Foiling Magazine #6

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Off the beaten track in the PNW

The Lenny Brothers’ new pump spot

Dodging sharks in French Polynesia

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Junior

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Tushingham Sales Ltd. +44 (0) 1803 712140 info@tushingham.com Italy Martina Orsini

Youth In January 2017, Starboard started off on the iQFoil journey that led to foiling entering the Olympics for the first time and a new chapter in windsurfing history unfolds. From wing foiling to surf foiling, from windsurfing to SUP foiling, from progressing riders to Olympic Gold medalists, Starboard offers the complete foiling experience.

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THE

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CONTENTS F

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92 THE SUGAR COVE CREW

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E NDU RANC E

CONNE C T ING T H E DOTS

What happens when five of the world’s

Photographer Richard Hallman finds

Big wave rider, motivational speaker

top young wing foilers regularly ride

himself in an isolated spot on the Oregon

and author Chris Bertish relates how his

together at a prime wind spot on the

coast – notorious for its big waves and

transition to professional foil rider has al-

sun-rich shores of Maui? Lightning fast

wildlife both above and below the water-

lowed him to see the connection between multiple water sports, offering him a way

progression, good times, and plenty

line – that proves a calm contrast to our

of “now you try it” trick trading that’s

turbulent times and highlights the rate of

to keep fit, tune himself further into na-

pushing the new sport forward at an

progression in both his own professional

ture and the ocean, and challenge himself

exponential rate…

life and that in the world of foiling…

like never before…

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22 E X POS UR E / 5 4 UP LOA D E D : R R D Y 26 / 5 8 R I S I N G U P : JU STI N S I M M ER / 62 S EC R ET S P OT / 6 4 T H E O UT E R BA N KS : TA H I T I & A L EN U I HĀ HĀ CHA N N EL / 72 DY N A M I CS : P U M P F OI L I N G / 76 R E D L E T T E R DAY: UR BA N F O I L I N G & M AU I P OOL PA R TY / 8 6 THE G OOD STU F F / 118 B ACKSTO RY: C LO UD 9 / 124 T H E 101 : S U P F OI L I N G / 1 2 8 W I N G COM M A N DER S : CL I N TON F I L E N & DAVE KAY / 134 T E ST E D / 1 5 0 I N B OU N D / 1 66 F OR ES I G HT: A DA M B EN N ETTS / 16 8 LO C A L E S : T H E P O R T UG U ES E C R EW / 1 76 STATE OF P L AY: N I C K L EAS ON

LEFT Former cover star Dylan Wichmann finds some temporary airborne relief between intense university assignments… Photo: Samuel Tome

C OV E R No doubt you’ll have seen the (now viral) barrel shot of Matahi Drollet by Thomas Bevilacqua that did the rounds recently. Well, here’s another angle of the same wave for you, underscoring even further the fine line that Matahi walked between both ocean and foil physics… Photo: Ben Thouard

CONTE N TS

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HERE

Glyn Ovens accelerates toward a developing Nazaré megasection... Photo: Helió Antonió

E D I TO R IA L

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EDITORIAL At the time of writing, I’m sitting at my home desk in the early twilight as the first huge Atlantic storm of the season makes itself known on our shores. Although I’m set back from the sea, a mile or so as the crow flies, I can pick out the muffled thump of large waves from here, in the fleeting moments where the wind lets up enough to hear anything other than its own incessant howl, things toppling and breaking in my yard, and the occasional shriek of a seagull overhead, who’s probably having a far less agreeable morning than I. It’s the same weather system that’s currently sending enormous swell lines to the shores of Portugal, where many crossover surfers who’ve previously graced these pages (such as Glyn Ovens, to the left here) are ready and waiting to meet them head on.

Amidst all this turbulence and driving rain outside, I’m able to take 10 minutes to check our Instagram feed. With the geographical soul of the sport having been centered on the Hawaiian Islands pretty much since its inception, I know that with the flick of my thumb I’ll be able to mentally drift away and join world-class riders flying over swell lines on the north shore of Maui, and imagine for a moment that I’m alongside them, wearing nothing more than boardies and a smile, hooting them on and catching a few peachy rollers myself in the process.

And then I spot Matahi Drollet’s Tahitian keg…

I’m pretty sure I don’t have to elaborate too much on this shot... I’d wager the majority of us here use some form of social media and the majority of those who do have spotted it by the time you read this.

Sure, and I think most will agree, it was only a matter of time before this milestone of the sport was reached (although we should probably keep in mind that this is just the first truly viral image of a shacked foiler, and we shouldn’t steal any thunder from those who’ve claimed it without photographers present, even though, and let’s be honest, this is clearly the one that’s going to make the entry on the Wikipedia ‘foiling achievements’ timeline... if it exists… which it should). But the comments underneath the many onward shares of this image all make one thing very clear - whether we expected it or not, the realm of foil barrel-riding has been decisively breached by Matahi, and with some serious aesthetic panache too. Happily, to complement that now-famous frontside shot by Thomas Bevilacqua, we managed to bag the backside angle of the very same wave for our cover. A shot

by Ben Thouard that, I think you’ll probably agree, is something special indeed.

Now, whether deep tube riding becomes something comprehensively accessible to the delicate physics of foiling remains to be seen. In my opinion, the true significance of both of these shots is that Matahi (and the photographers) have highlighted the fact that the limits of this sport continue to remain as yet undefined, and that my overworked Instagram thumb is likely to scroll upon even more surprises in the months to come… and as the editor of a magazine that gets to cover these surprises as they appear and develop, that excites me more than anything.

Enjoy the issue.

Cai Waggett E DITOR

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E D I TO R I A L

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Rider: Jun Adegawa Photo: Pedro Gomes

PRODUCTION TEAM Editor: Cai Waggett Editor-in-Chief: Alex Hapgood Sub-editor: Sarah Sylvester Art Director: Nikki Hall Digital Marketing: Tom Weyers Technical Editor: Richard Boughton Contributing Editor: Kjell Issey van Sice CONTRIBUTORS Adam Bennetts, Alessandro Giovanelli, Amanda Beenen Cantor, Andy Klotzi, Antoine Badin, Armie Armstrong, Ash Woolley, Ben Thouard, Ben Toni, Benni Geislinger, Benny Ferris, Bevan Gooch, Blake Hedges, Bobo Gallagher, Brian Solano, Camille Bouyer, Carsten Kurmis, Casper Steinfath, Chris Bertish, Chris Christie, Chris Gutzeit, Clinton Filen, Craig Gertenbach, Craig Kolesky, Crystal Veness, Dave Kay, Dave Norona, Debbie Jean Holloman, Devon Manz, Emiliano Gimenez, Evan Vangelis, Finn Spencer, Fred Morin, Gaël Contal, Georgia Schofield, Grant Scholtz, Hélio António, Hivanui Regaud, Holly Williams, Ivan van Vuuren, Jason Phillips, Jeff Chang, Jerrett Lau, Julien Bouyer, Julien Fillion, Justin Simmer, Kai Lenny, Kevin Pritchard, Kyle Maligro, Kyron Rathbone, Lukas Haigermoser, Mala’e McElheny, Mark de Fraine, Matteo Guazzoni, Nick Green, Nick Leason, Noah Andrews, Nuno Sousa, Olaf Marting, Paul Cooper, Paul Schrader, Paul Serin, Pedro Gomes, Rafal Malesyk, Richard Hallman, Ridge Lenny, Robby Naish, Rodrigo Donoso, Sam Carentz, Samuel Tome, Sebastian Ribeiro, Sensi Graves, Shawn McNabb, Sky Rama, Sofie Louca, Sylvain Aurenche, Thomas Bevilacqua, Tiesda You, Tó Mané, Victor Dutra, Z Schettewi A DV E R T I S I N G All advertising enquiries can be sent to advertising@thefoilingmagazine.com SUBMISSIONS We’re always on the hunt for foil adventurers who can write and/or take a good photo. Please send your pitch or previous examples of articles photography to hello@thefoilingmagazine.com COPYRIGHT All material in Foiling Magazine is subject to copyright. Reproduction without the express permission of the publishers will result in prosecution.

PUBLISHER Foiling Magazine is published by Water Born Media Limited in Hayle, Cornwall.

United Kingdom E N V I R O N M E N TA L This magazine is printed on paper sourced from responsibly managed sources using vegetable based inks. Both the paper used in the production and the manufacturing process are FCS ® certified.

The printers are also accredited to ISO14001, the internationally recognized environmental standard.

FIND US HERE @foilingmagazine foilingmagazine thefoilingmagazine.com 18

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FOL LOW YOUR DRE AMS 20

W W W . R O B E R T O R2 1I C C I D E S I G N S . C O M

Rider: Camille Bouyer Ph: Samuel Tomè

DISCOVER OUR WINGFOIL COLLECTION ON

R I D E R Bevan Gooch LO C ATIO N Pauanui, Coromandel, New Zealand P HOTO G R A P HE R Paul Schrader Bevan: Testing prototype foil combinations out for Armstrong foils at my home surf in Pauanui is the perfect way to wash off a hard day’s work. We get really consistent waves all year round and I can really tune into the subtle differences in the gear. Here, a new smaller HS prototype is being pushed to its limits. Getting a similar feel/ core DNA characteristics as the other wings in the range is key when swapping between wing sizes for pushing the G’s in turns.

E XP OS UR E

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RIDE R Julien Bouyer LOC AT ION Ile de Ré, France P H OTOGRAP H E R Gaël Conta Julien: We did this project for a YouTube video. When we hit 5k subscribers, we did a video where we were towed with a foil by a moth, driven by the young gun Thomas Proust. To celebrate 10k subscribers, we chose to go bigger and faster and be towed by an ETF26 flying catamaran, which is able to go around 30 knots! We knew it was not going to be easy. When the catamaran is not flying, it’s not too fast and the balance is good. But as soon as the ETF26 takes off, the speed increases and it’s probably not surprising we had our best wipeouts at this point! The ETF26 was driven by the Youth Foiling Team: Charles Dorange, Louis Flament and Luc Guimbertaud. It was a session to remember for sure. The next goal is to do the same but behind a bigger boat… but which one?

