The idea of foiling did not appeal to me much in the past but got inspired by watching some cool boosting sessions vids. Then the concept of kiting in low wind - anything below 14kn is not useable for my quiver and level of skill. Why not to try it I thought, took me 3 sessions to switch from tt to strapless surf board, foiling must be similar....

Nothing further from the truth in my case. Total frustration, went twice one hour at the time, could not ride 5m on the board without even attempting to try foiling. End up downwid very quickly and the fu@&$ing gizmo is heavy to carry back - not a flat tt with a soft handle. Each time said to myself, the hell with it, I am wasting beautiful wind, I could be riding fast and boosting high!

Need some inspiration to keep on trying - please tell me your lack of progress frustration stories so I dont feel like the only looser on this planet that can't do it :-)

Honestly, how long before you could ride the bloody thing without even foiling, and how long before you get your first 100m?

How long when 100m becomes 1000m?

This thread is only for those with VERY slow progress - if it took you 2 hrs to foil your first 100m I don't want to know about it :-)

Just lost my job - finishing at Christmas, plan to devote the whole summer only to kiting

Bummer about the job Swavek, means you'll have more time for kiting

Don't be disheartened by the foil, if we are all truthful 98% go through the same process. Its like learning all over again

I reckon it took me around 12 hours before I coukd get up and going for about 100m

Each session you start to build the required muscle memory needed to control the foil. Remember you have to try and limit movement in 4 directions, front and back and side to side. too much pressure in any of the 4 and you're off

Keep it up if you want to be out in light winds, nothing beats it.

First session, I spent like 90 minutes at the lake. I think I got maybe a dozen attempts at water starts, either falling off or hitting the bottom. Spent 90% of the time just trying to get out into deep water. The wind kept dropping off too, so I was fighting to keep the kite in the air.

Second session, I got on the board and rode it on the surface, hopping up now and then but spent a lot of time being dunked and slammed and twisted. Didn't get far upwind but got away from the shallows.

Third session, it sort of clicked and I could get up foiling but many, many slams.

Maybe 15 hours in I started to think I had a handle on it. 20 hours and I was feeling pretty cocky



I learned in the middle of winter, air temps 5 degrees and under . . . motivation to stay above the water is pretty strong ;) only ever onshore winds so don't let that put you off.

I had an uncomfortable ride home after my first session (caught on camera too). There was blood, my wetsuit needed a repair as it cut straight through. Helps to have someone who likes a laugh come along to carry your foil back up the beach for you.
I did short sessions (like 20-30mins max). Mainly because the conditions were bad. I swear I made as much progress between sessions as during the sessions themselves (first session could barely get on the board - second session get up second time type of thing).

As for the worst progression I know. Loaned kit to a friend on my 3rd session. He went out. Made it 5-10m in one go (flat on water) about 3rd attempt. Then bizarrely he kept trying to go out. I walked down the beach following his downwind progress as he kept trying to get going (making 1-2m each attempt) until the beach ran out. At which point I knew he wasn't going to be back soon as he started drifting past the entrance to the port (no landing spots there). Back to the car then. Change, drive 3 miles down the road to the next beach. Get out and look for him. He's now about a mile downwind of where he started and still trying to head out to sea. Eventually he starts coming in. Only takes him about half a mile this time as its a bit shallower so he starts walking in sooner. Gets within 25m of me and then tomohawks my kite into the water. 'Wind just died on me mate!'.

What a tool. I only got 10 mins that session and he mopped up over an hour of downwind drift. Made him walk back to his car as was struggling to see the funny side at this time.

I'm taking ages to learn as I'm waiting for goldilocks conditions. Had a couple of fruitless sessions with too much wind/onshore wind/ ridiculous chop to realise my limitations. On the plus side I haven't lost much in between sessions even 2 months apart (partly cos I don't have much skill to lose). Spending time on the twin tip in between doesn't seem to have harmed my progress

