Kai Lenny is making this look way too fun!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7XupqFOFSg
We need a report from someone on Maui to tell us how this looks in person.
Practical fun, or are we seeing just the-best-of clips.
On Maui, it is pretty much boat assist unless you have the arms to swim 1 mile offshore, paddle for swell and still have steam to make it home. In the Gorge, 20 feet and you're in business. Even if you only get a handful of rides it would be great fun. Let the river take you back to your car.
Pretty amazing and without a paddle.
Kai has done it, again ! And this time taken it to a completely different level.
I suspect he's going to be doing this alone for a short while, until some others scramble to catch up.
It's seriously the epitome of amazing. And I am certain it takes extrahuman skills to practice this discipline.
Would love to hear any further info anyone might have regarding this latest development...
Wow!
Love to try it.
I can confirm that this is happening here on Maui. I was at baby Bch. A week or so ago watching the wind and waves. I noticed something moving about a half mile out. Looking closely I made out a surfer and a jetski that seemed to be closely following. If became clear that this was Kai practicing on his foil surfboard. He was using the ski to get started and then let go and surfed the swells connecting the bumps. He was getting 100yrd runs pretty regularly. The last one I saw he went well over 200yrds. And was clearly in front of the ski! Maybe where some of this video came from although I though it was windier than in the video. Anyway, as ad.has stated, no one will be paddling a7'board that far out on their own without assistance. I think the 10-12' footers will be a better choice for us mortals. There is a whole playground of i ridden waves out there just waiting for someone to ride them!
808sup, in what you witnessed, Kai was getting towed and then foiling vs paddling to catch waves as he shows in this latest video ?
Regardless of if one needs to have assistance, I think the whole point of interest is being able to get oneself onto the wave. And regardless of if he is actually doing just that, that is what Kai is also wishing to advocate.
As a beginner kite foiler I'm very impressed with what Kai is doing with his foils.
But before trying this at home, is important to consider how skilled Kai is compared with the rest of us, and how much experience he has with foils.
Here is a picture of Kai, surfing his fathers foil at 9!!!!!
At 9 I was playing with a foam board in the shore break.
It's the first time I try to attach a picture here. I hope it works.
This is really very cool, and perhaps the more organic and appropriate application of foils than in the line up at surf breaks. I was recently in Maui and did my first Maliko Run guided by Jeremy Riggs. Even with the mellow conditions I caught enough glides to see why folks in Maui and the Gorge are so into it.
True, maybe most wont be able to ride a board as small as Kai, but even a 7 foot board could be quite maneuverable. Watching Kai weave back and forth, I wonder if being able to actively pump and turn will help get longer glides. My guess is he's just scratching the surface of what's possible.
how fast do those foils go?
Time for an update.
Whilst most of you have been sleeping off the turkey from thanksgiving Kai has been working his off.
Did a great downwinder with a friend of mine yesterday. Winds just plain insane with some gusts up to 50mph.
While dropping off my friend back at maliko a truck drove by us and stopped at the boat ramp. Kai popped out and jumped in the water with what appeared to be about a 7ft. foilboard. Off he paddles and off we went so watch from the bluff above.
It was still blowing east as he paddled out about as far as we had earlier (a couple hundred yards). Then he turned down wind and stroked only for a few seconds, pumped the board for couple seconds at most to get on foil and took off.
And when I say took off I mean gone. Within 5mins we could barely see him so we went to the lanes lookout to catch another glimpse. When we got there my wife spotted him just nearing the windsurfers. She used her phone to shoot him but he was moving to fast to track in the wind and swell. We watched him disappear near mamas. From the time he got on foil to then was about 15mins and I never saw him paddle.
Quote from: noa link=topic=30577.msg332126#msg332126
date=1473996902
Last time he was on more of a surfboard. This time it was definitely a sup.
I kite on a foil board and I know how minimal the drag is when on foil. The energy below the surface of the water is more than enough to keep you going even without the wind above.