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E XPOS U R E

RI DE R Nathan van Vuuren LOCATI ON “Bermuda Triangle”, Big Bay, South Africa.

PHOTOGRAPHER Premier Productions / Ivan van Vuuren Ivan: This unique photo was captured late one evening in the middle of winter, right before sunset as one of the largest storms of the year passed though the Cape. Combined with a super high tide, a swell washes around both sides of the rock island, over a shallow sand bank creating a “scissors” rebound wave. Nate decided to add straps to allow a bit more control and height as the wave crashed together, literally shooting him into the sky. Some super crazy moments, perfect for airs, back flips and a few wild moves still yet to be named…

E XP OS UR E

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R IDE R Sensi Graves LO C AT ION Hood River PHOTOGR AP H E R Debbie Jean Hollomon Sensi: With the suspension of all kiteboarding competitions, my riding this year has been focused a lot more on exploring a variety of watercraft.

Instead of spending all my time riding sliders in the Hood River Slider Park, I’ve been slashing river swell with my surfboard, heading out on cruising foil sessions and learning to wing! I have to admit, it’s been a tough journey but the stoke you feel once you get it is unparalleled. This photo was taken during my very first wing foil shoot for Ride Engine.

E XP OS UR E

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RIDE R Robby Naish LOC AT ION Oahu, Hawaii PHOTOG RAP H E R @fishbowldiaries Robby: Summertime on Maui does not offer many options for foiling locations, with most spots being pretty short rides. This picture is taken at one of the better spots along “Thousand Peaks”, where the wave breaks on a shallow reef (too shallow at anything other than medium to high tide) and then backs off into rolling “bumps” that come running through deeper water towards the beach. It makes for a pretty fun and fairly long ride where you can connect the bumps and cover some good ground by Maui standards. I like to ride fast and fluid – driving out to the shoulder using a pretty long mast (usually 85cm for surfing) gaining as much speed as possible and then laying down big carving turns like powder snowboarding rather than making little tight turns and “chimping” back out to the takeoff… So more speed and carving with a smaller foil and paddling back out rather than pumping back out.

E XP OS UR E

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EX POS UR E

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RIDE R Kai Lenny LOC AT ION Nazaré, Portugal P H OTOGRAP H E R Hélio António Kai: Foiling Nazaré has to be one of the most difficult waves I have ever tried to foil. The speed of the wave alone is crazy as it’s one of the fastest big waves I have ever ridden. On top of that, once the wave comes out of the canyon and wedges onto the point there is this surge of energy that rushes up the face of the wave. The lift on the foil is doubled and all of a sudden there’s a huge amount of backwash and foam as you drop into first peak. I haven’t ridden it the exact way I want to yet, but every time I go back, I make progress to my ultimate goal of going back door as the wave breaks.

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E XPOS U R E

R I D E R Matteo Guazzoni LO C AT I ON Lake Garda P HOTO GR A P HE R Alessandro Giovanelli Matteo: Lake Garda is a sort of gold mine where the wind blows nearly every day of the week. This photo was taken during one of the many sessions with the Ora - the renowned wind coming from the south that strengthens near the north coast of the lake during the afternoon. It quite often happens that this is the moment when the lake gets filled with sailors, windsurfers and kitesurfers. It’s only been a year since I tried wingfoiling for the first time and it’s incredible how it has taken over. It’s a blast exploring this new sport.

EX POS UR E

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RIDE R Julien Fillion LOC AT ION Secretsville P H OTOGRAP H E R Crystal Veness Julien: I live slightly inland in Canada, the closest breaking ocean wave is five hours from my house. Although, one of the reasons I moved to Montreal 15 years ago was because of the amazing network of river waves. In the last couple of years, I’ve been spending quite some time exploring those waves with hydrofoils, both prone and SUP. I’m still trying to fine-tune the perfect gear setup, I feel this will be a forever evolution!

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E XPOS U R E

RIDE R Jeff Chang LOC AT ION Oahu PHOTOGRAP H E R Rafal Maleszyk Jeff: Wing surfing has been progressing at a rapid pace on Oahu with wave riding and tricks being pushed daily and board sizes dropping rapidly. Many of the wingers are prone foilers with super talent and no wind sports experience, and there are converts from kiting and windsurfing. We have a local group chat where everyone posts conditions for the day, experiences, photos and videos, and it pushes the progression. This was a great day where everything came together, good side offshore winds for smooth wave faces and head high waves with bigger sets. This shot was the end of a long left with a section breaking in front of me. Two choices‌ try to ride it out or grab the wing and use the power to run away. I tried to ride it out and the foam in back and front merged into a giant whitewater ball which swallowed me up!

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RIDE R Benny Ferris and Brian Grubb LOC AT ION In The Mountains P H OTOGRAP H E R Rodrigo Donoso Benny: This is Brian and I doing some eFoil R&D with Lift. After days of wrinkled fingers and toes in the ocean we decided to head inland and freshen up. The river was amazing. Sheet glass like a mirror reflecting the evening sky. The fresh water was so still and soft it was perfect for feeling the subtleties of different foils and boards. Deep up the river we found this tree tunnel near the bank.

Negotiating the sticks in the water and overhead while being followed close by your buddy added some extra excitement to the afternoon. Needless to say, we flew till our legs were burning and batteries were dead.

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E XPOS U R E

R I D E R Olaf Marting LO C AT I ON Langebaan Lagoon P HOTO GR A P HE R Craig Kolesky Olaf: We escaped the city and headed up to Langebaan to try out the new Ullman Falcon Wing. With a steady 20 knot south easter and flat water, the conditions were sublime and another reminder of just how special Langebaan can be. With no other visitors around, we had the whole playground to ourselves, with only the seagulls as spectators.

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R I DE R Kit Griffiths LO C ATIO N Turks and Caicos Islands P HOTO GR A P HE R Mark de Fraine Mark: This photo was shot on the south side of our island, just off a beach called Long Bay. We love it when it’s calm enough on this side as we get over 35 miles of crystal clear ‘swimming pool’ water with no other boats in sight! Kit is riding between two of our Axis boats in about 10ft of water in this shot. It was awesome watching him carve from side to side between the boats and being able to clearly see the wing carving under the water. Foil riding in the gauntlet is one of our favorite activities as you have so much freedom and with the huge wave created by the boats it gives a massive push so you can effortlessly glide around.

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E XPOS U R E

R I D E R Sebastian Ribeiro LO C AT I ON Praia do Madeiro, Brazil P HOTO GR A P HE R Victor Dutra Sebastian: Praia do Madeiro is one of those places that you dream about for surf foiling. I remember going there for the very first time, I parked my car, set up my 1250 Duotone wing and started down the trail. For the first ten steps you’re in dense forest on a super tight track, scratching the foil on trees and plants. Suddenly, you round a corner, and you have this natural and amazing window showing all the beauty of this place. It was probably the best surf foil session of my life, the waves were long, the drop was easy and there was constant swell.

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RIDE R Tiesda You LOC AT ION Nai Yang, Phuket, Thailand PH OTOGRAP H E R Sam Carentz Tiesda: This shot was from our R&D weekend trip to Phuket. We planned to foil surf all day long but it turned out rainy and stormy. So we brought out the wings instead. It was great to take the new Starboard foils out for a spin and it was the first time we got to try the Starboard Wingboards in their final production version. Well, that’s what we told ourselves… we’ll take any excuse to drop everything and go fly!

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E XPOS U R E

R I D E R Kyle Maligro LO C AT I ON Outer Islands P HOTO GR A P HE R Jason Phillips Kyle: Ghost town, no-one around. Sun setting, almost dark. All reef, maybe a foot deep. Hard to judge how high or low the foil is. Go for it and see what happens. This happened! Stoked my friend Jason Phillips gave me the last minute call. Having good times even in the Covid days‌

E XP OS UR E

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R I DE R Kyron Rathbone LO C ATIO N Deep South, Tasmania P HOTO GR A P HE R Nick Green Kyron: The deepest South of Tasmania is such a magical place... The next thing you hit if you head directly south is Antarctica. Surrounded by some of the biggest trees on the planet and only accessible by water or a day of hiking through thick bush, I’ve wanted to foil here since I began flying. I was over-gunned on a 1500 wing and the speeds were insane, topping out at 45kms an hour... I’m super pumped to get back down with some refined gear and carve the place to pieces!

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E XPOS U R E

R I D E R Mala’e McElheny LO C AT I ON Oahu, Hawaii P HOTO GR A P HE R @foilcountry Mala’e: Down at the end of the road on the North Shore of Oahu we found lots of room to explore with the foil wing. It was perfect timing to test out the Duotone 4m Unit and the GoFoil NL130 as we prepare for the winter waves. This spot is our landing point for longer downwinders and the backdrop is incredible!

EX POS UR E

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RIDE R Finn Spencer LOC AT ION Guard Rails PH OTOGRAP H E R Sofie Louca Sofie: Guard Rails is a gentle break just south of Lahaina. It has become a popular location for surf foiling and is an ideal spot for both novice and experienced surfers. Despite the overcast weather, we decided to shoot some land and water photos as the waves were rolling in and looking glassy. Finn is an all-round waterman and it’s a pleasure photographing him whatever water activity he is taking part in.

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E XPOS U R E

E XP OS UR E

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RIDE R Ben Toni LOC AT ION Burleigh Heads, Australia P H OTOGRAP H E R Blake Hedges Ben: Karl Muggeridge, a good friend of mine, got me into foiling about six months ago. What an amazing sport, challenging but so rewarding. Once you get your glide on and start floating above the waves you are hooked. I started on the X28 Cloud9 set-up, then upgraded to the F32 wing, which is an incredible, high-performance wing. Perfect spot here on the Gold Coast, as there is always a beachie or a point break working. We have a large foiling community here and it’s growing rapidly - with great photographers to capture us in action!

