I've been working on my technique for the past 5 years and am still a few knots behind the best... but last weekend I managed to get flying in 5 knots of wind... a PB for me! Swell assisted and a lot more BOUNCE than I used to do. Back foot way back helps.
Keen to hear from others how to get up in less.

Sic mate!

I would like to see a reading from a handheld anemometer on the water/board to verify the wind speed that you pumped up on. I have been out in similar conditions, almost flat, when a gust comes along and pumped up on it. Noticed another foiler in the back left (red sail) who was foiling at the same time you pumped up, and they only did a couple of pumps to get up, so must have been a decent gust. Now the lulls may have been 4-5 knots, sure I would believe that. But you probably needed to pump so much because of your wide board and the race foil too.

Nice one :)

Though as pointed above, judging wind speed without an anenometer is tricky and if you're not measuring, you're guessing. One of my fave videos of light wind pumping is this one: www.instagram.com/p/B1yGKGhAL-B/

See this thread for more info and technique description: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/-video--Lightwind-pumping-techniques?page=1

A good recent video is also this one from Sebastian K?rdel:

Personally, I struggle with pumping below (actual) 8 kt, but I'm sure the biggest possible improvement is my technique...

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FormuIa said..
Nice one :)

Though as pointed above, judging wind speed without an anenometer is tricky and if you're not measuring, you're guessing. One of my fave videos of light wind pumping is this one: www.instagram.com/p/B1yGKGhAL-B/

See this thread for more info and technique description: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/-video--Lightwind-pumping-techniques?page=1

A good recent video is also this one from Sebastian K?rdel:

Personally, I struggle with pumping below (actual) 8 kt, but I'm sure the biggest possible improvement is my technique...

Good video Formula, thanks!, the tip about lifting the board with front foot/strap was new to me.

I've found a sharper more of a snach pump with less sail movement and more body seems to work for me. When I get near foiling I start to push more against the foil mast like a big fine to get the extra speed to lift of comfortably if I force it to soon i stall 8m sail 135 board starbord foil

I'm working on revising my technique and fitness quite a bit. Finally got to witness some very light wind slalom in the absolute minimum. Looked like the best racer here was getting going in 5-6kts and able to fly his jibes the whole way. It's one thing to see video and an entirely different thing to see first hand.

I was the worst pumper there . I've recently revised my technique to be way more hip and leg dominant by focusing on sail pressure only when my arms are extended, not bent, which has saved my elbow joints a lot, but I'm pretty sure my bare minimum is 8 maybe 7kts, hard to say. It's just amazing to see someone at peak fitness riding the same gear as me and just send it in such light conditions.

Yep it comes from the hips and legs more than the arms if you want to get going in the light stuff.

Not much explanation but some slow motion shots of some local light wind pump heroes.

You'll see most of them have either one or both feet already in the straps. Board is pointing downwind and the riders are pumping the board in an up/ down cycle by alternating betweeing pushing the back foot down while pumping the sail towards them and then pushing the front foot down while pushing the sail forward. In essence the foot motion is similar to what you see people doing in no wind/waves prone board foil pumping videos. The sail is just assisting in getting the foil past it's stall speed at which point it starts flying.

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stehsegler said..
Not much explanation but some slow motion shots of some local light wind pump heroes.

You'll see most of them have either one or both feet already in the straps. Board is pointing downwind and the riders are pumping the board in an up/ down cycle by alternating betweeing pushing the back foot down while pumping the sail towards them and then pushing the front foot down while pushing the sail forward. In essence the foot motion is similar to what you see people doing in no wind/waves prone board foil pumping videos. The sail is just assisting in getting the foil past it's stall speed at which point it starts flying.

Yes that is a good video. Note that those are all <80cm or so freeride boards, but the motion looks to be similar to what I'm trying to replicate. On the inboard straps of my foilx and I can stand and slog in both front and rear and pump to get going, but the rears are too outboard on race gear to do that. When I have explored my lower end, I do like Berowne's video and move my rear foot outboard as the apparent wind grows and I can sheet in.

I'll have to look at my recent technique as I think a lot of my personal issues are with that forward sweep after pulling in with straight arms. My previous technique was so rough due to yanking with my whole upper body on that same part of the stroke and it took a lot of deliberate concentration on just the pull to keep that from happening, without much focus on the forward sweep. I I think that is the part of the motion I'm still quite goofy at in lighter stuff. In ~8kts it starts getting pretty easy but below that I biff the movement enough that it slows me down, especially if there's a foot or more of swell to time along with.


