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Foil Stoke!

A forum dedicated to Hydrofoil riders
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20knotFLOW
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Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:17 pm
Kiting since: 2008
Weight: 205
Local Beach: VanCity
Favorite Beaches: Wherever the wind is blowing
Style: FreeStyle
Gear: Slingshot Rally GTV1, Raptor, Ghost, Slingshot Slingwing V2, 5'4 & 6'4

Slingshot SB, TT mako, CrazyFly Raptor TT, Custom Carbon DW Board 8'X21"X6"

CF FOIL 1200, Naish 2140
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Foil Stoke!

Postby 20knotFLOW » Wed Jul 27, 2022 6:32 pm

Just had to share on this forum my ePPPPic level UP - stoke I had yesterday..

Ive just started on my journey foiling, maybe 5 hours total board time in up until yesterday. Really couldn't get the waterstart and first turn down at all. Sketchy wobbles, keel line breaks, foil porpoising, super inefficient .. etc. It was a struggle to say the least. Humbling, a well needed ego check.. eating @#$! really had me questioning whether I was going to make this step. Ok Ok, back to basics.. hunting in this forum and youtube vids surfaced a few key things to revisit and fully understand and commit to.

FIRST- Philosophy. The foil is powerful beast that needs to be respected. I didnt fully commit to the power that it generates. Meaning, as I rose on the water start if I didn't get up on the board, the foil would generate a ton of power in the wrong direction. Rising on the balls of my feet with front foot pressure was a leap of faith I need to get my head wrapped around properly.

SECOND- Habits. I need to consciously break the muscle memory of back leg, TT like pressure, its weird how the muscle memory just takes over. Even the SB, mako type of FF pressure was no where close. The balls of my feet tip was HUGE for me.

As a result of my reading there were also two key gear changes needed: larger front wing (had a 690, went with a 1200cm as my weight is 215 or so) and lost the back strap and went with a free back leg which was the clincher. The stock back foot placement had me chasing the delicate mid point of the foil. When my back foot was free to move to find the balance point, she sat patiently for me! As a result the waterstart was easier.. a quick transition to the balls of my feet getting on top of the foil, and then trusting the foil underneath me while setting the upwind line had me rocketing upwind, in control! The board came alive and was freely allowed to play in the rolling tide, and on the upwind sides I was a missile. Free floating missile. The weightlessness, the silence was just awesome. I had time to look around and appreciate the view (which just happened to be incredible- beautiful BC baby!) and the feeling of being in control. Things were starting to click with the foil in terms of efficiency, when to open up the kite by sheeting out & conversely leaning into the power dive into a line that was controllable .. I could really now see how guys my weight were on muuuuch smaller kites. Simply by being more efficient. I even starting to hunt around my back foot aiming the foil and releasing downwind into parts of the wave that I wanted to be in.. I could feel the foundation of my foiling being putdown. I was able to nail consistently releasing the foil down to a lower level. Controlled taxis abound. Two firsts - longest on foil run (like 40 seconds) and first heel to toe side jybe into swell.

Needless to say it was a stoke that I haven't put down yet. I was honestly mystified at how delicate and difficult the foil seemed to be but little did I know I was really only a couple of tweaks away from the freedom that a foil delivers on. Yesterday, I was the guy on the water laughing my ass off.. foiling feels like some kind of weird magic. Like a glitch in the matrix. Its the fleeting moment of a proper POW day but all the time. I am, how you say, hooked. Fully completely.. for my Canadian brothers.

Now my mind goes to the levels in front me: better kite control with foil freedom, generating speed and power with my foil in conjunction with wave position. Jumping, etc..

Just had to share :jump:

Hopefully this helps someone just before things click. Keep at it. Soooo worth it.
These users thanked the author 20knotFLOW for the post (total 9):
geron (Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:16 pm) • Mikey (Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:47 pm) • Nelis (Wed Jul 27, 2022 9:13 pm) • Peter_Frank (Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:34 pm) • Kamikuza (Thu Jul 28, 2022 3:06 pm) • ieism (Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:19 am) • lifeinthehood (Fri Jul 29, 2022 4:47 pm) • Trent hink (Fri Aug 05, 2022 9:53 pm) • Janus (Tue Aug 16, 2022 7:28 am)
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IWantToFly
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Posts: 368
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:43 pm
Kiting since: 2019
Weight: 77kg
Local Beach: Jones Beach, Sauvie Island, Floras Lake, the Gorge, OR coast, La Ventana
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Kanaha Shapes 42” (106cm)
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OR Mako 140
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Re: Foil Stoke!