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E XPOS U R E

RIDE R Dave Norona LOCATI ON Howe Sound, British Columbia PHOTO GRAP H E R Chris Christie Dave: After 30 plus years of racing, training and adventuring all over the planet, I have been lucky enough to enjoy and use some of the most cutting-edge sports equipment technologies. Last spring, thanks to my friend Ole Mau, I discovered the Lift eFoil. The moment you lift quietly off the water and cruise surfy turns at 23-25km/hr, your smile just gets bigger and bigger. This photo was right after a three-day rain storm. I arrived to low fog and sunny skies, and it was not until I hit the water that I realized it was complete glass! The fog subsided and I was greeted by my friends Chris Christie and Julie Tennock on their race SUP’s coming back from the Defence Islands. We chatted just brief enough for Chris to snap some of his amazing photos, and then we went our separate ways.

E XP OS UR E

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R I D E R Armie Armstrong LO C ATIO N Shakespeare Regional Park, New Zealand P HOTO G R A P HE R Georgia Schofield Armie: It’s been an epic spring for wingfoiling in NZ this year with early warm temperatures and trade-wind-like weather patterns. Been loving the new A-Wings for boosting. So much float and airtime – it’s easy to get decent air and is addictive. I’m also having a blast working on new board shapes for next year. Aloha from NZ!

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E XPOS U R E

RI DE R Carsten Kurmis LOCATI O N Lake Walchensee, Germany PHOTOGRAP H E R Andy Klotzi Carsten: Imagine the perfect session. You get up early, make a coffee for the van ride towards the mountains. Then in the middle of beautiful forests, you find a lake with crystal clear water and just a few people around who are going for a hike or having a paddle session, but no windsurfers because there is almost no wind at all. You have your 7m FreeWing Air with you… which happens to be the perfect combination for your 5’8 wingboard and the light wind. Five minutes later you are in your wetsuit and you’ve pumped up your wing. Just a few seconds later you are flying above the water, enjoying the nature and the speed without any noise whatsoever… Does it get any better?!

E XP OS UR E

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R I DE R Emiliano Gimenez LO C ATIO N Gili Meno, Indonesia P HOTO GR A P HE R Holly Williams Emi: My excitement was overflowing with the news of Fliteboard finally landing in Bali. Being a professional acrobat, extreme sports are what I thrive on! So we had this little project to take the boards to the Gili islands from Bali, and explore the beautiful, crystalline waters filled with exotic fish, and sunken statues. We had to wait for the right weather to get out and foil, and we rode from Gili Meno to Gili Trawagan. The locals had never seen this sport before, so it was great fun showing it to everyone we met! Before arriving on Gili T we decided to make a stop at the iconic underwater statues located in Gili Meno. My beautiful girlfriend was ready and waiting to take the shot... I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and the session, and I am eagerly waiting for the next ride here on the Island of the Gods.

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RIDE R Fred Morin LOC ATI O N Moorea P H OTOGRAP H E R Evan Vangelis Fred: This session was special. It was a late sunset session, and when we arrived at the spot it was not supposed to be that big.

I tried not to think too much about it and jumped straight in the water! It was just magic and incredible. Thanks to my Kujira 980, without it it would be hard to ride those mountains.

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R IDE R Z Schettewi LOCAT ION Maui’s outer reefs PHOTOGRAP H E R Kevin Pritchard Z: Glassy, no wind, early morning sessions give me a feeling of freedom with only the board and foil for company. The conditions were rewarding with no crowds and consistent sets. I had plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful Maui scenery and practice my wave riding and back flips. Foiling has opened a whole new world and experience for me on the water – including riding waves, downwind foiling, and using a wing for power on waves and flatwater. As a 16-year-old water athlete, foiling gives me many options to enjoy different conditions.

E XP OS UR E

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RRD Y26 SUP & SURF FOIL COLLECTION

The ever-buzzing Bouyer brothers recently showed up in RRD’s new Y26 foil range video, riding in some pretty damn azure waters and clearly having the time of their lives. We caught up with them at home in France to find out how that shoot went down and exactly whereabouts they were riding…

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U PLOADE D

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“THAT IS OUR PHILOSOPHY, WE LIVE THE SHAKA LIFE AND ARE RECOGNIZED BY ALWAYS HAVING A SMILE ON OUR FACE!” So firstly, tell us where you were and why?

What gear are you guys riding in the video?

Hi! We were shooting with RRD International at Witsand Beach, which is a spot near Scarborough around the cape area in Cape Town.

We were riding the Pocket Rocket and the H-Flight together with the Universal foils. Both the boards and the foil allow you to catch waves very easily and let you play in the water, having a sustained volume that makes you float easily. This certainly makes them accessible for all levels of rider.

When was this filmed, and were there any Covid-issues with the traveling?

The shoot took place during February 2020. It was a full month of shooting as we had to cover all the water sports that RRD are involved with. So it was mainly foiling, but there was also SUP, surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. At that time we had no issues with traveling… It was exactly the month before the restrictions were introduced.

That water looks insanely appealing. Was this some adept color-grading in post-production, or was this the real thing?

It was definitely the real thing. Witsand normally gets super windy in the afternoon and is known as a windsurf and kite spot. That morning it was completely windless and with perfect blue skies and just looked amazing …

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The world is in a pretty crazy place and yet you guys are always smiling. What’s the secret?

That is our philosophy, we live the shaka life and are recognized by always having a smile on our face! Actually, it just comes out naturally, but we definitely think that it is better to be happy and spread positive vibes around.

And where are you both right now and have you been getting some sessions in?

We are at home in Ile de Ré in France. We just came back from the south of France where we took part in the Carro Wingfoil Classic event with RRD. Now we are waiting to have some great sessions at our home spot…

RRD Y 2 6 S U P & S U RF FOI L CO LLE C T I O N

J U STIN SI MMER Slotting in to the Rising Up slot this issue is 16-year-old charger Justin Simmer, son of windsurf industry legend Malte Simmer and burgeoning board shaper in his own right‌

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HI JUSTIN. Tell us a bit about yourself?

I live on the north shore of Maui, where I have grown up. I am 16 years old, I first tried foiling at age 13 when my dad got himself a setup, and since then I have been hooked.

What’s your favorite foil discipline?

It’s a toss-up between prone foiling and wing foiling. I like prone foiling for the smooth, flowing feeling on the wave and the fast technical maneuvers that can be performed on the face. I like feeling the power of the water but sometimes I want to let loose and have more freedom, and that’s why I also like winging. Wing foiling allows me to fly, not only in the water but also in the air. I love the feeling of getting air. The wing is also great because I can catch any wave I want, whether it’s too small to paddle into, too far out to pump to, or too big to drop into.

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Justin, full focus on the power carve...

And what’s your go-to foil setup?

Justin with his father and mentor, Malte.

Currently my go-to prone setup is the Signature Stealth 175 with a custom 15” flat tail wing and my own custom board I made called the Stinger. The Stinger is 3’9 by 19” by 3”, I designed it to be fast and sharp so it cuts through the water and it is very responsive. My go-to wing setup is the Signature Albatross 165 with either a custom 13” twin tip or flat tail wing, with another board I made. This board is a 3’6 and is less buoyant which makes it easier to sink when getting up on the wing.

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A slightly mellow turn...

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What gear would you recommend for anyone young who’s just starting out?

For young people that are learning they can use standard or even advanced equipment because kids learn faster and it is easier for them. What’s more important is that it is the right size for their weight. They don’t need a large high aspect foil, it should be on the small side, like a surf foil which is maneuverable.

Who do you look up to the most in the foiling world? Give us your top three…

I think my number one would be Kai Lenny, he is a very skilled foiler in so many aspects and techniques. I hope to continue to learn and grow as a foiler and become more diverse in my approach to foiling like him. My second and third would be the Spencer brothers because they have been progressing the sport so much and doing tricks no one else has done before on the foil.

Where’s your favorite spot?

During the winter, when there are waves on the north shore, my favorite spot for prone foiling is Kahului harbor and for winging Kanaha. In the summer my favorite spots are Guard Rails and Thousand Peaks on the west side of the island.

How was it growing up with a dad who’s a bit of a legend in the windsurf (and now foilboard) world?

It has been very influential in my own foiling career, allowing me the opportunity to meet and foil with many of the prominent windsurf figures who are now leading the foiling scene. It has also given us a way to connect over something we both love and spend time in the water leading the cutting edge of the foil scene here on Maui. Being involved in the foiling scene and working together in the production of our own equipment has provided an opportunity for my dad to mentor me and do what he did in his windsurfing days.

Have you ever had to pay for a board?!

My first board was a Kalama SUP board that my dad got me. I foiled for a while with it and then started to grow fond of the idea of having a smaller board and so I tried prone foiling, and I really liked it. My next board was a 4’6 KT board I got for Christmas. At the time I started to get into making tail wings with my dad and the idea of making a board came up when I wanted something smaller that wasn’t really on the market. I then shaped my first board and had it glassed by someone else. It was a great board and I rode it for a while, but the glass job wasn’t what I wanted so I learned how to glass. Now I have made two boards for myself and a board for my dad. So no, I have not paid for my own boards and now that I’m making my own, I shouldn’t have to buy one! That doesn’t mean making boards are free but they are cheaper and my dad has been very supportive with helping me get the supplies to get started.

What’s your game plan for the next five years?

I am in school for another year and a half, and that takes up a good amount of my time. I’ve also been apprenticing with Jimmy Lewis, learning how to shape and glass boards. It has been an incredible experience and I have made three boards, learning more with each one I make. I plan to continue to make boards and I’ll see where it takes me. I hope to grow my business and sell boards. Along with that, I plan to travel and compete.

Any upcoming trips planned?

We’ve pretty much been stuck here on Maui because of COVID-19, so at the moment there are no trips planned. In my previous trips to Oahu and Kauai, I’ve had a lot of fun foiling with the local crews, so once things calm down in Hawaii I hope to travel there.

