I watched a couple of the Townsville Gold Cup races this afternoon on YouTube - wow inspiring! I regretfully offloaded my raceboard a couple of months ago and thinking about another as the Tt is fun but not the same.I keep looking out to see guys enjoying the open bay instead of being hassled by the usual overcrowded inner Tt areas. Are Foils accessible to the weekend kiters or do the require more dedication? Are innovations on this front platoing or still in rapid development? Also are Lei kites Dead for racing and does that really impact the weekend cruiser guy? They seem appealing - no pump up + extra speed, upwind downwind performance, but is it really going to make that much difference? Interested to know what people think.......

LEI kites are not dead , especially for the weekend racer . From first hand experience at sail townsville the Foil kites were definately on another level performance wise but in terms of reliability well i am not sold on them . If your foil kite goes into the drink you have like less than a minute to get it back up otherwise game over, they are fragile and we saw quite a few suffer damage .

For a weekend cruiser is a foil going to make a difference , no . Is a foil board going to make a difference, yes if the wind is light . I am going to get a foil with the intention to race down the track but for the time being while i learn it just cruising and i'll stick to my formula board for racing .

I am still in two minds about getting foil kites, i think once the price drops and they are a little bit more robust i would probably switch .

Cheers for the response :) exactly what I needed to know. Thanks MB. LEI with Formula board it is.

If you are actually going to race then a race specific foil kite is the go.

If you have a lot of light breeze and big open clean beaches or snow to launch and land then you might consider a race type foil kite.

But if you are not serious about racing then a foil kite comes with a lot of baggage that a non racer would find hard to justfy for the intended use.
Having owned LEI kites for 12 years and foil kites for two months I can only now fully appreciate why foil kites have not taken off over the years, If I was not racing I would not want one.

mattybatty if it makes you feel any better your board is getting heaps of use :)

Mate that makes me feel heaps better! I don't know how you managed 18 months without one. That can of paint is still here. Looking at either njs cf6 or 2013 temavento. njs would be with techtronic fins. Temavento was always on the wish list but still going to cost more. Also thought about a local mike lab but the guy is still dreaming on price and gives me bad vibes! Thoughts welcome! Going to pick up a 17 dyno some stage probably going to stick with the fuse 12 & 9. Explaining to wife that this is all necessities is fun!

yeah i have to grab that can of paint. ur quiver of dyno and fuses would b good. im looking for a new 11m to replace my drifter.

let me know when u get a board come up sunny coast for an ocean run.

Having formula raced and foiled for a bit of time now, for cruising around, a freeride type foil is definitely the better option. If you are not planning on being competitive you really only need a 11m tube kite that flies well in light wind as your biggest. Its very little hassle, the foilboard packs up to be small, they have far better performance than a formula board with a bigger wind range and your knees will love you. Once you know how to ride a foil, formula boards are much more of a pain.

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jordangirdis said..
Having formula raced and foiled for a bit of time now, for cruising around, a freeride type foil is definitely the better option. If you are not planning on being competitive you really only need a 11m tube kite that flies well in light wind as your biggest. Its very little hassle, the foilboard packs up to be small, they have far better performance than a formula board with a bigger wind range and your knees will love you. Once you know how to ride a foil, formula boards are much more of a pain.

Jordan are the foils ok in bigger ocean swell. I don't have anywhere to ride in reasonable water, so if there is a 2m sea running and 12knts im out in that.. not nice flat bay water? I thought the foils may not be as good for doubling waves and chop etc..

Yeah no problems in swell, it's short sharp chop that is usually the issue. You might have a hard time getting off the beach though if it's onshore and shallow

Sounds interesting - I have often consider a foil as an option however thought our shallow-ish entry to the bay at sandgate, learning curve and cost would be to prohibitive. I guess if you bundle a Kite and board together the budget is there! If you hit a Jellfish would you crash? We have lots of Jellies at certain times of the year.

What setup would you suggest? how deep do you need to be to safely get going? It is probably 300m walk on low tide to be chest deep. The alternative is Pelican beach or Suttons across the Bridge - both not ideal for learning a new skill.

Max Taylor is selling his Carafino which would be a good entry level foil

I've got a tmv for sale if you're interested?
It's one of the deregistered boards. You could still race it, just not at the world's or world cup events. Pm me for photos and more info.
Also have an airush monaro. V4 for sale really cheap.

Yeh mate the Temavento would be of interest. Send some photos and details and photos

I am not heading out if my bay so it would be fine. What do you want for it?