12 to 15 knots on your normal kite is where you should start trying to learn. Anything less at this stage and you will be more focused on the kite than the board. It took me about 5 hours before I could ride 50 to 100 meters. Crashes were spectacular. And painful. I gashed my shins 3 times with nice little scars to remind me of my time spent learning. Wear a helmet. I got slugged on the head with the mast early on, glad I had it. I see some dudes learning with shin guards, and though it looks pretty stupid, it's actually smart and if I was a foil instructor I would teach with the armor.
Don't be discouraged. You will get it. We all do eventually, something will click. Everything is new and strange and the way it behaves from the moment you start body dragging out to deeper water will become familiar quickly.
Somebody shoved an F One race foil at me when I was coming in the other day and asked me to have a go on it. I thought it would kill me. I couldn't ride it. I wasn't used to such a big board and there was no front strap for me to keep the the board in position. (I don't have any straps on my little Paipo but I have a technique that helps me pop up really quickly even in sub 10 knots of wind.) Point is, all foils are a little different, and each one will have a little or big learning curve. Be patient and you will be rewarded. There is a dude here who I really admire who is in his late 60's and makes all his own boards. He made a foil two seasons ago well before I got into it, and he is still struggling with his design though he has modified it several times. But he keeps trying and you have to give him massive credit for it. Hopefully his new attempt will yield him better results as he is now heading into his third season and still not riding with any consistency let alone doing any turns or transitions.

Thank you boyz and girls for your support, I feel better now

There is a feeling of pride to participate in this coolest sport ever and it is hard to swollow when you switch your hobby from kite surfing to kite drifting with an odd shape object swirling around you

Yeah learning to foil is frustrating as f&@k.
I spend the first 3 sessions getting washed in. Couldn't even get out past the white wash body dragging. Wtf is this? Then when I did then through I crashed my arse off back into the waves and washed in again.

But you start to get it slowly.SLOWLY! At lot slower than you would expect.

2 months in and I can zoom up and down wind carve and ride toeside. Do some small jumps.

But I'm now at another frustrating phase. I can mow and do basic stuff. But I'm not good enough to get aggressive and ride like a want to ride.....grrrrrr.

Got it, bought a helmet, have impact vest, shin guards... Hmm sounds like good idea, seen my mast few times too close to my legs...

Verified my kit should be good for learning but have one question: the board I bought has two front straps and every board I see on 'learn foiling' vids has a single strap. My kit looks essentially identical to another one that is currently for sale on seabreeze:

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Race%20boards/~vjlat/Fenney.aspx?search=Z6u0UKaz6SSP1bSDGFK8nQ==

Having my front foot off centre of board might introduce a bit of a turning moment, or am I talking through me arse? I know race riders ride this way but maybe it is another variable that I don't need when I am trying to learn the first steps?

Took me 3 1 hour sessions before I got more than 10metres. I few choice bruises and if I am more honest more swearing than a truckie on speed. After 5 hours I am now cursing pretty comfortably about 3 inches above the water and starting to experiment with turns. I think setting low expectations on progression is critical to learning to foil. The muscle memory is completely different to anything else in kiting. It will take time. What has helped me a lot is getting my weight forward a lot more on the surfboard and practicing my body position when powered up on the board.

Swavek, as I said in another post, third seson in and half way through I swear I was gonna go in and sell the damn fckn thing.

Ive got a LF happy foil, but there is anything but happiness happening at the moment.

My biggest frustration is trying to water start on my non preferred, whihc I need to do to get out in deeper water where I've been learning.

Preferred, no probs, even foiling, infact foiled for a good 80 to 100m, keeping it under control for the first time the other day...until the inevitable breach...smash bang crack!!

But the other way...just not happening. And yeh took me an hour just get into some depth...

Very humbling experience to say the least And exhausting!!!

Swavek pretty much all board these days have the 3 strap set up as default, with option to have 2 straps. Videos, especially the LF, are on the old boards which only had the 2 strap set up. So don't worry too much about it. They need to be loose anyway. So even with a 3 strap set up your foot will be near centre of the board and not on the edge. If in doubt, just take the straps off completely which is what I did. You are then forced to figure out the optimal position of your feet. The foil will give you feedback

But it takes a little getting used to position the board for a water start without straps. After a while it becomes second nature.

Took me 7 sessions to be up and riding. On the LF Fish which is beginner friendly. A lot longer to carve into toeside and back out again. Probably ages ahead to do foil tacks etc.

Just keep practising, it is a bit like bike riding or swimming or learning snowboarding where up to a certain point is is all like WTF and then it just clicks.

Learning foiling is like the opening of Kung Fu ..... "When you can snatch the pebble from my hand grasshopper, it will be time for you to leave"

Persistence is the key .... I made the decision to give it one hour of my time, every time I went kitesurfing. I sucked for a long time (last year awful, this year big improvements).