Postby IWantToFly » Thu Jul 28, 2022 2:24 am

I’m not much further ahead than you as I’m still not consistently making my jibes, but I agree the feeling is magic. Thinking of the feeling and imagining myself on the foil is literally how I put myself to sleep at night.

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20knotFLOW
Rare Poster
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:17 pm
Kiting since: 2008
Weight: 205
Local Beach: VanCity
Favorite Beaches: Wherever the wind is blowing
Style: FreeStyle
Gear: Slingshot Rally GTV1, Raptor, Ghost, Slingshot Slingwing V2, 5'4 & 6'4

Slingshot SB, TT mako, CrazyFly Raptor TT, Custom Carbon DW Board 8'X21"X6"

CF FOIL 1200, Naish 2140
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Location: VanCity
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Re: Foil Stoke!

Postby 20knotFLOW » Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:00 pm

IWantToFly wrote:
Thu Jul 28, 2022 2:24 am
I’m not much further ahead than you as I’m still not consistently making my jibes, but I agree the feeling is magic. Thinking of the feeling and imagining myself on the foil is literally how I put myself to sleep at night.
Its really something... haha Im in the same boat. In the fleeting moments I was in control of the foil I was like how is this real life. lol. What can I say Im all in. Thanks for sharing in the stoke mate :thumb:

IWantToFly
Frequent Poster
Posts: 368
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:43 pm
Kiting since: 2019
Weight: 77kg
Local Beach: Jones Beach, Sauvie Island, Floras Lake, the Gorge, OR coast, La Ventana
Favorite Beaches: La Ventana, the Gorge
Style: I wish
Gear: Groove Skate Pro 110cm
Kanaha Shapes 42” (106cm)
Triton T1 Monowing
Lift Classic 170
Litewave Wing 155, Kick-S 139
OR Mako 140
Duotone Whip 5’0”
Naish Pivot 6, 8, 10
Flysufer Soul 6m, 12m
Flysurfer Peak5 5m, Peak4 8m
Cloud 2.8, 3.7, 4.8, 6.2, 8
Pansh 7/11
Has thanked: 74 times
Been thanked: 115 times

Re: Foil Stoke!

Postby IWantToFly » Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:10 am

20knotFLOW wrote:
Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:00 pm
IWantToFly wrote:
Thu Jul 28, 2022 2:24 am
I’m not much further ahead than you as I’m still not consistently making my jibes, but I agree the feeling is magic. Thinking of the feeling and imagining myself on the foil is literally how I put myself to sleep at night.
Its really something... haha Im in the same boat. In the fleeting moments I was in control of the foil I was like how is this real life. lol. What can I say Im all in. Thanks for sharing in the stoke mate :thumb:
Boom, I’m jibing. It happened like a light switch. Halfway through a session I really started pulling the kite more aggressively through the zenith and keeping my balance and now I’m jibing almost at will strong side toe to heel (heel back to toe is easy). To say it has increased my stoke is an understatement. I’m giddy about how fun foiling suddenly became.

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Kamikuza
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Re: Foil Stoke!