Also: those guys were staying on the motion once flying to get keep accelerating and then extend and keep the sail as upright as possible with the uphaul. It really seemed like the very young crowd there, like young teens or maybe pre-teens? could get up in like 4 knots if they really tried. It was just nuts to me to see first hand. Boundless energy, pumping the entire time, where a lot of the older crowd had to be more strategic with energy.

I don't race anymore but I did go watch as Aeroegnr and Paducah chased the kids around the course over the weekend, and it was really eye-opening. First of all, the fittest of the youngsters were foiling up in "gusts" no stronger than 5kt, and then locking out and flying even through very deep lulls. It was taking basically four big pumps to get the board flying, moving into the back strap on the third, then two or three more with the board in the air, then see ya later.

Their technique, as far as I could tell from shore, was very consistent from rider to rider and more similar to K?rdel's than to the moves demonstrated in the WA video, although of course there's some crossover. First two pumps drove the board downwind, third pump looked like dropping low then falling straight back off the back of the board, which shot the board forward nose up - no arm action during the actual push at all, just leg drive. Then the arms brought the guy's body back up to the sail and that pump repeated, with the back foot slotting into the strap as the front foot drove the nose of the board back down (K?rdel's "sail the board down" move). By this time the board was in the air, still on a very broad reach. Then a few full-body air pumps and then into the harness with the sail locked down on the deck.

Obviously there's a lot going on I couldn't see from shore, but I can say that as I was walking along the bike path 100m from the sailors, they weren't sailing any faster than I was walking before the pump sequence, so 3kt max. Very fit youngsters and I'm neither, but I'm hoping I can copy some of it this week. Of course, now that the regatta is over, with winds peaking at maybe 11kt, we're expecting a huge blow, with 50kt gusts by Thursday. Never fails.

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Awalkspoiled said..
I don't race anymore but I did go watch as Aeroegnr and Paducah chased the kids around the course over the weekend, and it was really eye-opening. First of all, the fittest of the youngsters were foiling up in "gusts" no stronger than 5kt, and then locking out and flying even through very deep lulls. It was taking basically four big pumps to get the board flying, moving into the back strap on the third, then two or three more with the board in the air, then see ya later.

Their technique, as far as I could tell from shore, was very consistent from rider to rider and more similar to K?rdel's than to the moves demonstrated in the WA video, although of course there's some crossover. First two pumps drove the board downwind, third pump looked like dropping low then falling straight back off the back of the board, which shot the board forward nose up - no arm action during the actual push at all, just leg drive. Then the arms brought the guy's body back up to the sail and that pump repeated, with the back foot slotting into the strap as the front foot drove the nose of the board back down (K?rdel's "sail the board down" move). By this time the board was in the air, still on a very broad reach. Then a few full-body air pumps and then into the harness with the sail locked down on the deck.

Obviously there's a lot going on I couldn't see from shore, but I can say that as I was walking along the bike path 100m from the sailors, they weren't sailing any faster than I was walking before the pump sequence, so 3kt max. Very fit youngsters and I'm neither, but I'm hoping I can copy some of it this week. Of course, now that the regatta is over, with winds peaking at maybe 11kt, we're expecting a huge blow, with 50kt gusts by Thursday. Never fails.

Yes, I was noticing that shooting out of the water pump. It has baffled me a bit and I will just have to try and see what I can do. You're right about board speed, my watch was reading often <3kts board speed. I've only been consistently successful pumping on the IQFoil gear when it was already at ~3.8kts board speed, and if I was over 4kts it was usually not much effort.

The explosive part on Koerdel's video is also something I'm not good at coordinating. I'll have to keep trying.

I find getting weight on the back foot to be quite a critical part of pumping up onto the foil initially, with the back foot far enough back on the board that is. Then once airborne I can reduce the sail pumping and pump the board more, and keep going till the speed gets up enough to sustain solid flight.

I start with just sail pumping, but once I can step back on my narrow tailed Bolt I sync the sail pumping with the foil pumping, you will know when you have them synced because the board will jump out of the water, and it just feels "right".

