How to go fast downwind

Or rather, how to try to go fast

Thanks to those who commented on the draft of this 🤙

Intro

Going fast looks like it should be as simple as more pumping.

However, if you try to point it straight and pump away, you’ll quickly run up the back of a bump and realise there is much more to it.

You’ll hear that foil racing is now mostly a pump racing game. To the beginner, that sounds like you could just pump your way through it. Turns out, nothing is further from the truth.

Three points of discovery, if you’ve never tried:

1. you can’t pump very effectively in bumps compared to flat or waves

2. your average splits are slower than you would expect

3. you fall more often than you realise

This blog throws together some ideas about dealing with all of these. It’s super long, and should be seen as the beginning of the idea, not the final thing¹.

Please share your thoughts! Comment in the forum, or in the comments below, or message on instagram. Screenshot the section and tell me what you think!

As for who this is likely to be useful for:

1. beginner DW is getting onto foil

2. intermediate DW is staying on foil

3. advanced DW is optimising for speed ← this is who this is for

(for good conditions)

Setting the scene

This blog post runs through an attempt at verbalising the learning process based on a popular run I’ve done a run in Cape Town a few times this year (25-30?).

(The full Cape Town overview here)

I discovered I was pretty slow, and I fell a LOT!

In the end, with some motivation, I put together a mostly clean run at a reasonable pace, and got a time I was happy with. But being reasonably pumping fit, I had expected to just go max cardio and pump through it, but it turns out that doing that isn’t at all as easy as I had expected.

data from https://race.downwind.app/run/lagoon_beach_small_bay

Interesting how the times drop into a trend showing Pro, Advanced, Intermediate buckets, ²

For context, Milnerton is a very windy bay run that starts quite flat, and ends in a crazy reverb section with a nearly breaking wave into a narrow channel. The middle section is similar to what I’m used to and would consider a normal downwind run (bumps building with some regularity), but the start is quite flat, and the end is tricky, which gave me a lot to think about.

It is also super windy, 25-35 knots are expected, so with that much energy, I had thought that consistent high speeds would be easy, but the challenge was always keeping a flow through multiple sections, with huge variance in each.

Adapting the approach through each section was challenging.

I found the run challenging to go fast, but more importantly, there was the leaderboard which made comparison very easy. ³

But, most importantly, I think it’s just a case of having a leaderboard, and struggling my way up it. Humbling!

This was tricky at the start, but once I figured out the trim, the flat start and middle section were easy. It was the technical finish that caught me out. China Walls style reverb, with breaking waves and a 2m gap in the seaweed as a target. Really techy!⁴

This post contains some of the things that I thought about along the way.

1 - Time on foil

If you can stay on foil, that will almost always be faster than riding a smaller foil with the risk of falling.

That said, to ride a bigger foil, you must never fall. ⁵

I think the clearest example is comparing two riders over 10km, one falling and one not.

• Purple - 2:30 splits - intermediate speed (25 km/h)

• Red - 3:00 splits - beginner speed (20 km/h)

The purple faster pace has 2 falls with 3min recovery each (pretty slow⁶).

here is the calculator

This shows you have important it is not to fall, especially if it is tricky to get going again.
This was the issue that I struggled the most with.

I seem to make mistakes pretty consistently on whatever foil I ride, so tend to favour a faster foil. Slow foils cannot go fast (generally speaking).⁷

Key distinction is that for fast foils, you can be more aggressive, and for slow foils you need to be relaxed. Doing the reverse is quite tricky, but good practice.

In summary, I think that a faster foil is a gamble. If you get it right, you’ll fly. You set yourself up for a world of pain if you don’t. Footnote describes the time I got it wrong:⁸

This is where it gets interesting 👋

2 - Diamonds, walls, flats, and traps

As a beginner, it will feel like bumps are just random wobbles.

As an intermediate, you’ll notice distinct sets with loads of energy.

I feel like at advanced level, there are 4 situations to note: Diamonds, Sets, Flats and Traps.

Diamonds 💎

Nathan van Vuuren is incredibly fast and smooth! I don’t think there are many more intuitive riders on the planet.