I can't wait to see where this all goes!
808sup, in what you witnessed, Kai was getting towed and then foiling vs paddling to catch waves as he shows in this latest video ?
Regardless of if one needs to have assistance, I think the whole point of interest is being able to get oneself onto the wave. And regardless of if he is actually doing just that, that is what Kai is also wishing to advocate.
Kai posted on FB a couple hours ago that he just did 11 miles with a top speed of 25 mph. Dang !
This is a serious game changer.
PBill and I did the run today which was all about keeping together and not screwing up. There was a large potential for things to go south out there. Giant east roll and 40+ on the gusts. Crest to trough were easily 15 to 20 feet in spots. When the set ups were perfect I'd go for it, otherwise it didn't feel wise to drop all the way with crossing moguls. Very intense.
Meanwhile Kai blew by all of us on his foil never losing lift. It was a good day to go fast and not be right on the surface.
Saw the FB post of Kai blowing past you guys. Amazing speed and agree this is the next level. Sort of like comparing transatlantic ocean liners to taking the plane... Well not quite, but watch the video and don't tell me you don't want to be foil downwinding like Kai...
Yeah well I'd like to run like Usain Bolt too. But it's not going to happen, is it? There's going to have to be a considerable change in the usability of the equipment before those of us who weren't foiling at age 9 can do this. But I guess that might happen, some time in the future.
I don't even downwind but now I want to (even more than I did yesterday). At least he said hi.
Did Kai prone paddle into that?
Who was on the Rails? Was that Jimmy?
yep
That means he's pretty sure he won't need to paddle much on a run like that. Awesome!
No hat, no paddle, no rash guard, no PFD, no hydration, no leash, no 14 foot board.
Just a Sunday afternoon stroll, surfing an 11 mile wave at speeds up to 25mph in his trunks.
Glimpse of the future or what?
You didn't really say "no leash" did you???
The first rule of No Leash is: you do not talk about No Leash. The second rule of No Leash is: you DO NOT talk about No Leash! Third rule of No Leash: if someone yells "stop!", goes limp, or taps out, you tell him that he should have worn a leash. Fourth rule: only two leashes on a board are sufficient.
Quote from: Area 10 on November 28, 2016, 10:50:50 AM
You didn't really say "no leash" did you???
The first rule of No Leash is: you do not talk about No Leash. The second rule of No Leash is . . . .
I noticed this too. I don't want to sound like an old guy but
WTF. Kai is riding as if he was 100 feet from shore on a flat day.
We have all seen DJ's videos and what happens when you get separated from your equipment in the wind. Kai better be ready to swim or :o
Isn't Kai normally accompanied by a flotilla of Jet-skis and boats documenting his latest exploits? One would imagine they could pick up his foil if he against all odds fell off....
Having said that the chances of a foil board drifting away like a SUP are a little less as the foil in part works as an anchor when you fall off, but left to its own devices it will self-right and could start bopping along at a pace similar of faster than you could swim - leash recommended for anyone without the flotilla.
You really think a board with a foil could self right and begin drift quickly? I'd have thought the foil would be like a water anchor.
Maybe at speed one doesn't want a leash in a crash?
Someone mentioned Kai took off alone.
A. He was by himself--often is.
B. You apparently haven't seen Kai swim. He wouldn't lose his board, but if he did, he'd take a beeline for the shore and be there in half an hour. Minor inconvenience for him, life-threatening for me.
C. Don't use Kai as an example, use him as an inspiration.
Here's the pic of our pal's board who broke his leash yesterday and swam in from over a mile out. I'm all for leashes but sometimes, like yesterday's conditions, they can break. I've had to swim a half mile to finally get my board in much lighter winds than yesterday. And if you are swimming it's best done without any garbage on you like a PFD. Hanging out with no movement isn't a great option. Our pal Randy left his paddle in an attempt to sprint after his board but wind speeds were over 40. So while he lost his good paddle as well at least he didn't have to swim with it. A lifeguard searching for him on a jetski picked him up about a quarter mile off but he would have made it on his own. If you're out there you should be able to do the distance swimming because it's always a potential.
