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The Foil Zone => Foil SUP => Topic started by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 07:02:26 AM

Title: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 07:02:26 AM
I took my first trip to the North Shore of Oahu.  I called Sam Pa’e and let him know I was coming.  I was bringing my foil board.  The forecast was for big.  He said “It’s too big to foil Sunset.”  But all I brought was my foil.  So . . . I foiled.
#TooBigToFoil is dedicated to those who are on the verge and wanting to go bigger on the foil.  You have to find the right spot, with a softer punch into the ride and some deep water to glide into.  Then again in this Hawaiian example there weren’t too many examples other than Phantoms.

The key is to go bigger.  While everyone is trying to go shorter with their boards.  I have been retrograding and using my first generation hybrid SUP’s to paddle into some of the biggest foil waves ridden. 

My current favorite, which has had the Tuttle box replaced 3 times is a 7’ 4” L41 Bat-Tail.  You will want a front footstrap (at a minimum).  Here is some motivation. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc4xXjsN5Pg
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 07:02:49 AM
The key is to stay FRONT FOOT DOWN.

When / IF the takeoff is too critical and steep then do NOT bring the nose of the board off the water.  Fly nose down.

This is where a bigger board has an advantage because it will not pearl.  Stay nose down until you can outrun the energy and find a more friendly shoulder to scream on.

Although on one wave I was flying nose down-the-line.  I took off and actually railed the board against the face of the wave.  In my head I was thinking 'This is crazy because I am riding this wave like a short board but I have this darn wing underneath about to be released like a bull from its cage.'  I stayed nose down but the board was sticky and too slow.  Things were walling up and I was going to get runover.  I didn't want to fly but had no choice, either go slow and get mowed down or fly and take my chances and make the wave.  I flew and lived to fly another day but that was not a pleasant set of choices. 

In the 2nd photo you can see the wave is over my head, as in breaking the horizon.  If I am crouching maybe its 5 ft above the deck of the board.  I am on a 29" mast on 5" thick board and trying NOT to ride in the trough.  All told ~ 8 feet from the camera to the foil.  But the GoPro does make things look extremely approachable and flat. 
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 07:03:56 AM
And to plan your escape.  In Hawaii everyone was asking about my waist leash, and confirming that they would want nothing to do with the board in the whitewater.   This is true.  I have a chicken loop that allows quick access to release my leash. 

But typically the board is pulled well away from you during a whitewater beating.  When there is wind things change and I recommend keeping your head down.  In this case if I had released my board I think it would have blown to the Kauai or maybe the pile of plastic trash off Japan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JRpsy1iMLQ&t=44s 
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Tom on December 12, 2020, 04:16:24 PM
Beasho, I always look forward to winter time because that's when you post interesting and insightful posts about getting creamed.
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 06:57:50 PM
Conditions in Hawaii were good enough that I wondered if I should be foiling.  But as our host said "No matter how good you are you're not going to impress anyone here."  Can I rip a bottom turn on a SUP - Yes!  But no one was foiling in the bigger outside waves under their own power. 

Conditions looked like this.  With size like #2:
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: supfoo on December 12, 2020, 07:27:36 PM
Dang Beasho, that’s some scary surf to get caught in, maybe a helmet next time!
Many props for being out there!
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 07:35:43 PM
Successful flights were fun.  And slightly entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXmhfq0nkOY
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 07:46:55 PM
But people seem to enjoy the crashes. 

Back in California the buoys continued to deliver.  This wave started at 10 - 12 feet.  One of the local Kayakers had a GoPro Hero 9.  It allows for filming after the fact, meaning you can film everything and when you push the button it backs up 30 seconds and preserves the footage.  I don't often have other people filming but caught this ride.  I was 100+ yards into the flight coming up on the second reef reform.  The wave doubled up and sent me into a full speed faceplant.  I failed to keep the nose down on the second punt.

I normally keep an Cutie orange in my wetsuit.  A form of natural goo to re-engergize after ~ 7 waves.  I crashed so hard on this wave I lost the orange out of my wetsuit and got a blackeye from my face hitting the water. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYj_DbG7ho

Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 12, 2020, 08:04:53 PM
Here I was filming on the foil hoping my daughter would go left.  But I just took the wave in the teeth.

You can see me protecting my head at the last instant from any flying boards or foils.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0MShfPjHzk
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Phils on December 13, 2020, 12:51:31 AM
Pretty impressive stuff.  Thanks for posting.
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 16, 2020, 03:02:52 PM
This is one of the things that got me going on the #TooBigToFoil.