Tell us what a perfect day for Justin Simmer looks like...

A perfect day for me would start with an early morning session at Kahului harbor when there are big waves. Then in the afternoon winging at Kanaha where I love to go to the outer breaks and catch some big waves. To finish it off I would go to Thousand Peaks for a sunset session.

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P H OTOGRAP H E R SAMU E L C A R D E N AS

When in Spain, teaming up with Samuel Cardenas is always a good idea. On a recent trip to this spot somewhere in the south of the country, the water here has been pretty icy and the Poniente wind has been really consistent. Using this to our advantage, we decided to do a shoot on the FreeWing one evening. With a keen eye and ready to get the last shots for the day, it was close to sunset when the light turned into a magical dusky pink and the cliffs just lit up. Heading towards the black of the cliff faces, the orange of the FreeWing magically illuminated, and Samu got the shot‌ Victor

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DEEP BLUES AND DOWN WINDERS

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Given that 2020 has been a year that most people will probably be happy to put behind them, it’s heartening to see that for some it’s been an absolute banger at times. One such case-in-point is Paul Serin, who not only managed to check off a dream trip, but also didn’t get eaten in the process. Bonus.

WORDS PAU L S E RIN P H OTOS H IVANU I RE GAU D

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his trip was on my bucket list for ages. Then this summer, with my girlfriend Hivanui, the dream became a reality. And what a reality it was…

As we left for Tahiti, my boardbag was full of all the watersports gear you could possibly use: foil, wing, kite, surf… I was ready for anything. I met up with Patrice Chanzy (F-ONE teamrider) for the first time when I got there. Before that I only knew him from social media. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and the best guide out there, it turns out. Tahiti has so much to offer, it’s just insane. You can foil or ride the wing like everywhere else in the world, but it tastes and feels so much better in Tahiti…

I surf foiled for the first time on a reef in Taapuna with Patrice. He told me where to wait, where to take off and when to paddle. It was pretty tricky at first, but with him next to me it took me about half an hour to understand it and to nail my first take off. Then I pumped all the way back out and caught my first couple of waves. What a feeling it was to see the reef under your foil, with the water so clear that I was constantly scared of hitting it! After a while I got used to it, and I quickly learnt that you can’t sit on your board with a 75cm mast and hope your foil isn’t going to get scratched... But hey, those scratches are the proof that you rode a reef break, right?

After that session we drove to the east coast for some foil downwinding. It’s pretty much never windy on the west coast at that time of the year, but the east coast gets windy every single day, and there are some really nice swells in between Tahiti and Moorea, the island next door.

Like any good Tahitian, Patrice has a jetski and a pick-up truck (I told you he’s the best guide ever…), so we took the 4’2 Rocket and the 1480 Phantom surf foil setup and went upwind into the middle of the ocean, where the water is dark blue and makes you think that you’re not alone out there. I was a little scared, especially after seeing the story in this magazine about Michel Bourez and the hammerhead shark. But it’s best not to think about it and focus on the ride.

We launched ourselves into the swell and rode downwind for about

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an hour until we reached the harbor. Alongside me was the downwind crew, Heimoana, Alexandre and Tamarua, just cruising at full speed, sitting or lying down on their boards. I was just amazed by the power of the swell and the skills of the locals here, I’ve never seen so many people hooked that much by downwind foiling! It’s like riding a wave but reading the ocean at the same time, and with the jetski next to me, I felt safe the whole way. We did lose Patrice at one point, because he went off to the right on his own. We found him 20 minutes later, lying on his board because a grey shark had checked in on him when he’d fallen off… I guess from underneath the foil looks a little like a fish? But everyone was safe, and we all made it to the harbor in one piece. On the way back, the tradition is to eat at the local restaurant in Pointe Venus, Mama’s Beach House, where pretty much all the local shredders work. And nothing beats some red tuna sashimi after a good day’s riding…

To mix things up a bit, it was then time for some wing foil action, and the wind direction was just perfect for the lagoon in Teahupo’o. The scenery is wild, with the blue lagoon surrounded by the green mountains giving it such a unique contrast. The session was just insane… I was mostly focused on the surroundings rather than on my wing. The water went from greens to blues and my red wing gave it all a crazy color mix. I tried to teach Patrice some little tricks, like changing feet or tacking, but he’ll need more than one lesson, ha!

It was another amazing day in French Polynesia, and on the way back we stopped by the famous wave at Teahupo’o. In the water Matahi and Kauli were taking barrels one after one on solid 2-3m waves…

There is something mystical and terrifying about this place, it’s not your usual left break with a pass next to it, it’s a part of the reef where the waves open up a little. I was safe with Patrice driving, as he’s a water patrol rider during the WSL event, but I was always looking to the horizon to see if a set was coming, just in case…

This was pretty much my routine every day for one whole month, surfing or surf foiling in the morning, then getting on the wing or a kite in the afternoon. I realized real quick that life is better in Tahiti.

For now I have to go back to France, but you can be damn sure I’ll be back soon. Real soon.

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ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL CR OSSING Despite his age, Bobo Gallagher (11) is no shrinking violet when it comes to big challenges. Yet his idea to wingfoil across one of the most formidable stretches of moving water in the Hawaiian Islands was his biggest yet, and came with its own separate challenges in terms of equipment, mental preparation and coaching‌

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taring at a map last September while planning for this channel crossing, I was thinking there was no way I can do this.

Yet, something inside me said I would. It’s like anything… day by day, run by run, mile by mile, all leading up to a 43-mile straight trek across the Alenuihāhā Channel, all the way from the Big Island to Maui.

My training consisted of Maliko runs, which consist of repeatedly doing a 10-mile downwind run on Maui. My first run was 49 minutes. It went down from there from 45, to 39, to 29 minutes. I would also wing a lot in Kahului harbor after the Maliko runs to both get in more miles and get the feel of going cross wind. The most miles I remember doing in a day was 35, consisting of two Maliko runs and a lot of time in the harbor. Relying on other athletes like Josh Riccio was crucial to get these runs in and not having a jetski kept me pretty much doing Maliko runs the whole time.

Before the crossing, my family met with my board shaper, Sky Solbach, and Ken Winner, creator of the wing, who readied my gear for me. Ken even helped me train in the water. We also got to know Matt Smith, my boat captain, my water and Hawaiian mentor, Archie Kalepa, and Kai Lenny. All these people helped me prepare mentally for the crossing with crucial information such as what the channel is like, what to eat, and what to expect.

August 6th, 2020. The boat picked us up a Mahukona Harbor and from there we drove for about 30 minutes and dropped me into the water off of Upolu airport. My first thought was, “Oh man, I hope I can do this.” I remember jumping into the water and being so freaked out because Captain Matt had said it was super deep, like 1,200 fathoms, so you think maybe there are sharks and scary stuff down there, like fish with glowing eyes, chopping claws, or a giant squid!

Once I got going, I just kept thinking of things I would get at the finish line – like lunch! – and that would motivate me. I would make targets for myself like getting to where you can see Maui, looking for the windmills, start going upwind, start going downwind… Things like that. Thankfully I felt really prepared and confident because I knew I had gone a lot of miles in my training.

“GETTING CLOSE TO MAUI WAS ANOTHER MOMENT… IT WAS SO COOL TO DO SOMETHING YOU HAVE BEEN VISUALIZING IN YOUR HEAD FOR SOME TIME AND RIDE THE CHANNEL.” I had a couple of moments where I just kinda looked around and I could see seabirds that would be jibing and tacking and they would go up high and do a circle and go upwind. That was really cool. I tried to jump with one of them. I also saw a lot of jumping fish. The Alenuihāhā felt more detached than other channels I have been in before, and for a while I couldn’t see either island…

For the crossing I rode a Fanatic Sky Wing board, custom made for my size, 3’2. Then my 3’3 meter Duotone Echo Wing carried me for my entire journey without having to pump it up again. My boom was custom made for my smaller hands, and I rode the Duotone Daytona, a kite-racing hyrdrofoil which has an unusually small front wing and tall mast, enabling me to fly through the channel and jump for the sky.

What did it feel like to get to the end? Well, getting close to Maui was another moment… It was so cool to do something you have been visualizing in your head for some time and ride the channel. I had gotten into the boat inside Keoneʻōʻio Bay (La Perouse) because the wind died but I really wanted to make it to the parking lot. Captain Matt said, “Here comes a gust of wind!” so I jumped in the water and sure enough the gust came and I was up again. I was so happy, getting as much speed as I could in case it got light again. I was pumping most of the time to maintain that speed, and, sure enough, I got to my finish line. People were honking horns and holding up signs, and just waiting there... It was very cool.

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Here’s Shannon Stent refining his pump technique...

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PUMP FOILING WORDS DEVON MANZ | @FOILINGNY PHOTOS DEVON MANZ & JADE STEN

From a quest to find the perfect wing, to optimizing his pumping technique, engineer and MIT graduate Devon Manz embarked on a personal mission to find the limits of what he could do with a foil on the lake in front of his house…

Having grown up on the prairies of Canada, I was more familiar with ice skating than hydrofoiling. I was a competitive figure skater in Saskatchewan. Figure skating helped me learn how to balance, but more importantly, the sport introduced me to my wife who is also a figure skater. Today, we live on a small, quiet lake in upstate NY, about three hours north of NYC.

quickly imagined myself on a plane ride back home after failing out of MIT.