A surfski paddler had literally run into his board flowing down the coast. He couldn't drag it but called the calvary when he got in which explains the lifeguards and firetrucks I saw that were searching for him. Anyway it was JR's beater board on loan so no great loss there but the paddle was a good V-drive. Like I guessed the board was annihilated in the 10 foot pound off of the east coast of West Maui.
I'd rather Kai was inspiring us to take safety more seriously rather than ignore risks. Now every bonehead who overestimates their own ability will think that unless you are foiling naked and on your own, you're not a man.
But he's young, and at the top of his game, and you can get away with all sorts then. When he's middle-aged and a tenacious girl called Melanoma has attached herself to him, and he's got kids who are relying on him, he'll start to feel a bit more vulnerable.
Foiling is for Kai like SUP was for Laird, I reckon. It's his chance to be known as a pioneer of sonething, and he's gonna strip off his top just like Laird and follow that path.
Here is the video of Kai.
PS: Words are good, pictures better, Video Best. I downloaded from Facebook and posted below.
I have found this to be the most effective converter. I will likely do a post on how to pull things from Youtube or Facebook for all our benefit.
https://www.onlinevideoconverter.com/video-converter
https://youtu.be/1wzhJ0oUHrk
One More:
https://youtu.be/LM8od-ldac8
Quote from: Area 10 on November 28, 2016, 12:59:10 PM
I'd rather Kai was inspiring us to take safety more seriously rather than ignore risks. Now every bonehead who overestimates their own ability will think that unless you are foiling naked and on your own, you're not a man.
But he's young, and at the top of his game, and you can get away with all sorts then. When he's middle-aged and a tenacious girl called Melanoma has attached herself to him, and he's got kids who are relying on him, he'll start to feel a bit more vulnerable.
Foiling is for Kai like SUP was for Laird, I reckon. It's his chance to be known as a pioneer of sonething, and he's gonna strip off his top just like Laird and follow that path.
I was being kind of flippant, probably shouldn't be, there are good reasons to take safety seriously, as this summer proved all too well. Way too many dead people. What I should have said is that while leashes are important to our high-volume, wind catching boards, they probably do more harm than good on a tiny foilboard. Leashes used to be common in kitesurfing--now they aren't--more of a hazard than a benefit. No one uses leashes for windsurfing--they'd be deadly.
More importantly, probably the best person to decide if a leash is a good idea is the subject of this video. Kai is far, far beyond demonstrating bravado by shunning safety gear. He's a smart, safety conscious guy. If he's not wearing a leash, I bet he has a good reason. I would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig. In windsurfing people don't wear leashes or PFDs. You can swim to your gear and be better off than bobbing in a PFD.
The safety issues surrounding watersport require much more than just basic, ironclad rules. They require personal accountability and reasoned decision-making. People consume perceived safety margins. Worse yet, safety gear always has a tradeoff. Float or mobility. Keep your board and risk entanglement. Wear a helmet and have it break your neck when you hit the water at high speed.
People die with their seat belt fastened because they think the seat belt will protect them when they drive like selfish lunatics.
As my answer indicates, I was more bothered by his lack of sunscreen than the absence of a leash. It's not for me to tell Kai what he should do. What would be suicidal for me is pretty safe for him. It was the potential effect of this video upon the psyche of others in terms of risk perception I was highlighting. He's made an activity that would be very dangerous for 99.999% of the population look like a walk in the park. That is truly remarkable in terms of understanding what level Kai is at. But the rest of us would probably get our limbs sliced off and bleed to death before the fish recycled us :)
Foil boards will tend to stay on foil a lot longer than you would think!The problem with a leash when foiling is when you fall and the board pings back there is enough speed for it to get back foiling towards you! Really you want a slow recoil type leash like kites used to have or something to stop this. They are a pretty good anchor when not moving however.