Now I will do 20km of foiling before I switch over to a TT or surfboard.

Yesterday I did the equivalent of a foil downwinder with 20+ crashes, just to practice healside and toeside gybes (7km up, 19km of turns).




I was on an 8.5 kite and everyone else was on 15+ metres.

Soz to hear about the job. . . . But as mentioned more time to kite and master foiling. . . Patience and persistence

S

Foiling has an inbuilt factor that weeds out the fad kiters so only those with a commitment get through and those that do are also committed to help and support of those committing.
It's almost that turn of century early kiting days
Thing all over.

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bigtone667 said..
Learning foiling is like the opening of Kung Fu ..... "When you can snatch the pebble from my hand grasshopper, it will be time for you to leave"

Persistence is the key .... I made the decision to give it one hour of my time, every time I went kitesurfing. I sucked for a long time (last year awful, this year big improvements).

Now I will do 20km of foiling before I switch over to a TT or surfboard.

Yesterday I did the equivalent of a foil downwinder with 20+ crashes, just to practice healside and toeside gybes (7km up, 19km of turns).




I was on an 8.5 kite and everyone else was on 15+ metres.

Far out id kill for some water like that!! ****en big chop wherever I go. Damn chop, damn fcking ass licking chop!!!

spent two hours yesterday, 1 hr and 59 minutes swimming with my bloody foil.

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eppo said..
...spent two hours yesterday, 1 hr and 59 minutes swimming with my bloody foil.

Why swimming? Did you go out in too light wind?

We had glassy, strong wind perfection.

The experience you describe sounds pretty normal/standard. I think the hardest part of learning to foil is just to accept that it's a lot harder than it seems and that you will look and feel like a beginner all over again.

Having proper advice/lessons can cut down on the learning curve dramatically, resulting in a far less painful and frustrating experience

I taught a few friends over the years to foil under control in under 2 hours. Mind you these guys had expert flying skills and lots of directional board experience including race boards. I believe race boards are as close as it gets to foiling.

Kite size, wind conditions and the type of foil you use, board size, etc. all affect your learning experience. The larger the front wing the easier and more stable it will be to learn on, same goes for the board, if the board is small and narrow, it will take longer to learn on as it will force you to ride at faster speeds.

Larger boards and larger front wings are the key to an easy learning experience as they allow you to get going at MUCH lower speeds, requiring less power and resulting in a more forgiving experience as you have time to correct small mistakes.

The biggest mistakes learners make is to get going with too much speed/power. As Dafish mentions lighter winds (12-15 knots) are ideal, provided you already have plenty of experience kiting in 12-15 knots. Light winds are simply more forgiving.

The best advice I can give you is to water start with the least amount of power possible and ride the board with your foil down with the least amount of power/speed possible. You should be able to do this simply using the foil as a large rudder and ride upwind, under control, in both directions, keeping your speed around 20 km/H, any faster, and the foil will want to lift off the water. Once you can ride with the board flat on the water (no edging) and the foil down in both directions, under control and upwind, you are ready for the second stage.

Christian

I would agree with the least amount of power comment. Definitely not agree with learning in light winds.

The biggest cause of grief for new foilers is dropping the kite, or having to spend too much time paying attention to the kite. You want sufficient wind that the kite will stay stable in the air by itself, and if it drops that it is relatively easy to relaunch.

If you drop your kite in light winds and cannot relaunch then your session is over. Possibly worse, if your kite is down and you're separated from your board then it can end up anywhere. (If you watch carefully, as the board drifts off downwind you can see it getting lift and accelerating as each waves passes. It's amazing to watch. Amazingly good if you're downwind and the board is coming to you. Amazingly bad id your kite is down and your board is zooming off on a DIY downwinder.) If there are rocks about then the board will drift until the foil touches the rocks, then bounce itself up and down on the rocks with each wave or ripple.

The next biggest mistake for new foilers is to stick their feet in the straps and trying to water start. Having your back foot in the strap loads up the foil too much and it will blast out of the water, around and over your shoulder in an instant. This is not an exaggeration. The solution is simple. Take your back foot out of the strap and place if mid deck. Too far forward is less worse than too far back.

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Gorgo said..
I would agree with the least amount of power comment. Definitely not agree with learning in light winds.

The biggest cause of grief for new foilers is dropping the kite, or having to spend too much time paying attention to the kite. You want sufficient wind that the kite will stay stable in the air by itself, and if it drops that it is relatively easy to relaunch.

