Foiling in South Africa

[Peter_Frank]

Hi

Have been two weeks down in CapeTown, riding BIG waves, and medium waves (but an awesome swell period we hit mostly).

And my friend Christoff, whom I had never met (but seen last year) was there, and my other Danish buddy Per had taken his foil with him to CT

So really awesome to meet, especially because Christoff had never met another foilboarder in SouthAfrica

I did not bring my foils - only my waveboard - but Per took his foil with him, so they were two riding "alone" before everyone else could get on the water - must have been a very special feeling ?

I took a few shot from the beach, the last day just before the Red Bull contest (which was awesome too - kudos to Kevin for being able to show his extreme potential to the max this year )

Took a few shot of Christoff, on a very odd saturday (1/2-2014), because the wind was NV, then turned dead onshore VSV (but light), and later it was 7m2 still onshore - VERY odd, and only 2 out of 14 days with such odd conditions...

We had a good long talk right before this session, and Christoff makes his foils himself, aluminium and G10 wings - really impressive !

Hope it is okay I post these pics - but most on this forum are all about "new gear" - where it should be more about the actual riders out there IMO




Out in front of Lions Head (Table Mountain)







Riding relaxed and strapless







Sometimes in the onshore headhigh+ swell it could go wrong...







But mostly, Christoff rode in huge waves, onshore, in light wind - COOL MAN !!!





Going ashore the "hardcore" way - riding foiling up high, and then jumping off the board at the very last microsecond before the board hits the sand - soooooo coool to see



Peter

[Hugh2]

Wish I had seen you all, those SW mornings during the summer are generally useless for kitesurfing along Table Bay, so I either go sailing or hiking, and kite later once the SEaster fills in.

[BraCuru]

Hope it is okay I post these pics - but most on this forum are all about "new gear" - where it should be more about the actual riders out there IMO

P_F - you're the man! I love your attitude and common sense.
Wish to join you and Chris in CT one day.
Maybe it would be simpler to ride together at Baltic this summer?

Would you share more pics from amazing CT?
This is how I remember CT 2010 (in Polish but pictures say all especially Big Bay from a helicopter):
http://www.kiteforum.pl/forum/viewtopic ... 28&t=53810

[ChristoffM]

Hope it is okay I post these pics

Cool thanks for posting. It is nice to have someone taking pictures and making me look better than I am.

And it was very nice to meet people that are also very passionate about kiting and hydrofoils.
If anyone else plans to come to cape town and bring a hydrofoil along, let me know as well.

[Arcsrule]

ChristoffM , could you take some pics of your foil and post them please. i'm always interested in what others build.

[ChristoffM]

I will get some photos of my current foil this weekend, but you can see my slightly older designs at http://www.kitehydrofoil.com (on the "latest" page)

But that is going against the original posters request to get more rider action instead of equipment talk?

I suppose with the equipment being so radical and new for everyone, and everyones skill levels still so far from what is possible, that it is much more exciting to talk equipment than rider action?

[lander]

Rider action is the best ! Just see what happens when a guy like Heineken makes the whole race scene open their eyes.

But equipment very interesting too, as things evolve very fast the next year or two. Just like racing a few years ago and twin tips in the early days

[Peter_Frank]

I love gear talk, no doubt

Its just - on this very forum the "riders" and "riding" seem to be forgotten lately IMO

So if you ask me, I dont want less gear talk - just more rider pictures or videos, no matter what level

Peter

[ChristoffM]

Here is my current favourite foil for going out in whatever onditions Cape Town can produce.
I have a medium wing which I think is easy to learn on, and a smaller wing which is faster and much more fun once you are used to it.

B1H3-2.jpg (77.75 KiB) Viewed 1415 times

The board is polyester resin construction with extra glass, which seems to work great for a hydrofoil board since the polyester has a bit more flex (and hence impact resistance) over epoxy boards.

The foil is aluminium which gives excellent stiffness in all directions (bending and twist). It is a bit heavier than a carbon one would be, but again much more impact resistant so that I can ride right in onto shore and not worry about breaking it. I also think a slightly heavier foil makes riding easier since it adds a bit of inertia to the foil under your feet. I think it makes the strapless start harder, but the strapless control once you are up and riding much easier since the foil is less affected by the action of the chop under your feet.

The wings are G10. They provide great durability, and do not show the ugly type of wear and tear that I had on my carbon fibre wings due to sand abrasion (and hard handling which I tend to do).

[Arcsrule]

Thanks for the pictures. I assume you are good enough on the foil to make foils of different shapes and know the difference of performance? it appears small foils are the ticket to going fast? once you start on a big foil and then gravitate to a smaller 'race' foil, is there ever a reason to go back to the larger foil? I think there must be trade offs between large vs small foils.