^ That's what I'd expect. Sounds like a leash is not necessary and may even be a bad idea. Given one can swim.
A10, he is wearing sunscreen.
Yo, am I getting old or something?
Kai Lenny is an action sports athlete and a professional stuntman. Can we all stop second guessing what he does?
Sorry, but I just can't stand the fear and nanny-ism here lately. I say this with humor and a smile, but here it is. He is paid well to risk life and limb and look like a golden God doing it. His profession is literally to put himself in danger and he has spent his entire life training for it. He is a grown man and makes his own decisions. He is selling a dream. That is what he is doing, selling a dream that we all buy. A dream where I don't have to wear a vest or sunscreen (or condoms or helmets or..) it's a dream and he is paid to create it and film it. And he does it better than anyone in this tiny speck of a sport we all love.
As far as being a role model, trust me, that God-forsaken bull j&$z that he's selling will kill far more people than not wearing a pfd ever will.
Next, let's all start a thread about how Greg Noll really should have worn a vest at Waimea. I guess we can photoshop those pics to have a smaller wave and a vest so kids won't emulate him. I'm sure, I don't know, at least 3 or 4 people might have paddled out in 40 foot waves and emulated him and gotten hurt in 50 years. We'd better pass a law.
Come on guys. What say we all go watch some Evel Kinevel videos and reset our line on idiocy and irresponsible behavior and let Kai get back to risking his health for nai$h and red ball$ in peace?
When I was his age I did so many stupid things and my only regret is that the list isn't longer.
Responsible behavior makes citizens, not legends. I think we still need a few legends.
And here's a toast to the reckless bastards who were out there paddling beside him in what citizens would call a storm. You guys are way too old to be doing that. Don't. F-ing. Stop. You inspire me.
(I hope you all feel the humor in this, and also maybe consider what I'm saying and loosen up a bit.) Now, hold my beer and watch this... ;)
QuoteI would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.
Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.
Quote from: surfcowboy on November 29, 2016, 01:21:34 AM
When I was his age I did so many stupid things and my only regret is that the list isn't longer.
What do we have to do around here to get a like button or one of those green up-thumbs?
Quote from: DW on November 29, 2016, 03:15:36 AM
QuoteI would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.
Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.
I'd like to see a video of that because I'm having trouble visualizing the board staying upright with no rider on it. The claim seems to defy logic.
If the foil is creating lift, the board should immediately fall over with no rider weight to hold it down and keep it balanced. I'm not saying you are wrong. I just want to know how it's possible for the board to keep on going by itself.
Quote from: Badger on November 29, 2016, 03:55:42 AM
Quote from: DW on November 29, 2016, 03:15:36 AM
QuoteI would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.
Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.
I'd like to see a video of that because I'm having trouble visualizing the board staying upright with no rider on it. The claim seems to defy logic.
If the foil is creating lift, the board should immediately fall over with no rider weight to hold it down and keep it balanced. I'm not saying you are wrong. I just want to know how it's possible for the board to keep on going by itself.
Think of it like this. With every wave push, even tiny ripples, a board gets some push, foiled or not foiled. With the foil on it, the board drifts like it's less than it's true weight. With each push the board is unweighted to X degree. X being unknown, but real for sure. So the board just flies along "on the water" like you've not seen your board do before.
Quote from: surfcowboy on November 29, 2016, 01:21:34 AM
Yo, am I getting old or something?
Kai Lenny is an action sports athlete and a professional stuntman. Can we all stop second guessing what he does?
Sorry, but I just can't stand the fear and nanny-ism here lately. I say this with humor and a smile, but here it is. He is paid well to risk life and limb and look like a golden God doing it. His profession is literally to put himself in danger and he has spent his entire life training for it. He is a grown man and makes his own decisions. He is selling a dream. That is what he is doing, selling a dream that we all buy. A dream where I don't have to wear a vest or sunscreen (or condoms or helmets or..) it's a dream and he is paid to create it and film it. And he does it better than anyone in this tiny speck of a sport we all love.
