like I said I can't imagine what it feels like to stand on that thing. To me it LOOKS like it is completely unstable. It LOOKS like it is uncontrollable, un-steerable. It LOOKS like waves/swell would roll right over it and you would go nowhere. Interesting.

[CascadeSup]

[Admin]

Well if that doesn't get you sketching some designs...

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

no leash  hell he has got a camera crew and probably a boat.   You or me alone or with friends................    leash yes

[JimK]

This is amazing I'm in impressed and wanna know more I can see the future here!
JimK
Extreme Windsurfing

[southwesterly]

Groundbreaking! I am totally blown away. Game changer for sure.

It's cool that's it's Kai not Laird this time.

[tautologies]

Someone please help me out here because I am suffering from a severe lack of imagination. What the hell is the point of that thing?

The dream would be near zero drag/resistance/chop contact to stall your glides on a downwinder.  Pass from one cup to another without stalling off.  All that plus the fun of soaring.  I imagine the board could become very narrow and efficient when stabilized by a deep underwater wing.

Thanks, Like I said I can't imagine what it feels like to stand on that thing. To me it LOOKS like it is completely unstable. It LOOKS like it is uncontrollable, un-steerable. It LOOKS like waves/swell would roll right over it and you would go nowhere. Interesting.

I've been "thinking" of doing this for so many years now so I am hopeful that Naish will actually start producing these. I think their Raptor design would be fit the bill for the wave version. I just never wanted to spend the money and cut up my nice boards.

Now the point is a gliding feeling you cannot compare to anything that is hitting the surface of the water. Riding foils has been as close to flying as I can remember.

BTW last time we were discussing this one of the imagined / proposed designs that surfaced was with a foil on the nose and the tail, and I am really glad Naish did not go that route, because I think it would fail, and you would lose all the agility of turning.

Foils are not unstable once you get it. They need a tad more planning for turning, but are super fun for soul sessions.

[CascadeSup]

I'd love to see how much effort, or how big of a bump it took to get flying.  Is this something that normal humans could get flying in someplace like the Gorge?  Or are we still a few iterations away from that?

[Rakky]

If the SUP foil develops more, it will change the 'Downwinder' competitions. 
Similar to kite board racing - now mostly foils 

[TallDude]

I've never foiled anything so I feel a disconnect. I'm sure that people who've ridden a foiled kite board or foiled wind surf board get it. I can see him pumping the board in the video to maintain a glide. It actually looks pretty stable and maneuverable. I kept waiting for it to lose speed and drop to the water, but it only did it maybe once in the video.