Chris Bertish famous for winning the Mavericks competition and then paddling across the Atlantic on SUP posts a picture of himself foiling on a big wave.  Then says you can't paddle in to anything over 8 feet.  Chris Bertish know for saying Nothing is Im-Possible.  He eventually re-cants. 

One day last spring I was coming in at Mavericks having foiled in some outer stuff 10 - 14 feet and Chris was walking out with his prone foil board under his arm.  I said "There is some great stuff on the outside that is breaking 10+ feet. . . ."  He points to his gear, a 5 foot board, and says "I am using this." 

Exactly!  If you want to catch big waves on a foil you have to go BIGGER!
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 16, 2020, 03:04:24 PM
Back to crashes.  This day was 11 feet @ 14 seconds.  I paddled out to a clean Mavericks that was settling down for the evening. 

There is a guy watching in the channel.  He knew I was on a foil and I was going to put on a show.  In my head I was thinking I was going to CRUSH this.
 
Then I got Blitzed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyRn-AXqkI
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 20, 2020, 09:19:10 AM
Was out foiling for my birthday.  No one was out because it was TooBigToFoil.

I caught some SPICY Meatballs 50 yards south of Mushroom Rock.  Anyone who has been out there knows its deep water, especially on a higher tide.  The GoPro 360 is great at getting all the perspectives.  A 50 yard vertical wall down the line to Mushroom Rock and whitewater over my right shoulder.
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 20, 2020, 09:22:04 AM
I figured it was so good I had to take 1 video.  Looked like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObO3slI7LXA
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: PonoBill on December 20, 2020, 09:35:51 AM
I like the Plasticman hand in your birthday photos. The new GoPros produce some weird effects.

Since I've been here in SoCal I've taken off on some waves that were TooBigToFoil in my opinion (or at least for my capabilities and comfort). Nothing like screwing around near Mavericks or the North Shore, but steep and overhead. I've taken your advice to heart and kept every ounce of my weight on my front foot and the board on the water until I no longer was considering crapping my shorts. It's generally worked well, though there have been a few runs through the rinse cycle where I was fairly certain my board/foil was going to take my head off. Enough so that I'm wearing a helmet.
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 20, 2020, 07:24:51 PM
I've taken your advice to heart and kept every ounce of my weight on my front foot and the board on the water until I no longer was considering crapping my shorts.

The heavy front foot is KEY!  I was doing that today in 8 to 12 foot faces, enough that I felt like I was cheating.  As in 'I am not even foiling I am just riding a 7 foot SUP on a 10 foot wave.'  But then I would fly and go for 300 yards.  My longest was 600 yards.  One of the better foil waves I have ever caught.  Just groovy. 

In Hawaii I took off on a wave and was cutting backside (Goofy foot going right) and I could feel the rail of my board fully engaged with the wall of the wave.  I thought "Oh my god I am actually using the rail of this board and I have all this foil 2 feet below that about to go Berserk."  I stayed heavy front foot and the whole rig remained down.  Weight forward of the center of lift and the FOIL STAYS DOWN.

There was another wave in Hawaii that I was racing down the line and the nose was down and sticking.  It was going too slow.  I could sense the wave overtaking me and I was in a terrifying situation. 

1) Stay down and get run over AND Flipped with the foil or

2) Fly, Fly, Fly and race down the line line and try to survive.  But I didn't want to fly, things were already too dicey and fast, just not fast enough.   

I eventually flew and didn't breach or get crushed.  But - Plenty of soil in the shorts. 
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 20, 2020, 08:06:48 PM
Some of today's action.  Ruby had been suggesting things over the past 2 weeks were too big and cold for her liking.

Today was a sunny, clean 8 to 12 feet.  There were a few 'easy peasy' takeoffs but most were challenging.  Here Ruby had to negotiate a mogul on the drop.  Sometimes when you pearl you can push through but you can end up with a bit of acid reflux in the back of your throat. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuVXHmrWV0
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 21, 2020, 08:45:33 AM
Today was a sunny, clean 8 to 12 feet.  There were a few 'easy peasy' takeoffs but most were challenging. . . . . Sometimes when you pearl you can push through but you can end up with a bit of acid reflux in the back of your throat. 

Here is an example of Pearling and Making it through.  This wave started out with a touch of mellow.  Then the nose rose up and I jammed it down.  In the 2nd shot you see the board pearling, water over the top.  But with a LONG NOSE the board (7' 4") stayed on the surface. 

