The Foil Zone > Foil SUP
Big Wave Foiling: UN-ASSISTED
Beasho:
In Northern California we have the advantage of big waves during the winter. The people that I mostly foil with are all big wave surfers. As with the SUP awakening we all saw the foil as a way to get into waves early. If you can get into waves early you can get into BIG waves early.
I realize I am in a unique spot with the biggest waves on the planet within a bicycle ride away. BUT who else is trying to surf big waves on a foil?
There are some tricks we have learned:
1) You need a longer board
2) Footstraps
3) Small Tail
4) Tall Mast
5) Moveable foot positions
6) Be ready for stuff to break
Any others out there?
Here is Haley Fiske FLYING on a bomb last weekend.
Beasho:
Jeff Clark climbing over a beast.
I was filming this wave hoping he would go. When it started to break and he went over I realized I was going to get smashed.
Unless . . I turned and caught the wave. I did. It was like getting hit by a bull but WITH FOOTSTRAPS your front foot stays locked in the right place. Just keep the nose down, crouch and eventually you can coming flying out into the flats of the wave.
It was like riding the red dragon in Avatar. Booyah!
PS: Another thing to learn is that the FLATS are your friend in big waves. They have a slight angle unlike small waves and let you run and bottom turn at speed. This was something Haley figured out. Just go straight down the face rather than running for the shoulder. The shoulder can have TOO much power for the foil. It has to be the right type of wave though e.g. a nasty drop and then mush.
Beasho:
I emphasize the UN-ASSISTED.
Laird, and even Kai, has been foiling in big waves for 15 to 20 years. Nothing new there when you have a team of people with Jet-skis and drones following you.
See the paddle in Haley's hand - I would posit this is a first! (But please prove me wrong)
No Jet-ski assist, no tow in.
1) He was riding a 9' 0" SUP aka long enough to get speed to get into the wave. Generation Zero.Zero foil board (He made it himself)
2) He was riding an GoFoil IWA with Small tail. We do NOT need small wings in big waves. We just need to learn how to keep the big wings DOWN so that you can keep flying when the wave softens.
3) He might have cracked his mast at the fuselage on this day. For every one of these catches there are plenty of nasty misses with sour results.
"If you bite and its sweet savor the glory if its sour spit it out."
Beasho:
You need to find the seam. This is what 18 feet @ 14 seconds looks like.
The wave he caught made it look easy. It's the ugly stuff that keeps you out of the fray.
On the positive side - No Angry Short-Boarders flipping the bird. No crowds full of piss and vinegar. Just wide open landscape without a person in sight. No proners need apply.
PonoBill:
Cool shots. That's the kind of thing I dream about, but so far my tussle with bigger waves has a zero score on my side of the board. Nothing that size, but firmly overhead 5 to 7 at 16 or so seconds. Keeping the nose down is the fundamental problem, but it sounds like I might also be turning too soon. When I do survive the drop I head for the face, and overfoil at the end of the turn. Maybe I need to get my shortened M200 tail back from Boyum, the full M200 tail I'm currently using gets me up quicker, but I'm back to overfoiling and faceplants on the face.
I tried a rear foot strap and ditched it right away. I'm going to have to pay a new round of dues to use one.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version