We met figure skating at MIT, where we both went to graduate school in engineering. I had never heard of hydrofoiling until I sat for an exam in my Fluid Dynamics course that had one question exploring a flapping hydrofoil wing. At the time, I didn’t believe a flapping front wing could propel anything. During that exam I remember staring at a blank page unable to write anything down, then looking at the clock in the classroom and realizing 30 minutes had gone by. I then

I almost failed that exam, and I don’t think I thought about foiling again until I saw someone three years ago on our lake in the summer of 2018. From a distance, it looked like they were flying. I imagined it’s what Marty McFly must’ve felt like on his hoverboard in Back to the Future II. I immediately went online, and a week later I was the proud new owner of my first hydrofoil, a Slingshot Hoverglide. I have since learned that the now infamous blue front wing, with its small 700sqcm area was a common first foil for many. My friends and I thought we were in heaven! We learned to foil at 20+ km/hr and started buying bigger and bigger masts. Flying as high as you could in the air seemed like a great objective. We had no idea what we were

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doing, nor the limitations of our equipment, and it didn’t matter as we were having fun.

In 2019 I purchased the Slingshot Infinity 84. When it arrived, I could not believe how huge the front wing was! At 2066sqcm, it was nearly 3x larger than my current front wing. It was March, and the water was 1C/33F, and I had to give it a try. On my first ride, I started pumping the board like I had seen on YouTube. It reminded me of my early teenage years as an amateur skateboarder. It felt so much like an ollie on a skateboard. On that very session I pumped around the jet ski and grabbed the rope. I could not believe this was possible until I tried it myself. At this moment, I was hooked and couldn’t have imagined what was in store. Over the following months, I learned to surf without the rope, and progressed to riding multiple wakes back.

I learned to drop the rope and pump out on the flat water for 30 seconds. It was amazing to self-propel oneself on the water. When I ran out of energy, I pumped back to the wake. It was like holding your breath and trying to dive deep down to see something while snorkeling and wishing you could stay down there longer.

In the spring of 2020, an even larger wing arrived on my doorstep.

At 2400sqcm, this wing was the largest wing I could find on the market. I’ll never forget taking it down to my dock, and immediately beginning the dock starting journey. In my first three days with this wing I attempted more than 100 dock starts, each time being more motivated than the last. I was fixated on the alignment of the stars.

Launching the board. Jumping off the dock. Landing on the board in mid-air, then gliding the foil fast enough to create enough lift to permit a subsequent attempt at self-propelling the foil. I cannot remember another moment in my life when one hour went by, and I had lost all sense of time. With a refined pumping technique, and this larger wing, I had unlocked 60 seconds of flatwater pumping, enough to sneak up on a boat and thieve its wake or pump across to my neighbor across the lake, 100m away.

At this point, the engineer in me had been ignited. I started to think about how I could find the perfect foil for the lake. I started to think about where energy was wasted. Fitness can only overcome so much. The first enemy was mass. And not all mass is created equal.

Eliminating unneeded mass was important, but so was eliminating mass far from where the board pivots during the pump, specifically behind my back foot and in front of my front foot. That mass was simply swinging in the wind, stealing energy. I discovered a 3’6 pocket board. At 11 liters and 2.3kg this was a much smaller than “normal” board. Drag was the second enemy. Without too much digging, one can stumble upon wing design as being a key source of drag reduction, and high aspect ratio wings were the path forward.

Aspect ratio is the wingspan divided by the average chord. A glider has a high aspect ratio (long and narrow wing). A fighter jet has a low aspect ratio (short and fat wing). The vast majority of hydrofoil wings I had seen had lower aspect ratios (3-4).

I was in pursuit of high aspect ratio. High aspect ratio wings have lower drag and higher lift. At the wingtips, where high pressure beneath the wing meets lower pressure above the wing, the fluid wants to flow around the wing, causing wingtip vortices which cause a downwash of water and higher drag. If you’re ever on a plane on a cool morning, you can see these vortices forming on the wings of airplanes, but the temperature of humidity of the air need to be just right. This is called induced drag. Drag induced by wingtip vorticity downwash. And, since a high aspect ratio wing generates less lift at the tips due to its smaller area at the tips, it has lower drag and its area is more productive at generating lift. It’s a two-for-one deal.

Secondly, when the angle of attack of a high aspect ratio changes by a small amount, the lift force increases more significantly than for low aspect ratio wings. Think of a high aspect ratio wing as having a more sensitive lift force to changes in angle of attack. This means less leg movement to change the angle of attack of the board is needed during pumping to create more or less lift. Again, a good deal. Less for more.

Now the wing shape doesn’t stop there. The shape of the foil’s cross section matters a lot. The foil shape is always a trade-off between lift and drag, and the relationship changes at different angles of attack.

And, by looking at a wing, it’s hard to know what foil section is being used.

In search for the perfect wing, I came across the AXIS 1150. With a wingspan of 115cm, an actual area of 1778sqcm, and an aspect ratio DY N A M I C S

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based on projected area of 7.7, I was very interested. It is the only larger area, high aspect ratio wing on the market and I was so excited to find it. I purchased the setup, and I couldn’t wait for its arrival.

When the AXIS S-Series foil arrived, I quickly mounted it and went for my first session. It was a tough session. I had to put the intuition I formed learning to ride lower aspect foils to the side, for now. Without a large wing area, the foil wouldn’t plane as well, which made it harder to get out of the water while being pulled by the boat. While in the air, small, subtle changes in angle of attack, resulted in large changes in elevation. This was certainly not my old foil. It took time to acclimatize, but once I learned that small changes delivered big outcomes, I found myself relaxing and conserving energy. I was letting the foil do the work. On my second or third outing I could pump the AXIS foil for 90 seconds. I was amazed with a 50% increase in pumping distance, purely due to the foil’s advanced engineering and design.

Like any animal learning to swim, I was learning to modify my pumping technique. I began to refine how I pumped. Smaller, more subtle bursts of energy, timed exactly when the board needed it. Learning to feel the foil. Learning to quickly unload the foil, becoming weightless for a moment, subtly pulling my knees up a small amount to let the foil rise in the water, recoiling to its point of highest elevation. Learning how long I could wait before I could reload the foil after enjoying the glide. I learned to be patient and let the AXIS foil glide out before I must unload the foil again and restart the pumping action. I learned to let the mast rise and fall in the water at an optimal angle to ensure I rise in the least energetic way possible and fall/glide in the most efficient way possible to not create any additional drag. I learned to unload the foil in one quick movement, like bursting up a flight of stairs, and learned when I needed to unload the foil twice, once after another, because I didn’t create enough elevation. And, I discovered speed mattered too. I was working too hard and exerting too much effort to keep the foil moving at a speed faster than it wanted to move at. I tried to propel it slower, closer to its stall speed. I learned to find that speed. With each session, and each pump, I refined the feeling, and made small adjustments in each subsequent pump. I was a rower in college – I found it therapeutic to be in the boat, unable to think about anything else except how to keep yourself and the boat balanced, while exerting maximum energy. Pumping a foil creates the same meditative presence.

With this approach, and in pursuit of the perfect flatwater pumping foil I explored different fuselage lengths, rear wing sizes/shapes, shims to adjust wing angles, and mast heights. AXIS Foils make five different fuselage lengths, and eight different rear wings. So the options were endless to fine-tune my pumping machine. I engaged experts on the forums, and even met with a hydrodynamics professor at MIT. By sharing my learnings on YouTube, I have received countless new ideas and guidance from a small, but growing community of experts. I learned that rigidity matters to ensure maximum energy translation from rider to foil. And it doesn’t get any stiffer and more rigid than the AXIS design. I learned that rear wings matter. Generating a heaving force from a low drag, high aspect rear wing of adequate area is key to maintaining an effective pump speed. I learned that a longer fuselage creates a lower cadence, and requires less energy to recoil the foil to regain elevation. I also learned that this is more complicated, and there’s still so much to learn.

Four months ago, I remember crossing the one-minute mark of flatwater pumping before searching for the perfect foil for the lake. I would’ve never imagined pumping for twice that long. Today I am riding the AXIS Foils S-Series carbon 1150, paired with a standard fuselage and the 460mm high aspect rear wing, on a 75cm/19mm mast. With this setup, I can now flatwater pump for two-and-a-half minutes, I found an ideal cadence of 1.4-1.5 pumps per minute, at an amplitude of 10-12cm (meaning 20-24cm of mast needed from highest to lowest elevation during pumping), and pumping at a speed of 4-5m/s. Practice makes perfect. I had to learn how to ride this setup.

I had to learn to tailor my pumping technique to this setup. While my fitness did improve, I believe it’s an equal balance between fitness, equipment and technique that helped unlock 2.5 minutes of flatwater pumping.

I am excited what the future holds for this emerging lake sport. Our lake will freeze soon, and I will put on my figure skates again. I turn 40 in December and set the goal of landing a double axel on my 40th birthday. I wish figure skating equipment was advancing as quickly as foils. I will need all of the help I can get.

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ABOVE

Devon Manz putting the theory in to practice.

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eing landlocked, the idea of foiling inland is perhaps a bit different than living by the sea. We have little constant winds and no waves at all. So before foiling came to Europe, the situation looked pretty bad for doing water sports in Austria. But now there are a lot of possibilities to get on the water, even in a city like Salzburg…

Small ponds, lakes and canals offer optimal conditions to have fun right in front of your door. You only need some creativity and a proper foil setup. Plus, since we couldn’t really travel in summer 2020, we were forced to think on our feet. The urge to be in and on the water was huge, but the possibilities were very limited due to Corona. So we had even more motivation to open our eyes and discover new spots for foiling.

To find a suitable spot, we did not have to search for long. We found an ideal spot just around the corner. The Almkanal in Salzburg is several hundred years old and used to supply the city with water. Today it´s a hotspot for refreshment and relaxation during the summer. For us it was clear that we wanted to bring new life to this canal and try something special. The idea of upstream pumping was born.

However, we first had to find a place where a dock start was possible.

We found it directly below the fortress. Since the canal is very busy in summer, it was obvious that we would have to start an “early bird project” to be able to foil on our own and not endanger anybody.

We met before sunrise to have a look at everything in detail. Pretty soon it turned out that the dock start could be a challenge. On this part, the channel was very narrow and the concrete walls ran vertically downwards. To avoid touching the wall with the big front wing, we had to hold the board quite far away when starting. But this made jumping on the board much more difficult. What in return was quite an advantage, although unusual, was the flow velocity of the canal.