The forward footstrap prevents pitching over the front of the board.  I rode this wave 230 yards.   

There is no way to pull this off with a shorter board (e.g. sub 6' 6") and without straps in waves that are well overhead.

There I said it  ;D  But feel free to prove me wrong.

Gear:  I was using the GoFoil NL190.  I decided NOT to go with the NL130 because the waves were not big enough and I wanted to glide a bit more.  Video to follow. 
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on December 30, 2020, 10:48:48 AM
This day was #TooBigToFoil so I took out the 10'6" SUP to make sure I still had the chops.

Here was an example of a wave.  It was consistently 2X overhead, chop factor of 9/10 and the sets were 15 - 17 feet.  I could barely stand up and the conditions had me rattled.

Here I was getting hustled by a guy on a 9' SUP.  No way he could keep up with or paddle as fast as my 10' 6" Paddle Surf Hawaii.  As I said when it's #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger.  This applies to SUP's as well.  Tackling 15+ foot waves on a 9' SUP is like taking out a 6' prone board.  Not advised for anyone with sub-pipeline skill sets.

Buoys were 9ft @ 17 seconds with significant wind hangover from the night before. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrL4eITskqM
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: bigmtn on December 30, 2020, 11:02:51 PM
Should have used the foil. Crumbly take off, perfect for the foil. Just don't sit so far outside.
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on January 07, 2021, 11:24:14 AM
Should have used the foil. Crumbly take off, perfect for the foil. Just don't sit so far outside.

I love the feedback.  I was actually scared on this day.  My heart was racing and I was having 'semi' panic attacks about how to get in. 

I like to think that I don't scare easily.  Not Mavericks level scary but at Mavericks you can just paddle to the side and get in with dry hair EVERY TIME.  This was just a constant pressure and threat.

Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on January 07, 2021, 11:27:12 AM
Back to Foiling.  This was the prettiest, and among the biggest waves, I have ever caught on a Foil.

Is anybody out there?  Is anybody doing this in the world?

Nothing small breaks in this spot.  15-17 foot takeoff that turned into a screaming 12 footer over Blackhand Reef.  500 yard ride.     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDBXWa3_nK8
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: bigmtn on January 08, 2021, 12:58:28 PM
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJxXq6Ypm37/
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Califoilia on January 08, 2021, 01:36:27 PM
Oh crap! That's one time I wouldn't object to a guy not wearing a leash. That guillotine above him looks nasty, and I can't imagine going through that upcoming spin cycle being attached to it.  :o

EDIT: Oops, dumb me, didn't realize it was an IG video I could click on. But still stand by the above, and just glad to see that it appears he came out no worse for the wear after a couple of those tumbles.

Side note: Just had a buddy of mine show me the still ugly remnants of the wound his NL tip put into his thigh from a couple weeks ago in a way less dramatic wave at SanO. No arguing they work well, but geez, these wings are dangerous enough w/o adding "can opener" tips to them. :'(
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: SUPJorge on January 08, 2021, 01:48:32 PM
Back to Foiling.  This was the prettiest, and among the biggest waves, I have ever caught on a Foil.

Beasho, That was spectacular.
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on January 09, 2021, 09:50:38 AM
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJxXq6Ypm37/

I have a brother!!!!!!!   This is great.

You can see on takeoff he is flying as he makes the drop.  The benefit with a longer SUP is that you can fly nose down on the water.  Being on foil requires much more finesse.  With a short board at speed if the nose touches you will pearl 95% of the time. That's also why he was on a 40" mast. 
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on January 22, 2021, 06:41:39 AM
The waves last week were the biggest on the planet.  Every big wave surfer from around the world came to Half Moon Bay and then a few more to either 1) take a try 2) watch or 3) Get blown up.

It was virtually impossible to paddle out. You needed to get a ride in a boat.  This week, between sets I paddled out and found myself 100% alone.  Again.  Sets looked promising just inside the bowl.  I caught a couple and then after waiting 45 minutes this happened. 

As Jeff Clark says "Mavericks will take care of itself."

I had a witness to the ride at the end and the blow up.  'Hide' (Hideshiro Minami) was on a jetski.  There was a little whimper in me that was hoping he would save me but it all worked out and nothing broke. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C2IyOM6vJs   
Title: Re: #TooBigToFoil then go Bigger
Post by: Beasho on January 22, 2021, 06:46:12 AM
And when I say the biggest on the planet.  They looked like this exactly 7 days earlier.
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