If you drop your kite in light winds and cannot relaunch then your session is over. Possibly worse, if your kite is down and you're separated from your board then it can end up anywhere. (If you watch carefully, as the board drifts off downwind you can see it getting lift and accelerating as each waves passes. It's amazing to watch. Amazingly good if you're downwind and the board is coming to you. Amazingly bad id your kite is down and your board is zooming off on a DIY downwinder.) If there are rocks about then the board will drift until the foil touches the rocks, then bounce itself up and down on the rocks with each wave or ripple.

The next biggest mistake for new foilers is to stick their feet in the straps and trying to water start. Having your back foot in the strap loads up the foil too much and it will blast out of the water, around and over your shoulder in an instant. This is not an exaggeration. The solution is simple. Take your back foot out of the strap and place if mid deck. Too far forward is less worse than too far back.

The conditions you describe would correspond to VERY light winds (below 12 knots winds) in which case, yes, probably best to avoid for most beginner foilers. That being said I personally progressed quickest in 10-12 knots as I have extensive experience with very light wind kiting, snowkiting, land kiting, etc. When I learned, every time I tried going out in stronger winds, even with very small kites, I struggled a lot more and took the worst falls and had the scariest crashes.

As dafish mentions light winds between 12-15 knots should be no problem and ideal learning conditions, to which I couldn't agree more.

If an "experienced kiter'' can't fly a kite without looking at it in 12-15 knots and relaunch it easily then they have poor flying skills and a general lack of experience, which probably means learning to foil is even more out of reach.

Christian

I took 10 hours to be able to ride 100m or more without crashing, and during that period of time managed to collect more bruises and cuts than i had in 6 cumulative years of kiting. But after being beaten black and blue, something clicked and 100m suddenly became 500m + on each tack easily. Perserve and it will happen eventually. For me the ideal conditions were those in which I could forget about the kite and concentrate on just what has happening beneath my feet. So if you are learning on a 17m kite 12 knots might be ideal, but you might need 15-18 knots on your 12 for example.

needless to say deep water and flat was much easier than swell and shore break.

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eppo said..
Swavek, as I said in another post, third seson in and half way through I swear I was gonna go in and sell the damn fckn thing.

Ive got a LF happy foil, but there is anything but happiness happening at the moment.

My biggest frustration is trying to water start on my non preferred, whihc I need to do to get out in deeper water where I've been learning.

Preferred, no probs, even foiling, infact foiled for a good 80 to 100m, keeping it under control for the first time the other day...until the inevitable breach...smash bang crack!!

But the other way...just not happening. And yeh took me an hour just get into some depth...

Very humbling experience to say the least And exhausting!!!

Same problem here! But I am embarrassed to admit that I am year into foiling, but still have not tackled "goofy" right foot forward. Toeside came easy for me and I have so much fun every session, that I keep saying "next session I am going to work on it", but that next session never comes. LOL. I tried it a couple times, felt super foreign, like starting over again. And starting is unpleasant, as everyone is saying.

Anyways, if you decide to just ride regular foot forward all the time, toeside/heelside, one thing it does do for you is progress you for riding downwind and carving. Just can't get upwind as fast. And your legs get more tired without a rest the other way.

For me at 70kg it's more like 12m for 8-12 knots, 9m for 13-17 knots, 7m for 18-22 knots, 6m (my old Reo being more like a 5) in 23-30 knots but as of 27 knots I wish I had something smaller.

This is all on a fairly crappy level. I expect it to move by a couple of knots down over time. Also as I am getting a more advanced foil

Just started 3 weeks ago. I almost have no experience in directional boards. So far I have been mostly riding with twintip and boots. Here is my experience so far:

First session (20-30 min - just to try the new toy): I went strapless. Wind less than 10 knots with a 12m kite. Tried a few water start but spent most of the time controlling the kite and eventually 20 min later, the wind dropped. Could not really practice anything.

Second session (2 hours - 15-20 knots - 9m): went strapless again. Managed to water start on both sides and managed to ride on one side for up to 50m and managed to foil for 4-5 seconds (could almost hear my brain screaming "whoooohooooo!")

Third session (2 hours - 15-20 knots - 9m): was advised to put a front strap and decided to try. It made a huge difference. On my first attempts, I managed to foil for over 100m and also learned to foil on the other side. While I was very stressed at the start of the session (so many things to think about) , I felt quite confident and comfortable at the end of the session and crashed only when trying something new. I could easily control the foil and even smile and wave at the sailors.