It constantly exposed the foil to the current, so we didn’t have to run as fast at the start.

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Nevertheless, it took a test run or two before the start went smoothly.

While Benni Geislinger was looking for the perfect photo positions, Adrian Geislinger and I adjusted our boards to the conditions once again. We both had the Shaka L and a 70cm mast with us. I had brought the Exo and Adrian a new smaller prototype.

Exactly when the sun began to rise and the fortress was illuminated in the background, we started. The atmosphere was unreal. All by ourselves we silently glided over the water.

Compared to a regular shoot, there were no instructions from Benni this time. Adrian and I did what we wanted to do, and we did it for us and not for the camera. It felt fantastic. After about one hour we were both so exhausted that we packed up at 7am. For all of us it was the start of a normal working day but the level of stoke was overwhelming… Urban foiling has so many possibilities and we’ve only just started exploring them…

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taco party at a multi-million-dollar, nothing-short-of-dreamlike oceanside compound with a pool large enough to foil in?

Uh, yeah, count us in…

But before you make any grandiose assumptions about the type of lifestyle we’re living here on a typical Maui summer’s day, this was technically a work assignment. My job? Produce a short film that would, in theory, excite someone enough to purchase this epic piece of property for over eight million dollars. But rather than doing a standard room by room tour, we decided to see what happens if we take some of Maui’s best ocean athletes, namely my older brother Kai Lenny, Ian Walsh and up-and-coming grom Otis Buckingham, and let them loose on the property for a day to show how this property can be the conduit for the ultimate Maui lifestyle.

In envisioning this video I’m thinking to myself ‘mellow wing session followed by barbecue kickback vibes hosted by Ian Walsh and the crew lounging around the property’s jaw-dropping villas and pools’.

Sounds like the type of video a 50-something-year-old can look at and be like “Hey, that actually looks pretty nice!” However, what I didn’t take into account, but most definitely should have considering that we can’t sit still for five minutes without attempting something questionably dangerous in the water, was that a foil super session was about to go down in the property’s breathtaking 25-meter-long lap pool, all while our best friends cooked up tacos and sat poolside.

Foiling in calm bodies of water only being propelled by a quick jump off a hard surface and pumping under your own power (AKA a ‘dockstart’) is nothing particularly special in the foil world today. However, two summers ago, as Kai and I stood on the seawall at our local beach, it seemed borderline impossible. The idea of going from a neutral standing position to getting our tiny surf foils up to a speed fast enough to achieve sustainable lift, all within a matter of a second, was something that did not seem like it should work. It took both of us dozens of tries to get the right jump off the wall, time the incoming wave, secure the proper footing on the board, and finally be able to achieve a pumping cadence that would allow us to reach the break and ride a wave back in. Once we got it down it felt like the flood gates were open. We can now foil literally anywhere.

Fast forward to today and the dockstart is a pretty standard maneuver in the world of foiling. With the creation of foils specifically designed to flat water pump, it’s not surprising to see a rider pumping around in any body of water that’s more than waste deep. So, as we sat poolside smelling the savory aromas coming from Ian’s grill, foil setups ready to go after our wing session, it wasn’t a massive shock when the idea came about to foil across this pristine little set up.

Before we could even contemplate if the pool was deep enough and after a little convincing of the homeowner that we weren’t going to bash our heads in on the sides of the pool, I grabbed my board, took a few steps, and lazily pumped across the pool to the other end.

Convinced he could do it better, Kai snatched the board from my hands and pumped across in the other direction.

The novelty of us simply pumping back and forth quickly wore off so Kai threw little Otis in the pool and told him to swim under him with a GoPro as he foiled past, only leaving a foot or so between the foil and his head. After nearly getting an underwater haircut a dozen or so times, Otis proceeded to steal the board away from Kai and dockstarted on his first try ever, leaving Kai and I pretty speechless, remembering how hard it was for us that one day at our local beach.

Just when Kai and I were starting to nail the timing on some doubles runs across the pool, nearly colliding with each other and with Brian who was shooting in the pool, the dinner bell rang and the excitement of trying Ian’s now world-famous cooking had us out of the pool in a matter of seconds.

As we sat at the dinner table eating our tacos and discussing who was going to get the most pounded at Jaws during the impending winter season, the strangeness of the day started to set in. We just spent two hours having the best time bouncing back and forth in a pool. I’d almost forgotten why we were there in the first place; no longer was it just another real estate shoot, it was just a fun session with friends. But that’s the beauty of the foil. No need for crazy waves, perfect wind, or even multi-million-dollar backdrops for that matter, just a body of water, tacos and a few friends. Oh, and if we can convince a millionaire to buy a house, that works too.

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S UBSC R I BE

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01 AK 1300 FOIL AND PHAZER FOILBOARD AK’s high aspect 1300cm2 wing together with their tapered carbon mast and rear Anhedral High Speed Wing work together as a foil set-up that is primed for those who want to add some enhanced speed and glide into their wave-riding coupled with a nice and efficient pump back out to the line-up afterward. Add in their versatile and speedy Phazer Foilboard, and you’ll be getting more waves than you ever thought possible…

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MANERA SEAFARER

RRD DOLPHIN 140

F-ONE CARBON MAST

SIGNATURE 13” TAIL WING

There’s no denying winter is here for many of us, that special time where we dig out the thickest rubber in the arsenal and brave the coldest waters. If you’re in the market for new neoprene togs, you’d be hard pushed to find much better than Manera’s Seafarer 5.3 range, where they made sure they covered the key bases and covered them well: warmth, comfort and durability…

Continuing the theme of multi-functioning boards this issue, RRD’s Y25 Dolphin 140 is built to cover all surf, wing and kite foiling aspects, and pairs with their KSH Alu foil. The 140 is built for lighter riders (with the 160 an option for those of us with a little more padding) and enjoys a quad concave hull for a comfortable and predictable ride, and bevelled rails for smoother touch downs and easier pumping..

Generally improving upon foil performance wherever it’s dispatched, carbon has the capacity to tune up any foil set up… F-ONE have gone all-out with their Carbon Mast range, a multi-discipline mast line-up for speed and full control that covers surf, wing, kite, and SUP foiling, and is available in three sizes: 75cm, 85cm and 105cm.

It will connect to all twin track boards, and all wings and fuselages with the TITAN connection slot.

We’re big fans of Brian Finch (AKA @foiltheworld) here at FM, and we’re looking forward to having him in the mag soon. For now, you’ll just have to make-do with Brian’s signature… er… Signature tail wing. 13”/360mm in length, this is built for those who know what they’re doing and want to push the envelope, offering up a super sharp turning axis and rapid pump potential, all with that SPG seal of quality…

T HE G O O D STUF F

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Kai Lenny by Paul Karaolides, on Drifter S, available in 4’4”, 4’8”, 4’10”, 5’0”. ktsurfing.com, @ktsurfing

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06 ARMSTRONG HS1250 We’ve heard nothing but good things about the HS1250 from Armstrong, and frankly can’t wait to get our mitts on one. This mid-aspect foil has a thin main section, with narrow tips at the ends, offering a top-end speed range with good and predictable handling to anyone getting out on it to surf, wing, pump or wake.

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STARBOARD HYPER NUT FOIL 4-IN-1

AXIS S-SERIES 860

FLITEBOARD AIR

NAISH HOVER INFLATABLE

Starboard’s excellently named Hyper Nut 4-in-1 board is built to give both SUP and windsurf riders the added bonus of a foiling option too. The board takes its name from its ‘inverted nut rails’ which give it a unique outline which adds extra acceleration and precise turning to this otherwise stable and lightweight board. Available in Starboard’s ultra-durable Starlite construction.

Covered in depth in our Tested section further on in the magazine, the AXIS S-Series 860 carbon front wing from their Surf Performance Series range is built for adept surf foilers who like a responsive wing that sits as happily in the pocket as it does being thrown around in smaller surf.

This is an adaptable wing too, being just as comfortably used for SUP, wing and kite foiling.

Fliteboard’s easily transportable inflatable option, the AIR, is the perfect eFoil choice for those who plan to travel with the board, or, with double the volume of standard Fliteboards, it’s the ideal choice of eFoil for anyone just starting out on their electric foil journey…

Car-space struggling to cope with your new-found love affair for SUP foiling? Naish can help you out here, with their Hover Inflatable range for SUP (and wing) foiling. With no corners cut on performance levels and construction, these handy blow-up boards have a full carbon foil mount and pack right down to backpack size, and are available in 135 and 170 liter sizes.

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Falcon II ULTIMATE CONTROL IN EVERY TRANSITION

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KT’s new Quatro Wing Drifter Pro board is legendary shaper Keith Taboul’s latest gift to the wing and SUP foiling world.

The quad concave on the hull of the board plus its beveled rails and tail allow for easy take-off, happy pumping, and forgiving touch downs. Available in sizes between 5’2 to 6’0, this high-volume but compact board features an EPS core with a pro carbon and glass laminated deck.

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UNIFOIL HYPER 190

MFC HELIOS WINGS

CLOUD9 F32 WING

Responding to rider requests on something mid-level between their smooth-gliding 210 and the responsive, turn-on-a-dime 170, Unifoil logically went straight for the middle ground and came up with the new all-rounder 190. Enjoying plenty of the pump and downwind capabilities of their higher aspect model, but adding in the reactive turning at the lower end, they’ve come up with the perfect blend…

Granted, it’s a while before you’ll get to lay your hands on these red beauties, but MFC’s incoming HELIOS wings hold a lot of promise... These mid-aspect wings are built for stability and low speed flying, ideal for the first-timers, but will also turn up to 11 when required by those who can handle it. The HELIOS are compatible with MFC’s HYDROS foil set-up. Coming March 2021.

