Code 720S, 850S and 980S combined with varying tails (120R, 151R, 142AR, 158AR)

When winging on flat water I can easily control my speed by sheeting in or out the wing, I can slow down and carve tight turns upwind, downwind and across the wind to replicate snowboarding powder snow using a combination of hard lean angle (roll) and driving my feet into the board to effectively "hold an edge". If I slow down too much and get close to stall speed, all it takes is a quick yank on the wing boom/handles, a quick turn back downwind and maybe a little board pump and Im on to the next turn.
Thanks to FoilAssist, Im now able to go in the surf and catch waves on a prone board (no wing) - anything from ankle high to head high. Im popping up off motor onto waves and gliding, however it seems like the speed is very hard to control and Im mostly at the mercy of the waves size, steepness of the face and speed of the swell.
Im now getting some basic drawn out turns, but I'd like to start cranking harder turns, stay closer to the pocket and actually surf the wave.
Do I just need to run ahead of the wave (out onto the flats) to slow down and then turn back into the wave and try and do a turn on the approaching face at that slower speed?

In summary, I can ride the foil however I like when winging, but surfing (no wing) Im struggling to slow it down and control my roll.

Im looking for any tips and techniques to get my surf/wave riding more under control

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camerongraham said..
Do I just need to run ahead of the wave (out onto the flats) to slow down and then turn back into the wave and try and do a turn on the approaching face at that slower speed?

Mostly this, wipe off a bit of speed in the flatter sections then cutback to the pocket.

Also correctly matching foil/stab to the wave energy/speed (why "slower" foils have their place in the surf)

If I know that I'm about to lean into a bigger turn I'll almost roll the foil the opposite direction for a split second as well as get lower on the mast weighting forward to counter the additional lift I'll gain in the turn.

Main reason why I like MA over HA in the surf. They wipe of speed faster when you out in the flats and they get less locked in roll when going fast. Makes a huge difference. Problem with MA as they have typically been terrible to pump but some of the newer MAs are getting much better. Some more than others.

Out this morning and after "hybrid foiling" for 45 minutes - pretty much on foil the whole time - under motor power to cruise around or back out from catching a wave, then motoring onto a fatter wave, popping up (motor out of water) and then gliding unpowered, I needed a break and decided to go "old school" foil assist.

So after coming off a wave I just laid down and taxied out at low speed /low battery usage "off foil" back to the takeoff zone and waited for the next decent bump. A quick hit of power to get going and gain enough speed then standard "pop-up" onto foil and ride wave.

What I really noticed was that the original "foil assist" method resulted in a much lower speed and really helped me stay with the energy of the wave and I could roll and turn easier, felt a lot more like "surfing" than the "powered up - on foil" waves, where it just seems like a high speed straight-line rush.
Probably because I'm catching those waves with an "on foil" speed and the wave energy just amplifies the speed quickly ??

I'm definitely going to spend more time using the original "foil assist" method to catch waves and try keeping the speed under check so I can focus on my turns and feel the stall speed of the foils Im using.


(or go the AmpJet route )

No simple answer to that question.
What is someone's favourite foil will not be liked by others. eg BWalnut prefers a AFS Silk (LA) I prefer an AFS Enduro (Higher aspect).

The biggest factor for carving on waves is skill and experience. There is no surprise that every good prone rider I know has a solid background in surfing. eg Mr Bennetts. The more you surf and prone foil you will develop the feel for what works and what doesn't.

Foil assist adds a lot of weight to your board and foil which further complicates the equation. I had to go up a foil or tail size when using a foil drive compared to towing in on a small board and foil.

If you can, try a range of foils and stabs back to back to see which makes you feel more comfortable committing to a carve.

I'd think with the FD, you could just drag the motor a bit to slow down? I'm on the 980s mostly prone, and concentrate on dipping the nose as I start a top turn so the foil is really buried. Then when the energy spike from the wave hits, I've got plenty of weight on the front foot and the foil and mast are in play. I'll drag the board rail too when it's really pumping or if there's white water and I want to slide the foil a bit. But if I've just slingshot off a close out onto the flats, I'll just let it run mostly flat otherwise I'll get lifted and breach at an angle which is not fun!