Fourth session (2 hours -20-25 knots - 9m - front strap): managed to jibe and change feets (with the board on the water), go downwind and ride toeside for about 10-20m. Need to be more consistent now... My objective is to try not to get wet to often :-)

What I love about foiling:
- ability to ride in low wind
- ability to enjoy a session on spots close to home with gusty/inconsistent wind (Melville riders will understand)
- speed + magic carpet feeling
- crazy upwind angles
- challenge

My tips for new starters:
- use a front strap and no back straps
- practice in normal wind (15-25 knots)
- big one if strapless: before water start, make sure the board is not flat on the water. The angle of the foil should be about 45 degrees pointing downwind.
- before the waterstart, already put your feet/weight forward to avoid going up as soon as you get speed. You want to first ride with the board flat on the water until you are stable/experienced enough to transfer weight at the back and start foiling.
- helmet and impact vest mandatory
- if you re about to crash, crash! don't try to resist
- when foiling, put the kite up when overpowered to avoid getting to much speed

Hope it helps.

For me strapless water start works better by not pointing downwind. And having the board at 90 degrees ie foil half out of the water. Once on the board of course, just like with any other board, I point slightly downwind.

Great inspiration and tips from all, thanks for your contribution - hope many more will get to try foiling as a result

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eppo said..

bigtone667 said..
Learning foiling is like the opening of Kung Fu ..... "When you can snatch the pebble from my hand grasshopper, it will be time for you to leave"

Persistence is the key .... I made the decision to give it one hour of my time, every time I went kitesurfing. I sucked for a long time (last year awful, this year big improvements).

Now I will do 20km of foiling before I switch over to a TT or surfboard.

Yesterday I did the equivalent of a foil downwinder with 20+ crashes, just to practice healside and toeside gybes (7km up, 19km of turns).




I was on an 8.5 kite and everyone else was on 15+ metres.

Far out id kill for some water like that!! ****en big chop wherever I go. Damn chop, damn fcking ass licking chop!!!

spent two hours yesterday, 1 hr and 59 minutes swimming with my bloody foil.

the good thing is eppo. when you do crack it. all those ****ty chop sessions will become gravy

Select to expand quote

lynxmo0 said..
Just started 3 weeks ago. I almost have no experience in directional boards. So far I have been mostly riding with twintip and boots. Here is my experience so far:

First session (20-30 min - just to try the new toy): I went strapless. Wind less than 10 knots with a 12m kite. Tried a few water start but spent most of the time controlling the kite and eventually 20 min later, the wind dropped. Could not really practice anything.

Second session (2 hours - 15-20 knots - 9m): went strapless again. Managed to water start on both sides and managed to ride on one side for up to 50m and managed to foil for 4-5 seconds (could almost hear my brain screaming "whoooohooooo!")

Third session (2 hours - 15-20 knots - 9m): was advised to put a front strap and decided to try. It made a huge difference. On my first attempts, I managed to foil for over 100m and also learned to foil on the other side. While I was very stressed at the start of the session (so many things to think about) , I felt quite confident and comfortable at the end of the session and crashed only when trying something new. I could easily control the foil and even smile and wave at the sailors.

Fourth session (2 hours -20-25 knots - 9m - front strap): managed to jibe and change feets (with the board on the water), go downwind and ride toeside for about 10-20m. Need to be more consistent now... My objective is to try not to get wet to often :-)

What I love about foiling:
- ability to ride in low wind
- ability to enjoy a session on spots close to home with gusty/inconsistent wind (Melville riders will understand)
- speed + magic carpet feeling
- crazy upwind angles
- challenge

My tips for new starters:
- use a front strap and no back straps
- practice in normal wind (15-25 knots)
- big one if strapless: before water start, make sure the board is not flat on the water. The angle of the foil should be about 45 degrees pointing downwind.
- before the waterstart, already put your feet/weight forward to avoid going up as soon as you get speed. You want to first ride with the board flat on the water until you are stable/experienced enough to transfer weight at the back and start foiling.
- helmet and impact vest mandatory
- if you re about to crash, crash! don't try to resist
- when foiling, put the kite up when overpowered to avoid getting to much speed

Hope it helps.

thats some crazy fast progression. tell me what is your water conditions like?