SLINGSHOT SHRED SLED FOILBOARD

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At 143 liters and 7’ in size, with a flat deck and centered footstrap inserts, the Shred Sled is built to provide stability and easeof-use for anyone who gets on board, but remains an adept and lively ride with easy take-off capabilities thanks to its kick tail and chined rails. Built for anyone into wing, SUP or windsurf foiling, or – if you’re a true waterman – all three!

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The F32 is Cloud9’s perfectly balanced, low-aspect-meetshigh-aspect-in-a-classy-downtown-bar kinda foil. It’s relaxed but focused, suave and good looking, and is the quiver-completer that’ll hand you all you need for speed, glide, pumping and fast turning.

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Finding himself amidst the crucible of wing foiling and those who are truly pushing it to the next levels, photographer Noah Andrews here documents the small but immensely talented inner circle of Maui-based young guns who are pushing the boundaries of the sport on a daily basis.

WORDS & P H OTOS NOAH ANDRE WS

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ne could say Maui’s north shore is a hotbed for water-borne innovation. Tough and gritty breaks pound the rocky shore with unrelenting power and the wind almost never lets up. Throw in the occasional terrifying Jaws swell to test your mettle, and you have some of the most talented and hardy watermen and waterwomen in the world. The one caveat to all this white water, however, is that almost all the action happens in the winter.

Maui summers, on the other hand, are supposed to be boring. Summer is for surf trips, suntanning, and shifty small south swells. Ridiculously strong winds followed by dark rain squalls punish the north and east shores with numbing chop. It’s mind-melting hot and the chances you’ll get to ride a shortboard on a clean face are about as good as traveling anywhere in the world right now. For surfing, it’s bearable on certain days, and for wing foiling, it’s good-to-epic.

Every day.

A B OV E Jeffrey launches into another exquisite Maui sunset...

RIGHT Annie is a true waterwoman, as comfortable boosting high on a wing and carving mellow Maui rollers as she is tearing down the the face of a big wave beast at Jaws.

T HE S U GA R COVE C R E W

How we got here When Ridge Lenny first saw the sport of wing foiling, he had a moment of realization: “Wow, that must be super boring.” Since he was home on Maui for the summer, he figured he’d give it a go anyways.

At first, he was sure that his initial assessment of the sport was correct. He was going about three miles per hour downwind on a massive SUP foil board. Truly exhilarating, especially for a man who is used to finding himself inverted when riding a foil... However, progression in the sport quickly came for Ridge in the form of a small prone board. He ditched the weight and length of the SUP and added footstraps, which transformed the sport from weekend warrior activity to a fully-fledged watersport that had speed, height, and, most importantly for Ridge, adrenaline...

The makings of a spot Sugar Cove, aptly named for the now-defunct sugar cane operation up the road, has become the home of elite wing foiling on the north shore of Maui. On any given day with wind, you’ll see massive airs, 360’s, tail grabs, loops, and a host of other wild acrobatics. The vibe is friendly and competitive, with screams and cheers for each other as they line-up their jumps in 25+ knot winds. When one athlete tries a trick, all the others have to try. This leads to some seriously quick progression and – more than often – ridiculous wipeouts. The cove is uniquely positioned on one of the windiest parts of Maui’s north shore and features a quick depth drop to deep waters, which makes it perfect for waterstarting small boards. Palm trees line private residences on either side, which happen to be perfect measuring sticks for jumps.

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Meet the crew

Annie Reickert Annie (‘AKA Annie Starr) has a knack for all things water-related.

She is the only female to have crossed the 32-mile Ka’iwi channel on a foil and took home a third place finish in her first ever WSL Big Wave Challenge at Jaws in 2019. During the summer, you’ll see her throwing big airs on her wing, competing in SUP races across the globe, or downwinding on her foil. During the winter months you’ll find her with a shortboard, big wave gun, or tow-board under her feet, depending on conditions.

A N N I E ’ S G O -TO S E T U P : Wing: Ozone 4m WASP V1 Board: 4’3 23L KT Foilboard Foil: MFC + The Hydrofoil Company Hydros FW1000 T HE S U GA R COVE C R E W

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Jeffrey Spencer

Jeffrey is the first wing foiler to land a backflip. He has competed for Team Canada in surfing and has surfed just about every wave that breaks on Maui, and now with a foil, also every wave that doesn’t break as well. He enjoys creating new ways to foil such as running off of a dock or trying flips with the wing. He is lightning quick on a downwind foil run and has won multiple races around the world. When the conditions are right, you’ll find him merging wing foil tricks with elite prone foil wave skills.

J E F F R E Y ’ S G O -TO S E T U P : Wing: Slingshot 4m SlingWing Board: 4’6 KT Foilboard Foil: Slingshot Phantasm

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Finn Spencer Finn is the younger ofthe two brothers, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he fearlessly boosts with his wing. Growing up just steps from the ocean, he’s truly a product of his environment. Finn has competed for Canada at the PanAm games in 2019 and has just about mastered every single foiling discipline. Did I mention he’s only 16?

F I N N ’ S G O -TO S E T U P : Wing: Slingshot 3M Dart Board: 3’10 KT Foilboard Foil: Slingshot Phantasm

Olivia Jenkins Olivia is a professional kitesurfer by trade, but she has been eagerly sending it on the wing with the rest of the crew this summer. She would normally be somewhere in the southern hemisphere chasing barrels on her kitesurf board right now but due to present circumstances she is more than stoked to pick up a new sport. She often can be seen pulling a three-a-day with a morning surf, midday kite, and afternoon wing. She also spends a lot of time on the golf course. The jury is still out between her and Annie on who is the reigning queen of the local country club.

O L I V I A’ S G O -TO S E T U P : Wing: 4m Duotone Unit Board: 4’6 Fanatic Foilboard Foil: Duotone Spirit Carve 950

Ridge Lenny Ridge, fresh back to Maui from college in windless Southern California, Ridge has reacquainted himself with his windsport roots in the form of winging.

In a constant battle with his older brother to see who can land tricks first, you’ll find him tweaked and twisted on any given windy day at Sugar Cove.

A co-founder of The Hydrofoil Company, he is constantly testing new concepts and gear to find the optimal foil setup for him and his friends.

R I D G E ’ S G O -TO S E T U P : Wing: Ozone 4m WASP V1 Board: 4’4 KT Foil Board Foil: MFC + The Hydrofoil Company Hydros FW1000 T HE S U GA R COVE GA N G

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HERE Ridge looks back to the camera, possibly to make sure he’s not about to give Noah a haircut he’ll never forget...

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“SOME OF THESE PHOTOS SHOW THE OUTRAGEOUS HEIGHTS THAT THESE ATHLETES REACH, BUT IT’S DIFFICULT TO EMPHASIZE THE DISTANCE THEY PUT BETWEEN TAKEOFF AND LANDING. IN NO LESS THAN THREE SECONDS, ANNIE WILL TRAVERSE ABOUT 50 YARDS DOWNWIND AT A HEIGHT OF 20 FEET. ”

LEFT The young crew are pushing the envelope of wing riding, but will also trade waves happily when the wind doesn’t show...

A B OV E A pretty epic end to the day for Finn...

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PHOTOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE It was about 4pm when we met up on the North Shore for the first shoot at Sugar Cove. At this point, the goal was pure height above the water with the wind absolutely blasting. Much of Maui’s shores have a current that runs east to west, so we agreed it’d be best for me to hop in the water a quarter mile up the shore so I could float with the current. The waves were small, the wind was angry, and a full moon sat perched in the clear sky above the palm trees. Shooting wing-foiling at a high level is a unique experience in that when the sport is filmed from shore it is really hard to gauge just how fast everyone is going. While in the water, you can hear the sounds of the foils humming and the wings luffing as each athlete zeroes in on a piece of chop to take off on. The jumps seem to be in slow motion, but the wipeouts definitely aren’t. “Soaring through the air powered by a foil and wing is such an incredible and free feeling,” says Annie Reickert, one of the common residents of the skies above Sugar Cove. “Growing up I was more into surfing than any windsports so I didn’t know what it felt like to fly. Wing foiling has introduced me to a new world of possibilities and I am hooked.” Some of these photos show the outrageous heights that these athletes reach, but it’s difficult to emphasize the distance they put between takeoff and landing. In no less than three seconds, Annie will traverse about 50 yards downwind at a height of 20 feet.

At first, we wanted to focus on the crazy sport and obsession that is wing foiling here on Maui. After all, any given day at Kahului Harbor is filled to the brim with beginner wingers getting into the sport. However, so much of the addiction from winging has come from prone foiling on the south side of the island. Before Jeffrey and Ridge were throwing backflips at Sugar Cove, they were doing it in straps on prone boards on two-foot backwash. Finn Spencer is of the opinion that “prone foiling allows you to ride almost all waves no matter what the size. With the foil you have the ability to do high performance maneuvers in one-foot waves. It’s been crazy to see how far surf foiling has progressed in just a few years from doing carves and pumping back out to airs and flips off the lip.”

Although this summer has been particularly lacking in surf, the group has found a way to get some prone surfing in on the smallest of bumps. Epic sunsets and a clear view of the West Maui Mountains make for the most scenic view while the crew are relentlessly playing merry-go-round.

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Little did all of us know at the time, but elite winging was about to heat up even more. Jeffrey had just landed the first ever backflip at Sugar Cove a few days prior to the prone session and the video astounded the winging world. Here’s what he had to say about learning the backflip: “One day while trying a flip off of a wave with the wing in the water, I accidentally landed on it and popped it. This led to me thinking that I should try a flip while holding on to the wing instead, so later that day I put on a helmet and went out to try it. It was strange at first because no one had landed a flip before, so I wasn’t certain of how it was supposed to work but following several close attempts I realized it was definitely possible. The next day I went straight back out and after a few slight adjustments it worked! After practicing it for the past few weeks it has become my new favorite thing to do on the wing.”

Less than 24 hours after Jeffrey landed it, Ridge, Annie, Finn, and an assortment of other elite watermen including Kai Lenny, Ricardo Campello, and Otis Buckingham were out sending it. I chose to swim the Sugar Cove route again to capture some of the craziness, and I was not disappointed as Maui treated us with some golden afternoon rays and wild wind.

