Foiling sound side in Hatteras - yes you can!

[cwood]

I had trouble finding anyone talking about being able to foil on the sound before this year's trip. Real Watersports brags about having the rare sound side depth...but of course you can't launch from there. I have never worried about depth because of twin tipping of the past. We stay right on the sound so really didn't know what I would be in for. I also didn't want to mess with short masts....I wanted to use my main gear. For future reference the sound side of Avon is totally doable. Vorace so just over 1m in depth....quite a body drag out but once out it has been great....and even if you do venture to close the depth changes so gradually that its a gentle scrub when you do hit. The further north reaches are over head deep. You can see my GPS plots in the photo link below. The tide swing helps a bit (refer to tables) but its not a big change.

https://goo.gl/photos/ej7k85AWvjjXWTkV8

[BWD]

Just beware the wind effect on water - a couple days of steady wind will move a foot or so of water from one part of sound to another. If you have kited the washout, aka blow-out, on north to northeast (or the elusive southeast) you know what I mean.

[kitestiff]

I had trouble finding anyone talking about being able to foil on the sound before this year's trip. Real Watersports brags about having the rare sound side depth...but of course you can't launch from there. I have never worried about depth because of twin tipping of the past. We stay right on the sound so really didn't know what I would be in for. I also didn't want to mess with short masts....I wanted to use my main gear. For future reference the sound side of Avon is totally doable. Vorace so just over 1m in depth....quite a body drag out but once out it has been great....and even if you do venture to close the depth changes so gradually that its a gentle scrub when you do hit. The further north reaches are over head deep. You can see my GPS plots in the photo link below. The tide swing helps a bit (refer to tables) but its not a big change.

https://goo.gl/photos/ej7k85AWvjjXWTkV8

SWEET! I'll be down on Sunday for a week, staying at the house to the right of yours (from beach looking at houses) if you're still there. ALways wondered if a foil would be successful out there but BWD is right that the wind can create drastic changes in the sound depth over a couple days.

Cheers

[cwood]

I had trouble finding anyone talking about being able to foil on the sound before this year's trip. Real Watersports brags about having the rare sound side depth...but of course you can't launch from there. I have never worried about depth because of twin tipping of the past. We stay right on the sound so really didn't know what I would be in for. I also didn't want to mess with short masts....I wanted to use my main gear. For future reference the sound side of Avon is totally doable. Vorace so just over 1m in depth....quite a body drag out but once out it has been great....and even if you do venture to close the depth changes so gradually that its a gentle scrub when you do hit. The further north reaches are over head deep. You can see my GPS plots in the photo link below. The tide swing helps a bit (refer to tables) but its not a big change.

https://goo.gl/photos/ej7k85AWvjjXWTkV8

SWEET! I'll be down on Sunday for a week, staying at the house to the right of yours (from beach looking at houses) if you're still there. ALways wondered if a foil would be successful out there but BWD is right that the wind can create drastic changes in the sound depth over a couple days.

Cheers

We leave either Sunday or Monday so maybe we can shake hands!

I drive black f150. If it's in the driveway we are still here!

Chuck.

[kitestiff]

I had trouble finding anyone talking about being able to foil on the sound before this year's trip. Real Watersports brags about having the rare sound side depth...but of course you can't launch from there. I have never worried about depth because of twin tipping of the past. We stay right on the sound so really didn't know what I would be in for. I also didn't want to mess with short masts....I wanted to use my main gear. For future reference the sound side of Avon is totally doable. Vorace so just over 1m in depth....quite a body drag out but once out it has been great....and even if you do venture to close the depth changes so gradually that its a gentle scrub when you do hit. The further north reaches are over head deep. You can see my GPS plots in the photo link below. The tide swing helps a bit (refer to tables) but its not a big change.

https://goo.gl/photos/ej7k85AWvjjXWTkV8

SWEET! I'll be down on Sunday for a week, staying at the house to the right of yours (from beach looking at houses) if you're still there. ALways wondered if a foil would be successful out there but BWD is right that the wind can create drastic changes in the sound depth over a couple days.

Cheers

We leave either Sunday or Monday so maybe we can shake hands!

I drive black f150. If it's in the driveway we are still here!

Chuck.

Cheers Chuck. Hopefully we run into each other before you leave.
Ed

[grigorib]

I had trouble finding anyone talking about being able to foil on the sound before this year's trip

I've been foiling the heck out of the sound side from the shipwreck in Rodanthe to Real, and from Real to the most northern duck blind in Rodanthe.
MHL Lift, 35" mast. Just great.
Simply walk out to waist depth (closer than walking out in SPI) and ride all you want.

Few things to be aware of:
- seaweed (when present) makes it not fun
- stay away from any mussel beds
- stay away from tiny buoys - damn fishing nets suck. Not as bad as catching a crab net with a fin though


BTW last fall saw a guy on blue Speed5 foiling in Rodanthe. He was in for a long swim by the dusk though.

[BWD]

Be careful of fishing nets. You can get stuck in them, not fun even with flagged out kite. Especially if you have a silly two-line safety instead of single line (ahem - cab ).
Is your knife still n your harness?
Might need it some day...

[cwood]

Had a wicked good day yesterday. A good 4 hours on 9m (speed 5) and my Vorace with 558 wing. Broke my PB for boost height and got to 41.5 feet .

- Some other observations....the depth changes are so gradual that if you do hit it is relatively pain free.
- In some places with a 40 inch / 1m mast it is only a depth issue when slogging during a surface transition.
- Well out but not so far as to be dangerous alone it is way over head deep
- pretty much no matter how far out you are, the southern most houses of Avon is as far as you can go toward the hole. My GPS track shows it.
- Really perfected my body dragging on the way out. Great practice...can really move!
- I had a few mystery strikes in places where depth was not a problem....I am positive I am hitting fish or rays. I saw quite a few schools of rays and the strikes were hard enough to come off the board but not a mark on the rig. Possible it is turtles but I think that would leave a mark.
- On the way back in you can save lots of time by riding as high as you can and then bailing when you lose your nerve.
- I did not see a single hard object, coral, rock or anything other than soft sand. Zero weeds.
- Tide swing was minor (6 inches I think) so it wasn't really a factor. Low tide required an extra 100 feet of body drag out.

Map and track:

[Peter_Frank]

cwood, there is no picture nor a track

PF

[cwood]

cwood, there is no picture nor a track

PF

Damn google photos. Try this link:

https://goo.gl/photos/g5SBE32Y8dAjVBqEA