As far as being a role model, trust me, that God-forsaken bull j&$z that he's selling will kill far more people than not wearing a pfd ever will.
Next, let's all start a thread about how Greg Noll really should have worn a vest at Waimea. I guess we can photoshop those pics to have a smaller wave and a vest so kids won't emulate him. I'm sure, I don't know, at least 3 or 4 people might have paddled out in 40 foot waves and emulated him and gotten hurt in 50 years. We'd better pass a law.
Come on guys. What say we all go watch some Evel Kinevel videos and reset our line on idiocy and irresponsible behavior and let Kai get back to risking his health for nai$h and red ball$ in peace?
When I was his age I did so many stupid things and my only regret is that the list isn't longer.
Responsible behavior makes citizens, not legends. I think we still need a few legends.
And here's a toast to the reckless bastards who were out there paddling beside him in what citizens would call a storm. You guys are way too old to be doing that. Don't. F-ing. Stop. You inspire me.
(I hope you all feel the humor in this, and also maybe consider what I'm saying and loosen up a bit.) Now, hold my beer and watch this... ;)
The most fun post I've read in awhile. Man, we know stupid in spades around here. PBill plays like he's a nerd but his real credo is if we can't get hurt doing this we're doing something wrong. I just go along as I'm easily influenced by others. I love this pic as it describes everything. My imagination is that these are Polish boys who have just stolen a Nazi sidecar to grab a tree. That situation would epitomize the feeling I had growing up with my crazy brother at the wheel, having adrenalized fun in the face of overwhelming doom.
OK, OK, we won't criticize him for lack of safety protocol.
Back to the topic at hand.
What Kai does here at 1:10 demonstrates that he has the ability to get up, go and keep going indefinitely.
I am no downwinder but doesn't this suggest that he can hop from one wave source of energy and ride it until it fades then jump to the next available 'bump' and keep riding. Unlike you longboarders he also requires MUCH, MUCH less energy to ride and cruise meaning less destruction of the power in the swell.
My only comparison is from windsurfing when we would sail downwind and partially ride swell, but they would fade. More relevant is from big wave days when swells would set up a mile out to sea. You could select your set wave (e.g. 1st, 2nd or 3rd . . ) and then ride on that wave front pushing higher and higher up wind until it broke on the reef and you would bottom turn. Translate this experience to the outer set waves at Mavericks and the Magic starts all over again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px88XsARHwc
Quote from: DW on November 29, 2016, 03:15:36 AM
QuoteI would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.
Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.
Have you seen that yourself?
I'm not very experienced. But I've being kite hydrofoiling for 3 months now, and when I fall (very often) the board just stays there drifting slowly downwind, almost like a normal kiteboard. It doesn't point downwind and acelerate fast like a sup does, and never flies off the water. Of course I have my kite to help me get back to the board, but I think I wouldn't have any problem swimming back to it, and I'm not Kai Lenny. Disclaimer: I never foiled in more than 25 knots of wind, so I can't say if the board behaves differently in more wind.
Quote from: Adolfo on November 29, 2016, 09:58:48 AM
Quote from: DW on November 29, 2016, 03:15:36 AM
QuoteI would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.
Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.
Have you seen that yourself?
I'm not very experienced. But I've being kite hydrofoiling for 3 months now, and when I fall (very often) the board just stays there drifting slowly downwind, almost like a normal kiteboard. It doesn't point downwind and acelerate fast like a sup does, and never flies off the water. Of course I have my kite to help me get back to the board, but I think I wouldn't have any problem swimming back to it, and I'm not Kai Lenny. Disclaimer: I never foiled in more than 25 knots of wind, so I can't say if the board behaves differently in more wind.