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..

lynxmo0 said..
Just started 3 weeks ago. I almost have no experience in directional boards. So far I have been mostly riding with twintip and boots. Here is my experience so far:

First session (20-30 min - just to try the new toy): I went strapless. Wind less than 10 knots with a 12m kite. Tried a few water start but spent most of the time controlling the kite and eventually 20 min later, the wind dropped. Could not really practice anything.

Second session (2 hours - 15-20 knots - 9m): went strapless again. Managed to water start on both sides and managed to ride on one side for up to 50m and managed to foil for 4-5 seconds (could almost hear my brain screaming "whoooohooooo!")

Third session (2 hours - 15-20 knots - 9m): was advised to put a front strap and decided to try. It made a huge difference. On my first attempts, I managed to foil for over 100m and also learned to foil on the other side. While I was very stressed at the start of the session (so many things to think about) , I felt quite confident and comfortable at the end of the session and crashed only when trying something new. I could easily control the foil and even smile and wave at the sailors.

Fourth session (2 hours -20-25 knots - 9m - front strap): managed to jibe and change feets (with the board on the water), go downwind and ride toeside for about 10-20m. Need to be more consistent now... My objective is to try not to get wet to often :-)

What I love about foiling:
- ability to ride in low wind
- ability to enjoy a session on spots close to home with gusty/inconsistent wind (Melville riders will understand)
- speed + magic carpet feeling
- crazy upwind angles
- challenge

My tips for new starters:
- use a front strap and no back straps
- practice in normal wind (15-25 knots)
- big one if strapless: before water start, make sure the board is not flat on the water. The angle of the foil should be about 45 degrees pointing downwind.
- before the waterstart, already put your feet/weight forward to avoid going up as soon as you get speed. You want to first ride with the board flat on the water until you are stable/experienced enough to transfer weight at the back and start foiling.
- helmet and impact vest mandatory
- if you re about to crash, crash! don't try to resist
- when foiling, put the kite up when overpowered to avoid getting to much speed

Hope it helps.

thats some crazy fast progression. tell me what is your water conditions like?

Thanks

Conditions were not really good: choppy and gusty/inconsistent winds. However, when foiling, water and wind conditions have less impact compared to normal boards. Can feel the "current" generated by the choppy water though, it takes a bit of time to get used to it. I'm learning in Melville beach on the canning river in WA.

Another thing that helps is a smaller lighter kite on longer lines. There is something about using the longer lines that seems to settle things down.
Many times you get up get moving then as you get on foil you need to shut down power.
The small kite gives the ability to dump power and the long lines gives longer power stocks to get up and going.
At 95kg I am doing 95% of my foiling on the Notus Air 8m.

I'm about to buy my first foil (Zeeko Blue and White) and this thread has been a great source of info. Thanks for starting it Swavek and for all the contributors that have shared their experiences. Just heading out now to buy some full body armour .

Nice to know there are a few people in the same situation as me. Am learning on an El Stubbo with Zeeko Blue and White. Now two sessions in:

Session 1 (1.5 hours) - 10-20 knots - 13m Ozone Edge (I weigh 97kg)
First few runs lasted 2-4 seconds, I was following advice of putting weight on front foot and kept falling over the front of the board. Soon learned that I needed to get going first (with a bit more weight on the back foot for the first 1-2 seconds), then put weight forward. Ended up downwind 3 times and spent at least 30 minutes walking upwind. Finished the session wondering if I would ever get this f**kin thing sorted

Blitzed the online tutorials after this and tried to visualise myself getting up and going (which I think helped).

Session 2 (1.5 hours) - 10-15 knots - 13m Ozone Edge
First run I went 10m! Not bad compared to session 1. Then a few crashes later I was downwind again - decided to have one more run before the 10 min walk upwind. But then something just clicked (for me it was figuring how to turn the board upwind a bit without coming off). Found myself back upwind (300m run) - not foiling, but not falling either! After that I was able to go for as long as I wanted as long as I stay on the water. So now I just need to nail the foiling bit down, but stoked to no longer have to do the walk upwind. Fell on the foil once, took a chunk out of my leg, but could have been worse.

Will bring the foil one notch forward for the next session. Everyone's learning experience is different, but it is fun learning something new.

If anyone is considering the El Stubbo and/or Zeeko Blue and White, I would recommend this for learning. The board is not very floaty, but after the first session it doesn't really matter.

Any more tips on how to get on the foil and stay up would be good. Cheers.