I also find board speed quite a good indicator. Above 3,5-3,6 kt on perfectly flat water I can get going with big gear (9-10 m2 and 1000 wing on 1 m board). No idea what's the wind strength, probably 6-8 knots averages? The choppier it is, the higher board speed I need, sometimes almost 4 kt.

What I also noticed is even if I can get going that early or in a gust, completing a jibe will be a challenge due to lack of power/speed and being backhanded, as well as the wind not being steady around the course.

For example, judging by the state of the water and the fact he needs to pump while foiling to stay up, the wind must be extremely light and I can only dream of getting going that early or completing a foiliing jibe. www.instagram.com/p/CVN4AfhoBwt/

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FormuIa said..
I also find board speed quite a good indicator. Above 3,5-3,6 kt on perfectly flat water I can get going with big gear (9-10 m2 and 1000 wing on 1 m board). No idea what's the wind strength, probably 6-8 knots averages? The choppier it is, the higher board speed I need, sometimes almost 4 kt.

What I also noticed is even if I can get going that early or in a gust, completing a jibe will be a challenge due to lack of power/speed and being backhanded, as well as the wind not being steady around the course.

For example, judging by the state of the water and the fact he needs to pump while foiling to stay up, the wind must be extremely light and I can only dream of getting going that early or completing a foiliing jibe. www.instagram.com/p/CVN4AfhoBwt/

What board - setup are you using? What is your weight? Thanks.

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FormuIa said..
I also find board speed quite a good indicator. Above 3,5-3,6 kt on perfectly flat water I can get going with big gear (9-10 m2 and 1000 wing on 1 m board). No idea what's the wind strength, probably 6-8 knots averages? The choppier it is, the higher board speed I need, sometimes almost 4 kt.

What I also noticed is even if I can get going that early or in a gust, completing a jibe will be a challenge due to lack of power/speed and being backhanded, as well as the wind not being steady around the course.

For example, judging by the state of the water and the fact he needs to pump while foiling to stay up, the wind must be extremely light and I can only dream of getting going that early or completing a foiliing jibe. www.instagram.com/p/CVN4AfhoBwt/

I think he could probably get foiling in zero wind based off of that video . I saw some videos of people taking long narrow supfoil boards (no paddle) and getting them going in zero wind just from foot pumping...

In the 5-6kts range they were timing their jibes based on water texture so they stayed powered. One of the races I filmed while onboard (going slow!) I saw them go wide on the last slalom mark and still touch down before pumping back up. You can barely see it at 3:50, which is the last mark before finish.

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ZeroVix said..
What board - setup are you using? What is your weight? Thanks.

JP CR 100
105-106 cm center of the mast base from front foil screw
SB 1000 foil with +1 shim (if it's under 10 kt, then 0 shim and then 900 wing)
1.5? mast rake (for light wind)
9 and 10 m2 foil race sails (there's not much difference in how early I get going with either sail, but I find jibing much easier with 9 m2 in marginal winds)
80 kg without gear (bear in mind that in addition to the neoprene and harness there's 4-5 kg extra due to the helmet and 3 liters of hydration in the Camelbak )

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FormuIa said..

ZeroVix said..
What board - setup are you using? What is your weight? Thanks.

JP CR 100
105-106 cm center of the mast base from front foil screw
SB 1000 foil with +1 shim (if it's under 10 kt, then 0 shim and then 900 wing)
1.5? mast rake (for light wind)
9 and 10 m2 foil race sails (there's not much difference in how early I get going with either sail, but I find jibing much easier with 9 m2 in marginal winds)
80 kg without gear (bear in mind that in addition to the neoprene and harness there's 4-5 kg extra due to the helmet and 3 liters of hydration in the Camelbak )

Thank you sir. I am always impressed with the guys foiling under 5 knots.

How do you like that board? Is it holding up? Any regrets or wished purchased another board?

For clarity, for me, there's no way to get foiling in 5 kt with my technique. More like 6-8 kt I think, if the water is flat.

