so probably not the thread to jump in and hi but I'm a kiter who has just bought a surf foil for kiting in waves. Im based North of the River and this summer will be my 3rd on the hydrofoil. I usually do the downwinder with the kiters from Floreat to Trigg
Do you guys know the difference between a surf/sup foil and kite foil ? Kite foils are usually carbon fibre and razor sharp. They have long masts - 1m+, and are built for speed - the course racers are now regularly reaching 38-40 kts downwind. They have relatively small wings but very elongated - high aspect - and yes we cut ourselves to pieces regularly. Surf foils in comparison are huge, thick and usually made of plastic (G10) or other composites and totally blunt. The masts are short - like 60 - 70cm and are also slow as hell - like you can foil at walking pace, but this is exactly what makes them suitable for paddling or supping. If you get hit by a surf foil it will hurt & bruise, but is unlikely to cut you - its too slow and the leading edge is like 1cm thick and totally blunt. The asian surfer who cut his face open was learning to foil on a surf foil using a foil designed for kiting (small & sharp), and thats why he got those catastrophic injuries in the photos. Anyway - if you are worried about getting injured - its the kite foilers you need to watch out for. From experience i doubt you'll see to many surf foilers in Perth lineups because our banks are pretty shallow and we often have breaking waves, noob surf foilers really want small unbroken swells with maybe a little mushy whitewater at best. I doubt you will be in the water at the same time - suppers maybe. But I just thought Id say if anyone is curious to see / try my surf foil up close, let me know. Its mounted to a 4'11 x 18 x 1 5/8 surfboard so if you want to try to paddle it, you are welcome.
New video of Kai foil surfing from WSL today if you missed it....
www.facebook.com/WSL/videos/10155079870307058/