Foam hits 2
Spring is in the air, you can already smell that sweet discounted 2023 gear, folks flogging what didn’t work last year with the hope that 2024 finally unlock first links, tacks or more importantly downwind chips.
On the train back from London, two people were arguing over money. The argument in favour: “I spend money on what I want.” Honestly, not much to argue with there. I try and keep in mind that foiling and especially downwind is equally an adventure and a grind, and that the moment is the joy. Gaining mastery, or even competence, probably also means you’ve cleared that beginner fun zone where anything is possible, and each session could be a breakthrough. Sure, an e-foil could accelerate you through the process, but then what.
In wondering about foiling, it seems only natural to wonder about how big it could all get. I have long thought that foiling will be cyclical in its growth. I could imagine foiling crossing the gap from niche, fringe and a bit awkward into something more mainstream. What I do find interesting, and maybe telling, is that Downwind foiling is the only foiling that is interesting to anyone from a non-windsport background - surfers in particular.
It isn’t even that likely that foiling will go mainstream, but two things are essential for that case: Cool people (of which there are currently almost none, sorry fellow dad crew), and kids (of which there are even fewer). This is starting to change. With pro surfers starting to crossover, and wing kids ditching the wings to have fun and break the rules, it could get interesting.
Anyway, here is a recap of the things that you may have missed since the last foam hit. Please subscribe if you want to get this in your email 🤙
Matt
People doing downwind
This clip got the UK downwind scene fired up. The first true offshore send (captured on drone). I was doubtful of the viability of this day, with a Big West swell, and a strong 30-40kn Northerly forecast for this stretch of coast, making for probably too technical conditions for the average punter. Needless to say, Guy Bridge raised the bar, and captured an epic clip. Epic!
I spent so much time mind-surfing the clip that I decided to draw on it. Cool to see the wind and ground swell converging.
Down in Aus - I love this clip of foiling from a sailing boat. Definitely bucket list material.
Tenerife seems to be emerging as a downwind hub for Euro-foilers, with pretty much consistent footage emerging as people head down to make the most of it. It is a famous windsurf destination, as is Maui and Cape Town - not hard to make the connection.
Please have a look at absolutely the smoothest flat water start I’ve ever seen. See the story for details on how you can glide up without breaking a sweat. I copied and summarised these tips below, thanks Dan J!
Paddle ups are about breaking water tension and getting air between the board and the surface of the water. That's what I was aiming to do. Get air between the board and the surface of the water.
Use your legs. Imagine a skateboard ollie but not as critical. LEGS!!! So important. I found the paddle should be secondary.
Wait for swell to give you a push and get some momentum, get the next one, HIGH CADENCE worked for me not big and powerful slow cadence. Turn left or right when the opportunity arrives. NEVER RUN UP THE ONE ONFRONT
When you feel you're starting to come up, Remember those legs. and pump when the foil is underwater. Even though you aren't up by pumping it's releasing the water pressure, reducing drag and helps to increase speed
Keep paddling after you think you're up, because your still not at speed. That's why a slightly longer paddle helps.
If you are up and going, find the high point on the nearest bump.
Once up get legs closer together. Even the slightest shuffle will do different things. Tiny movements will change verything.
Stay high on the mast. Less friction. Stand up tall if you can with our weight over your feet. Don't swing your body out over the edge of the board
Drift, don't paddle before the paddle up. Save you energy. Don't paddle downwind just feel the ocean. If you get tired sit down and watch the bumps
Excellent recap of a huge South of France send that I had missed - Julien Salles foils a 200-km SUP foil run in the Mediterranean (boat assisted, but still). I sailed from Marseille to Porquerolles once in a 20kn following wind. It was incredibly beautiful and felt very exposed. Would love to return and do this on foil one day.
Learning
An excellent video on what gear to consider. I like that Gwen says that you don’t need to worry about specific features, just focus on lots of length, big on volume and just get what is available locally.
Some great tips and insights below - especially the point that while smaller foils are much easier to ride, if you cannot get them up onto foil then they are useless, and so you need to ride much bigger foils than you would ideally like to ride. I’ve used my progression 140 in good Cape Town conditions, but on average I ride bigger foils than I would otherwise want to ride.
This clip was pretty cool - James Casey coaching in real time. Funny how something as slow as a realtime coaching session makes for pretty good viewing. Very interesting to see the small mistakes and minor corrections.
This video below explains the SUP stroke. Useful stuff. Once you’ve watched that, have a look at Glenn’s corrections for the foil, great combo to watch and then read.
Coaching
The list keeps growing!
Coach Casey - Aus
Voyager Foiler Retreats - Hawaii
Surf Ears - Tenerife
Ocean Paddle Camp - Tarifa
La Ventana:
Racing
NSW Foil Club have a cool concept - Record your tracking data and the fastest times get a prize. Simple and easy 👍
Spain Wing Foil Tour is running a promo race in April. Great to see the competitive stoke spreading.
Some race recaps - Aus, Ze Race, Oahu, Florida.
The interesting thing about all of these races is that they all happened in relatively light wind for the region.
Aus: Can you pump a downwind board 10km in crossed up reverb bumps with no wind? I know I can’t!
Ouahu: “Marginal” conditions for this race… Looks epic!
Ze Race: Gwenn recaps his first big ocean race, from someone who has only done inshore downwinds, and how much of a challenge the offshore conditions were. Finishing the race seems like a challenge in itself.
Florida crew:
This first clip is not downwind, but rather the prone surf racing… which looks super sketchy, super fun and I really don’t know what to make of it!
They have a big downwind crew there too:
Gear
10’ x 23” x 5” @ 153 liters
Paddles
Interesting insight on Paddle size - after everyone went large, now it seems like the general idea is going smaller. The other reason might be strained shoulders!
Big = power, makes it easy to get a big foil going
Small = higher cadence, appropriate for a smaller foil
Boards
The emerging dynamic might be the displacement hull vs planing hull. With the Amos Bullet vs Armstrong Downwind Performance being prime examples of each. It is probably fair to call all downwind boards “semi-displacement” anyway, but there is something of a split in the design approach here. Oskar breaks it down below in the intro video to the Armstrong board. These Armstrong DW boards are the highest ratio length to width production boards on the market that I’ve seen.
In the below video, we get some insights on what the rest of the racers are riding, and some details about what works and doesn’t work for them.
James 84kg, 105L, 7’6x17 (25%) - planing
Oskar 73kg, 98L (old was 85L) - planing
Zane 77kg 105L - displacement
Josh 77kg 108L (doesn’t want to go under 105L) - displacement
Based on the chats about volume relative to weight, I came up with a guide. Let me know what you think in the comments. Follow the numbers 1-4 to find the right board for you. With the pros plotted, and Dave West who I entirely agree with - GO LONG!
Kites
Whatever happened to all the kites and parachutes? This was interesting and maybe sensible, removing the need for such a long board. Also a nice safety backup to make a better angle downwind, or even upwind? Watching Sam for some more details. In the meantime the deflate downwinder seems like a decent compromise.
ps don’t hurt yourself for the sake of novelty likes 🫣
ps - New Barracuda dims
ps - James Casey flogging on the rocks! Unreal! Glad you’re OK James!