Something I understood from a brief chat with Nathan, is that in order to fast, you should:

• Always be going forward,

• Think of the bumps as kind of diamond shape when viewed from above (white caps are the peaks of the diamonds),

• You can go around the diamonds, and this way you can really build up momentum by keeping your speed up.

• You should never need to cut back. The unlock is keeping the momentum forward (editor: unless you make a big mistake, then a cutback might be your last hope)

Look for the diamonds, once you see them, then you’ll see the gaps to jump.

It may feel like everywhere is just walls, but there are lots of diamonds, and they are moving and intersecting. You have to try and hit the gaps. At the start I made a lot of mistakes, but I think it starts to become intuitive, and you start to feel it (maybe I’m not feeling it..)

Sets 🚆

Sets come from behind, these are the big walls.

Sets are for going straight and fast, and catching your breath.

Because they come fast and from behind, they can catch you out.

They almost feel like before they get steep, they emerge from below you. When you get that feeling, you better be accelerating to get onto the front of it! (If you ever feel something coming under, you and you aren’t sure of your speed, cut back to safety 😅).

In this clip, I feel like you get examples of big sets that you can ride, a set that emerges, as well as a diamond shape out to the right that could have been a gap.

armstrongfoils

A post shared by @armstrongfoils

Flats ✅

Flats are where there isn’t a clear pattern, and if you are going fast, you can accelerate, and pump hard to cover some distance until you see something come.

On a fast foil, this feels the closest to pumping on flat water. You can use this as a chance to just use cardio to get up to speed.

Traps ⛔

Traps are the tricky part. Some flats look like you can pump through them, but you hit something that traps you. I haven’t figured out what the feeling is before a trap, but it is where I get stuck. I think this has to do with reverb and confused water.

A trap is something where

1. there isn’t an obvious bump to cut back to,

2. you aren’t going fast enough to accelerate out of by pumping,

3. pumping risks stalling.

Traps also happen when you stay on a set of bumps too long, without moving onto new energy. I think it may be the “wake” of a nice set of bumps.

Watch in this clip how the stacked bumps transform into a dead zone.

The set turned into a very clear dead zone trap. Carrying the speed out of the set and across into another set is the essence of going fast as far as I can tell!⁹

So we have some terminology, let’s keep going.

3 - Momentum

The best way to go faster is to try and carry momentum as much as possible, rather than aiming for bursts of high speed.¹⁰

Ideally you’d avoid losing that momentum, but remember a gap or keyhole will open up, so it’s usually, better to be patient and sit high on the bump to conserve energy, and to attack when you see the gap.

Once you start getting momentum, your relative speed increases and you can take smaller and smaller gaps.

Once you’re up to speed, you can start hitting gaps and building a rhythm.

This is where pumping comes in, as an addition on top of smooth lines, rather than instead of.

Hugh mentions it in the Foil Project podcast, how getting momentum in bigger ocean conditions isn’t easy, and the fastest guys seem pick on-ramps onto big ocean groundswell, which then allowed them to ride faster and faster.

In this race clip there is a good mix of bumps and groundswell, watch how there are a few moments of attacking bumps or cutting back

As we understand from Edo, the best way to go fast is to ride a crazy fast foil and just attack for two hours.

However, it is critical not to go straight over a wall. Remember momentum.

Going over requires significant effort, this is because the energy in the water molecules when you are on the back of the bump are going down, meaning you need more speed, more energy, more lift. Compare this to cruising on the front of the bump with loads of lift.

Below exaggerated image, green is cruising, molecules are pushing up, red is attacking to try and skip the bump, but is working very hard as the molecules are pulling down¹¹.

Anyway, what this means is that going fast means going around bumps, and going straight up and over should be avoided as far as possible (I think).

If you do run up the back of a big bump, it is a highly risky place to be, as there isn’t much room for error. You can pull back, but at some stage it will be too late.

The trick is having a good read on where a gap will open, and your speed relative to how quickly that gap will close.

If you are moving very fast and have crazy momentum, you can try smashing over them.

4 - Pumping, paddles, trim

As I said in the intro, pumping feels like the answer, and in a big way it is, but with some critical points.

Pump technique

Downwind pump technique seems to matter more than flat water or prone.

I think this is due to how close together the bumps can get, and the reverb from interacting bumps.

When pumping downwind, you need to pump at the right moment.