Postby Kamikuza » Fri Aug 05, 2022 12:20 pm

IWantToFly wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:10 am
20knotFLOW wrote:
Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:00 pm
IWantToFly wrote:
Thu Jul 28, 2022 2:24 am
I’m not much further ahead than you as I’m still not consistently making my jibes, but I agree the feeling is magic. Thinking of the feeling and imagining myself on the foil is literally how I put myself to sleep at night.
Its really something... haha Im in the same boat. In the fleeting moments I was in control of the foil I was like how is this real life. lol. What can I say Im all in. Thanks for sharing in the stoke mate :thumb:
Boom, I’m jibing. It happened like a light switch. Halfway through a session I really started pulling the kite more aggressively through the zenith and keeping my balance and now I’m jibing almost at will strong side toe to heel (heel back to toe is easy). To say it has increased my stoke is an understatement. I’m giddy about how fun foiling suddenly became.
Sounds like you've passed that point where all of sudden, you're like, "Why was I struggling so much? This is easy!" :D
These users thanked the author Kamikuza for the post:
IWantToFly (Sat Aug 06, 2022 6:14 am)
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User avatar
20knotFLOW
Rare Poster
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:17 pm
Kiting since: 2008
Weight: 205
Local Beach: VanCity
Favorite Beaches: Wherever the wind is blowing
Style: FreeStyle
Gear: Slingshot Rally GTV1, Raptor, Ghost, Slingshot Slingwing V2, 5'4 & 6'4

Slingshot SB, TT mako, CrazyFly Raptor TT, Custom Carbon DW Board 8'X21"X6"

CF FOIL 1200, Naish 2140
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: VanCity
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 14 times
Contact:

Re: Foil Stoke!

Postby 20knotFLOW » Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:54 pm

Kamikuza wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 12:20 pm
IWantToFly wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:10 am
20knotFLOW wrote:
Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:00 pm


Its really something... haha Im in the same boat. In the fleeting moments I was in control of the foil I was like how is this real life. lol. What can I say Im all in. Thanks for sharing in the stoke mate :thumb:
Boom, I’m jibing. It happened like a light switch. Halfway through a session I really started pulling the kite more aggressively through the zenith and keeping my balance and now I’m jibing almost at will strong side toe to heel (heel back to toe is easy). To say it has increased my stoke is an understatement. I’m giddy about how fun foiling suddenly became.
Sounds like you've passed that point where all of sudden, you're like, "Why was I struggling so much? This is easy!" :D
hahah I think it still feels a bit of a mystery but one that can be wrangled. Once that sweet spot is found its tough to forget. One thing that really helped me was dialing into the feedback of the foil, especially when the foil was not at speed and misaligned. When things were not dialed in and approaching a critical speed the foil can just take off. Getting on top on the foil from the water start and making sure your AofA is close to gimbal is super critical. If you're off from the get go it is next to impossible to correct when the foil is spooling up. Just too much power.. Getting that feeling dialed was something I needed to be sure of. I can really see how now the challenge will be to manage speed and tack angle and get comfy moving your feet around based on where you are in the turn/tack. Sending the kite through zenith quicker is def something I can do better.. I can see clearly that getting that "dance" down will take years.. cant wait for my next session. :D
These users thanked the author 20knotFLOW for the post:
Kamikuza (Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:57 pm)
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Kamikuza
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Re: Foil Stoke!

Postby Kamikuza » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:58 pm

20knotFLOW wrote:
Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:54 pm
Kamikuza wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 12:20 pm
IWantToFly wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:10 am


Boom, I’m jibing. It happened like a light switch. Halfway through a session I really started pulling the kite more aggressively through the zenith and keeping my balance and now I’m jibing almost at will strong side toe to heel (heel back to toe is easy). To say it has increased my stoke is an understatement. I’m giddy about how fun foiling suddenly became.
Sounds like you've passed that point where all of sudden, you're like, "Why was I struggling so much? This is easy!" :D
hahah I think it still feels a bit of a mystery but one that can be wrangled. Once that sweet spot is found its tough to forget. One thing that really helped me was dialing into the feedback of the foil, especially when the foil was not at speed and misaligned. When things were not dialed in and approaching a critical speed the foil can just take off. Getting on top on the foil from the water start and making sure your AofA is close to gimbal is super critical. If you're off from the get go it is next to impossible to correct when the foil is spooling up. Just too much power.. Getting that feeling dialed was something I needed to be sure of. I can really see how now the challenge will be to manage speed and tack angle and get comfy moving your feet around based on where you are in the turn/tack. Sending the kite through zenith quicker is def something I can do better.. I can see clearly that getting that "dance" down will take years.. cant wait for my next session. :D
Never a bad session on a foil... always something to learn, perfect or attempt. And you never waste time waiting for the wind to pick up to try the moves out :lol:


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