If you kite foil, then you know the speed of drift I'm talking about. With a non foiled kiteboard it takes time to body drag back to your board. With a foiled kiteboard, you usually body drag down wind to catch your board or it comes right to you, but never do you have to body drag upwind. Drift is faster than board with no foil. That's all I'm saying. Foil does not act like anchor, it does opposite, it helps drift. That's all I'm trying to correct here. It's not an anchor.
Certainly if the board gets an errant shove it can pop up on the foil and zip away. Most foils are somewhat unstable in the roll direction and would tend to fall over, but some wings have a lot of tip dihedral and are reasonably stable. They should also pitch over on their nose, but again, a well-balanced board could work against that. The Geezer foil is going to be a problem that way. I gave it a shove in the surfy little waves at the event center and it went all the way to the beach, about 100 yards away, at high speed. It's absolutely stable in all axis. That's not good. I think I need to make the wings smaller--a lot smaller. Next step is stack weights on it and drag it around behind a boat. I promised Diane I'd do some basic tests before I jump on it. She knows me too well.
A board with a heavy foil under it will react to wind and current very differently than a board floating high with no weight on it. It could move a lot faster, or it could stay still. Depends on the conditions and the nature of the foil.
There used to be a backdoor way to post Facebook videos that didn't require conversion. I just looked for it and it's gone. They closed a mousehole in the walled garden. Now how about doing something about all the spam and fake news.
I'm thinking this is a good project for a deep learning system. Discern truth from falsehood. I don't see a lot of alternative approaches that will work in the long term.
Quote from: PonoBill on November 29, 2016, 02:46:51 PM
There used to be a backdoor way to post Facebook videos that didn't require conversion. I just looked for it and it's gone. They closed a mousehole in the walled garden.
It seems the normal way to post/embed videos doesn't work with Facebook videos.
However with wordpress there is a plugin that makes it possible (at least until facebook makes a change and breaks the code). I would guess there might be way for any forum to ad the same ability to embed/post facebook videos, including the standupzone forum?
Here is the plugin:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/facebook-video-embed
Here is an example of embedding Kai's latest foil facebook video:
https://clayisland.com/downwinders
For the benefit of the reader --> Facebook and Play the video
- Put your cursor over the video and right click (Windows) --> "Show Video URL" --> COPY
- Goto Video Converter (https://www.onlinevideoconverter.com/video-converter) --> Window--> PASTE
- Pull Down the Format Menu
- --> Video Format --> Select MP4
- --> START
Save the File to your computer then Upload to Youtube
Quote from: DW on November 29, 2016, 02:25:42 PM
Quote from: Adolfo on November 29, 2016, 09:58:48 AM
Quote from: DW on November 29, 2016, 03:15:36 AM
QuoteI would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.
Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.
Have you seen that yourself?
I'm not very experienced. But I've being kite hydrofoiling for 3 months now, and when I fall (very often) the board just stays there drifting slowly downwind, almost like a normal kiteboard. It doesn't point downwind and acelerate fast like a sup does, and never flies off the water. Of course I have my kite to help me get back to the board, but I think I wouldn't have any problem swimming back to it, and I'm not Kai Lenny. Disclaimer: I never foiled in more than 25 knots of wind, so I can't say if the board behaves differently in more wind.
If you kite foil, then you know the speed of drift I'm talking about. With a non foiled kiteboard it takes time to body drag back to your board. With a foiled kiteboard, you usually body drag down wind to catch your board or it comes right to you, but never do you have to body drag upwind. Drift is faster than board with no foil. That's all I'm saying. Foil does not act like anchor, it does opposite, it helps drift. That's all I'm trying to correct here. It's not an anchor.
This ^^^^^^^^^^
I've kite foiled for two years now. Been regular kiting since 2000. Foil boards do NOT anchor. In any wind at all, they will orient to a nose downwind position and and start moving with the wind very quickly. I found out the hard way that if you're separated by more than 6-8' and don't have the kite to drag down to board ( kite crashed in water ) You will not be able to swim fast enough to get the board. Foils are hyper- efficient in the water.