• When you are on the front face or top of a bump, or chop, your pumping energy will drive forward, and accelerate you.

• If you pump on the back face, pumping might cause your foil to stall.

How this feels is very distinct:

• Pumping at the right moment will feel like the foil is solid, and accelerates.

• Pumping at the wrong moment feels like it is dropping out from below you.

You also need the right trim. If your weight is too far forward, you’ll push the nose down rather than drive the foil forward.

There are times when quick short pumps work best and times when deeper pumps are necessary.

Paddle pumping

This is a nice safety fallback, and also a great way to get the most out of skipping a bump. If you go for a gap, paddle pumping gives you a boost, but also puts your weight forward so that you don’t stall if you hit the back of a bump.

Personally, I can’t imagine downwind foiling in technical messy bumps without a paddle. The benefits of a well-timed paddle seem to save me from dropping off foil more often than not.

Trim

I’ve documented my explorations into trim. In short, I think it is crucial:

dwfoil_com

A post shared by @dwfoil_com

Look at the way James Casey pumps in the video below as my favourite example.

Narrow stance, perfectly stacked over the foil, board movement is minimal.

If you are on a high aspect foil, move your front foot back, your back foot back. Figure out shimming. You need to be stacked over your foil.

5 - Mistakes

There are two types of mistakes

1. Try to jump a bump or take a gap and don’t make it and fall off the back and stall

2. Get lost going slow in a trap, a dead end with no energy and can’t pump out

Point 1 is probably a better mistake to make because you deliberately attack a bump, whereas 2 is just due to lack of momentum and a mistake “happening to you” rather than something you were aware was risky.

I find that Point1 happens when I’m going too hard, and point 2 happens when I’m not paying attention or not going hard enough.

When in doubt, cut back hard, this gives you some lift, and means you’re moving away from where you are which is often a good idea. It also means you are moving faster towards the bumps, so if you’re still on foil, you could probably glide onto one. ¹²

6 - Other people

The temptation when you see someone ahead of you is to start taking risks to pass them. This is almost always (in my experience) going to lead to making a mistake.

Smooth is fast.

When someone is ahead of you, falling is absolutely the worst way to pass them. Avoid the temptation to see red, and just focus on smooth, clean lines.

The same can be said when someone passes you. Stay cool bro. Just stay cool. Figure out the line and stay cool.

That said, this post is about going fast, not necessarily racing. Racing in my limited experience has entailed a flat lagoon in France, so I can’t really comment, but when your heart is pumping on the start line, remember to stay cool.

7 - Navigation

Something I realised with the Milnerton run is that the slower foils seemed to take much straighter lines, the faster foils seemed to go wider to get into more energy.

Finding the optimal line is quite hard to get right, but something that is worth checking. 5% shorter route means you can ride a 5% easier foil.

I realised that when the big tower lines up with the hill behind, I was about 8km into the run, and depending on the line, could start looking for bumps to cut in. (Google maps 3D)

Having some sense for where you are is pretty useful, but the faster the foil, the less chance you have for taking transits and spotting landmarks.

8 - Summary

Going fast is more than just cardio and pumping: it requires careful reading of conditions and a foil you are comfortable on

• big foils can be easier to manage but limit top speed

• smaller foils can unlock higher performance, but greater risk of stalling or falling

On faster foils, forward momentum is crucial for going between bumps (“diamonds”) and avoiding dead zones (“traps”). You supplement this with pumping, rather than purely rely on it.

Mistakes typically happen in two ways:

• attacking a bump that’s too big and stalling, or

• drifting into a dead zone without enough speed to escape

Paddle-pumping and cutting back aggressively are useful skills to avoid dropping.

Staying on foil is faster than risking multiple falls with a smaller foil.¹³

Why go fast

It’s hard, but most usefully, it is a great way to figure out how the ocean works. The faster I go, the easier it is to go very slow.

It is also fun, and not simple.

If it was pure cardio, I’d probably do better as I have reasonably high fitness, but as most things in life, there is an easy way and a hard way.

As Edo says: “Kane goes faster, and with less effort than anyone!” ¹⁴

But most usefully, small foils are undoubtedly more fun to ride, and getting used to going fast and slow on them feels like a worthwhile process.¹⁵

FOOTNOTES

1. In the age of AI generated summaries, I feel like favouring less edited content instead of polluting it with AI refinement. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth sharing the bad versions.