The board is excellent, what I love:
- 1 m width for extra leverage and large sails
- Cutouts and great shape overall, gets me going earlier than the formula board
- Very good performance while foiling (though I don't race, so no comparison there)
- Square-flat foil box (not angled), so IQ-style masts can fit without cutting and there's a really nice fit with proper shim, no moving

What I don't like:
- They put a cheap-ass mast track on 3k worth of board, it broke/snapped like a cracker using the Surfbent. I mean, the board is a premium race one, why not install a full carbon mast track at least? It would be 30-40 ? extra cost...
- It's quite fragile, you need to be very careful not to ding it, but most race boards are like that (maybe IQ is more durable because it's built for Olympians). Have a couple of small surface repairs already
- So wide it doesn't fit properly into some 100 cm board bags without crushing the footstraps
- Bulky to transport/carry due to width and thickness

Overall I imagine most modern 1-meter wide course race boards will behave very similarly. If you like the extra performance and VMG combined with 9-10 m2 sails, they're amazing to ride. I haven't ridden 91 cm or IQ boards to have a direct comparison. What I wanted is max light wind performance and early foiling, which this gear definitely provides.

Its been discussed before that Surfbents have caused many multiples of $ damage compared to its original cost. I recycled mine via the hard plastics bin rather than sell it and continue to destroy some one else's mast base tendons & mast track. The surfbent fulcrum destroys big foil boards in crashes.

my 2ct after spending 2 days trying to pump an iQ around the course (both up/down & slalom) in 4 to 8 knots (spoiler alert: I shlogged a lot)
-the board is very different from the 'traditional' 1m wide foil course boards; of course it's narrower, but more importantly it has much less wetted surface in the rear because of its relatively larger & double cutouts (deck overhang + cutout)
-also, I haven't measured, but I suspect its rocker has a shorter flat section
-this means that it *can* fly sooner (less drag), with the right technique
-the narrower tail allows you to "sink" the board much more than a wider tailed one, thus needing less forward motion to get up (cf comments above on minimum board speed to get going)
-however, this also requires even more aggressive leg pumping (in addition to building up sail pressure), which also implies proper foot placing
-especially in super marginal conditions (<6 knots ) it seems more effective to keep your back foot over the back/center of the board rather than go to the back strap at least initially, so as to get the most out of the downward force
-conclusion: don't skip leg day

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bel29 said..
my 2ct after spending 2 days trying to pump an iQ around the course (both up/down & slalom) in 4 to 8 knots (spoiler alert: I shlogged a lot)
....
-conclusion: don't skip leg day

Or arm day. Or cardio day.

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Paducah said..

-conclusion: don't skip leg day

Or arm day. Or cardio day.

indeed!

What is the absolute minimum wind speed to stay foiling on a reach? I've seen and done light wind pumps and only just stayed up without more pumping. I suspect this is 4kts. Board speed about 10kts. ???

Looking at these videos and noticing my own (bad) habits today, which wasn't particularly light, noticed a big difference in pumping with my front hand far back and almost touching the harness line.

With the Instagram video above I also noticed that he has a balanced grip, fairly close to the lines both fore and aft hands. Think I need to try that more to give the sail more distance overall. I have a tendency to choke the sail by grabbing too close to the mast with the front hand at first, and have to consciously correct it. But the power in hand back vs hand forward is noticeable. My back hand usually drifts further back, close to the outhaul cleat, but could be further up and closer to the harness line.

I usually move my hands back a little when pumping in light winds.

Here's where I am with light wind. I'm not sure exactly what the winds were but once foiling I would hit lulls and not be able to keep flying.

Since really changing my arms heavy technique I also moved my front hand back near the lines and my rear hand spaced more distant and further back on the boom to sheet in a little more.

Didn't have enough mast base pressure to get in the front strap right away so I pumped out of it to get the board speed/apparent wind high enough to step back. Haven't been able to pull that one off before. Should've also gone into the rear strap but I didn't, which would've helped more. Wondering what else I may have missed.

From watching that i feel like you need to sink the arse of the board a bit more when you are pumping - in order to get the foil working more underneath you. I start with my front foot in the foot strap and my back foot in the middle of the board a bit further back so i can sink the tail and engage the cutouts at the rear. This gets the porpoising effect working with the foil and helps generate lift so i can break clear of the surface tension. Once im free of the water i keep pumping the sail til i know i'm going quick enough to engage the lines and get my rear foot in the strap.

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Maddlad said..
From watching that i feel like you need to sink the arse of the board a bit more when you are pumping - in order to get the foil working more underneath you.

Thanks, I'll give it a go next time I can

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aeroegnr said..

Maddlad said..
From watching that i feel like you need to sink the arse of the board a bit more when you are pumping - in order to get the foil working more underneath you.

Thanks, I'll give it a go next time I can

No worries. Good luck! let us know how you go. :)