Is foiling the new big thing?

Good light wind sport for some. At our local you never see them in a good breeze. But when it's 13 knots, they are all over it. Looks cool!

C'mon Holysmoke - been telling ya for months that its the future...... 8-28 knots and we're covered and out there - like James said anyone will suck for the first 8-10 hrs then the magi starts. Catchya for a cold one later

You can get yourself a used easier to learn on foil w/board for slightly more than you pay for the new North bar ;-). As the others said you will need in average 7-10 sessions to be somewhat up and running (minus the turns). So renting would cost you too much. I am still learning (bloody turns) but it is very rewarding to learn something new, and to be out in next to nothing wind. For me this is a light wind option but you can certainly foil in stronger winds too, it is just a bit more demanding.
It won't appeal to everyone (especially not to those who's main objective is to impress others) but this is a good thing imo
Go for it, it is awesome!

Yes started end of last summer. Have not been foiling much in winter as practising roll tacks means I am thrown off the board every time and it is just too cold haha. Best way to get away from the Safety Bay / Shoalwater crowd and also enjoy those day no one else is out (Jason and Drew perhaps but that's ok). Get yourself a Nugget or just a larger sb and practise that a bit while you are looking for a foil. This will help a lot.

Definitely give it a go Eppo. You've got some awesome spots near you that would be awesome for foiling. Also will broaden your range of conditions with the 2 kites.

If anyone is thinking of giving it a go, the cost is coming down a lot as more second hand equipment is becoming available. I learnt on the LF Foil Fish which can probably be bought for a grand or so these days, yes it's heavy and slow but it will teach you the basics. I'm on race foils now but in hindsight, that LF was heaps of fun for general messing about. In fact, I'm not so sure that I'm having any more fun today than I did on the LF. The speeds are higher, but I'm not that into racing nor very good at it. And it hurts when you crash at 25+ knots. And, my race foil isn't that nice to ride in waves where a slower speed, early planing wing (exactly like the LF) would be more suited to the type of riding I actually do.

So don't think that you need to spend a ton of money to have fun foiling. You should be able to get a set up for cheaper than the cost of a new kite, and it will double the number of days you can ride !!

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cbulota said..
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Yeah you can learn in 5 to 10 hours but that's assuming you have excellent kite control and been riding directional board for quite some time.

It's a very humbling experience and a lot of kiters I know simply can't be bothered feeling and looking like beginners again.

You need a lot of perseverance to learn this .....

Spot on as usual cbulota... I've got 10 years kiting and excellent kite control, but never ridden a directional in my life. I can tell you guys it's going to be a helluva lot more than 10 hours for me to get foiling. In the 10 hours I've done so far everything you can imagine has happened - kite crashes & hindenburgs, foil board has caught & released my chicken loop, wind dropped out, massive stacks due to weight too far back or being pulled over the board trying to ride it flat, I've been too shallow lots of times because it's hard to find deep enough water that's not too choppy. Plus doing the walk of shame again. Basically every possible noob error has come back to bite me again. Even body dragging with a foil board takes a bit of practice. At least that's one thing I've got nailed now

Yeah tell me that when we have light winds and I'm sitting on the beach watching my mates have a ball on foils

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Rads said..

I could just say.... dont go to the beach til its 15+

Then I'd get to kite maybe once a month, and spend my time mowing the lawn on giant kites and boards. Yawn.

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cbulota said..

My guess is that it probably won't ever become nearly as mainstream as riding a surfboard or twintip because of 1) the cost and 2) the difficulty to learn

3) several incidents indicating that sharks are somewhat attracted to foils and may try to chase them

m.facebook.com/groups/592529944119114?id=592529944119114&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fprofile.php&_rdr

Dragging through the shallows into deeper waters (1m+)