2. Maximum respect to everyone that is slogging away at that run. Honestly, pushing myself in downwind has been one of the absolute most humbling and frustrating thing I’ve ever done.

3. I found the Cape Town run to be extremely varied, which made it interesting and challenging. I’ve found the runs in the UK to be easier and more consistent.

4. I rode an AFS Ultra 750 for almost the duration, which was both the first time riding it, and much smaller than what I was riding before - Axis Fireball 1070 and ART Pro 1121 before that. I did one run on an AFS Enduro 1300, which I thought would be a guaranteed ace, but instead was harder than expected for how slow!

5. Downwind specific foils are High Aspect (AR>14) almost as a rule, but it is useful to make a quick comparison to medium aspect

High aspect foils

1. Fast, and most importantly, have high average speeds. This means they can maintain the speed when there is not much energy, and when there is lots of energy.

2. Super efficient to pump, but cannot tolerate sloppy technique.

3. Difficult to avoid crashes if you get overpowered

4. Difficult to paddle up if you are exhausted

Medium aspect foils

1. More comfortable going fast, but they slow down very quick.

2. Easy to pump, just hammer away, but less efficient

3. Easy to navigate, turn, adjust, and happily ride overpowered

4. Easier to paddle up if tired

I find on the High Aspect foils, things go well at the start, but if I get exhausted, it gets harder and harder to paddle it up and pump it without stalling.

For this post, I generalised to faster High Aspect foils, but the same applies for most.

6. Those falls kill your time! The trickier the conditions, the longer it takes. I’ve had a look at some of the slower runs I’ve done, and found many 3 minute and longer times trying to get onto foil in tricky sections. Fast is about 20-30 seconds, but that is lucking into a nice bump!

7. Something else to note on slow foils:

1. When bumps get spread out, it was much easier to paddle up the smaller foil as I could get some paddle speed and then run down the face of the medium speed bumps

2. On a slower foil, you have to wait for much longer for a steep one, or muscle it up but cut back mid-takeoff to not go up the back.

Basically the technique was entirely different (discussed here, example here)

At some stage, ocean swell gets so big that you need to do this on the faster foil anyway, eg here.

8. I mostly have been riding the Ultra 750 from AFS on this run. My best time was 30min over 10km, but on one run, the wind a bit light and the ground swell a bit big, I couldn’t stay on foil, and I couldn’t get back on foil for the second half, and it took 71min over the 10km distance. 24 paddle ups, 51% of the distance on foil. This was a very very low point in my foiling journey. I think this means that the foil is too high performance for my skill level for those conditions.

9. Here is a work in progress sequence diagram. The sequence goes from top to bottom, but the bumps are moving “up” the page.

We assume the middle bumps that the person is riding are standing still, and the bumps on the right and left are moving past. Initially there is a gap, but it closes, and then eventually opens. In reality, it’s all happening fast and less clear, but it must be there because sometimes you can get through!

Not sure how to add traps to the image, but basically the same as the last but can’t pump.

10. Random note on fast locations vs fast lines.

1. Fast places - location and condition dependent, and anyone can go fast on the same day

2. Fast riding - this is rider skill dependent, and is what gives you the edge on a day.

Also remember, GPS splits don’t tell you if there was any current in the water water. Riding with the current can give a non-trivial boost. The fastest current in the world is 4 knots, or 7km/h. Boosting along with this pushing you would move an average rider at a world-class pace.

11. I also have a theory that the energy is also not down, but also backwards, meaning you need to point your foil DOWN in order to avoid stalling. See below, where the water energy is moving clockwise around the circle, so the force is actually moving down and backwards…

12. Excellent video from Gwen for beginner/intermediates, laying out how not to fall.

13. Some more summary, for reference

14. or something like that, someone said something similar to that somewhere, probably anyway

APPENDIX

15. In this sequence below, Josh cuts back and the other guy goes straight. In that 6 seconds he has lost enough distance to lose touch entirely.

Very useful clip:

More small bump racing

Basics, useful insight on sets

simboogy

A post shared by @simboogy

Dave west on sizing of foils

dave_west_foils

A post shared by @dave_west_foils

end appendix