After countless jumps, flips, tweaks, and screams of encouragement, the wind seemed to die down and another day of winging was in the books on Maui. As the sun set, the crew gathered around the GoPro and hysterically laughed at epic wipeouts. Winging has brought them all together: prone foilers, kiters, surfers, watermen and waterwomen.

No matter their ocean background, the sport is accessible enough and fun enough that with the right gear and conditions, anyone can learn. Winging will surely continue to evolve over time, but this crew will be ready to take it on and charge together.

Wingfoiling is here to stay Olivia notes that wingfoiling makes flat days exciting again. She states, “there is so much versatility in the sport, even on days with tiny waves. I can do downwinders, foil surf little waves, and finish it off with some freestyle.” As it turns out, this crazy franken-sport of kiting, winging, and windsurfing seems to be here to stay, and most certainly on Maui. Right now, everyone is looking ahead towards winter with light winds and large waves. Only time will tell if the sport will continue to thrive in a world of white water or if it will remain a summertime exclusive. Judging purely by social media, the Sugar Cove Crew are seemingly not alone in embracing the wing-driven foil action. The entire setup fits in the back of your car, rigs in minutes, and you can go cruise, boost, or downwind in minimal winds. What’s not to like?

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E D URANCE EN ND URANCE A series of life decisions, chance opportunities, and occasional mishaps led photographer Richard Hallman to the rugged coastline of Oregon, and a small slice of absolute foiling paradise, stark in its contrast to the troubled world surrounding it‌

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As a kid I remember being glued to Sunday night TV as my parents went about their business. I don’t know if they purposely put on the National Geographic channel because it was something they were interested in, or because it was something that would be a good learning thing for my older brother and I. I was fascinated by all things adventure whether it was sports, wildlife… you name it. I don’t think I ever blinked throughout viewing those programs and would often be singing myself to sleep with the theme song to Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (Only Baby Boomers are gonna understand that reference). Anyway, I grew up on the southern tip of Lake Michigan and learned to surf and windsurf in high school, quickly garnering subscriptions to surfing, windsurfing and, yes, National Geographic magazine.

Fast forward and adventure is still alive and well, despite all the crazy things going on in the world. Take your pick between Covid, divisive politics, racism, fires etcetera etcetera to come in and rain on the good-old-fashioned human spirit. A world war was bearing down on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s bid to cross Antarctica from sea-to-sea via the South Pole when disaster struck and his ship Endurance became stuck in the pack ice, and the rest was history. Now it may seem like an extreme analogy, but the idea resonates in me.

In 1993 I moved to Hood River to chase the windsurfing dream. To thrive in a small town I knew I would need a real job, so I went to nursing school and I became a trauma nurse at the Hood River Hospital and developed a schedule that allowed for lots of time off… hence travel opportunities. Trips to the Oregon coast were bi-weekly summer adventures and my lifelong obsession with photography was played out just like it had appeared on the Nat Geo channel and in my dreams.

New Year’s Day 2005, I quit my job as an ER Nurse and started shooting full time professionally, while at the same time I began shooting big wave surfing, starting with the inaugural 2005 Nelscott Reef Big Wave Tow Comp. The friendships created that day laid the foundation for me being named the official photographer for the event for the next 10 years, plus or minus a couple years. It was true adventure at its finest because, if you don’t already know it, the Oregon Coast is very rugged and Nelscott Reef is not at all forgiving. There is no calm harbor to jump in a boat with your latte and head out for a mellow day on the water. No, you have to negotiate the beach break to get out to the surf break which lies a half to three quarter mile offshore.

Running the gauntlet through the beach break is the hairiest and most stress-filled activity you can think of. On top of that, it’s difficult to get any sleep the night before; anticipations are running high, starting with the riders’ meeting, looking around the room at all the big wave legends, but going back to the hotel room and being able to hear the surf through the windows and walls in your room makes for intermittent dozing and not deep restful sleep.

Over the years, we watched as the tow surfing started to take a back seat to old fashioned paddle-in surfing with riders walking their 10’ big wave guns down to the shore to be picked up by water safety and run out to the line up before each heat. At the same time, kiteboarding was a fledgling water sport, and after 30 years of windsurfing I decided to give kiteboarding a try. It took a few outings, but I was completely hooked. Things began to click, full time pro (ok, wannabe) photographer, amateur kiteboarder, and full-time funhog!

The decision to hang up the catheter and go full-time adventure pro is a decision I will never regret. I was talking with Robby Naish the other day. I asked him, “I know people like Kai Lenny looked up to you when he was a kid – who were your idols?” And his response surprised me. He said, “Well windsurfing was so new, we were blazing trails – I didn’t idolize anyone – I just went out and tried to figure this out and be the best.” Wow, of course, windsurfing was so new – that makes total sense…

LEFT Will Crumpacker makes his way to the water through some suitably rugged terrain.

TO P R I G H T Will hoping there’s a pot of gold under there somewhere... and not the world’s greatest predator instead.

RIGHT Will finds a more comfortable way to cut through the chop.

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“AMAZING, ISOLATED SURF BREAKS, CAVES, WATERFALLS, RAINBOWS, UNICORNS… DID I SAY RAINBOWS IN FRONT OF CAVES? YES, THIS IS THE MOST INSANE PLACE”

Ok, fast forward some more and Kai Lenny came to Nelscott just after Thanksgiving in 2017 for a perfect sunny swell. I’ve been shooting Kai since he was 13, and he was here trying out some new big wave foils. He got the opportunity to do just that after he spent the day paddling Nelscott Reef and getting probably the best barrel – paddle or otherwise – ever witnessed at ever witnessed there. He then proceeded to ride his foil till dark. I’m not sure if any of you have seen “Last Dance”, the Michael Jordan mini-series? Well, there are so many parallels. Both athletes are ridiculously committed to mastering their respected craft.

Fast forward some more (yes… to take a script from comedian Jim Gaffigan looking at me thinking, “Is he going to EVER get to the point?”), well, I heard about this cool section of coast near Lincoln City, OR – the home of Nelscott Reef. It is only accessible by sea, i.e. jetski, boat, canoe… you get the picture. I was there eight years ago with Sensi Graves, badass kiteboarder, snowboarder, and she also has her own bikini line. Anyway, back then we had a great day filming stand-up paddling at this spot. Amazing, isolated surf breaks, caves, waterfalls, rainbows, unicorns… Did I say rainbows in front of caves? Yes, this is the most insane place. It may just be six to seven miles long, yet it’s plenty beautiful – right up there with any of the Nat Geo specials I used to watch. Unfortunately, I accidentally hit manual focus on the lens as I was putting my camera into my water housing. Therefore, yes, all the photos were out of focus because the lens was focusing only on things that were just under two feet away from me. In an extremely blurry way, I was able to see all the images, the composition was there, lighting was there, but they were all blurry… Damn it.

So now fast forward again to early August in the USA, filled with Covid, riots, no fires as yet… and I’m here with local big wave legend Ollie Richardson, helping my good Gorge friend Will Crumpacker as we plan to go back and finish what I started. Karma is so weird though. I never planned or wanted to wait eight years to go back and finish the job and get the stand-up photos of this pristine Oregon coastline.

But, that’s how much time passed as we lined up all the particulars.

Weather, riders, waverunners, support, and did I mention weather?

The weather had to be specific, as we needed waves but they needed to be small and with a very light offshore wind or no wind at all, and we needed sunshine. So yes, it has taken eight years to have the stars align again. So the first thing I did was call Sensi, and she informs me she broke her wrist and could not make the photoshoot. Crap. So we made a plan B which included Will and a friend of his. We get on site and are loading up the gear and while we are out scouting the shots we want, well, we realize we have lost the paddle for the SUP. At this point I have to laugh because the whole point was to go back and get the SUP shots. And then the magic happened…

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LEFT Richard knows a good photo op when he sees one...

A B OV E 2017, when Kai was in the neighborhood and Nelscott Reef did its thing...

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“LOCALISM WAS ALIVE AND WELL WITH THESE SEA LIONS, WE DID OUR BEST TO STEER CLEAR OF THEM, BUT THEY STILL LET US KNOW WE WEREN’T WELCOME.” We hit the spot a couple times over a one-week period. The first day we went out and were greeted by a stiff northwest wind. Will proceeds to pump up his wing and we discuss camera angles. And he asks (because I told him to remind me), “Is your lens switched to auto focus?” I smirked back, “Yes, thank YOU.” So, in the middle of this mystical stretch is this rock formation with a couple cool little arches. And of course I wanted to line up shots in front of and through these natural arches. It was relatively quiet, with just the rustle of the wind and constant barking of the local sea lions. Localism was alive and well with these sea lions, we did our best to steer clear of them, but they still let us know we weren’t welcome. I also thought about another unseen local… I was thinking about how perfect this little section would be for the “man in the grey suit.” There were caves, waterfalls, and plenty of snacks around, and one of the caves had a waterfall over the opening that created a nice rainbow. I don’t know about you guys, but if I was a great white shark, I would pick that cave to be my hangout with my little rainbow draped down my front door. Anyway, Will was winging back and forth and by the looks of the huge smile on his face it seemed like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. We moved on to the next cove and noticed a perfect left peeling wave rolling all the way to the beach, with a waterfall at the end. Will hit the beach and spent some time there. I thought, “Man, this isn’t really the time to be hanging out looking for sand dollars, but whatever.” He came back out and said he was looking for my missing paddle. It seemed everyone else was worried about my paddle but me – so in that moment it made sense to just laugh it off.

It’s interesting to think about where we have come in the last 100 years. People that old have seen it all, they were alive during the infancy of the automobile. Let’s assume you were born in 1920. You would have been seven years old when the TV was invented, you would have been in your mid 70s when the internet came online. Surfing has been around for a long time but windsurfing (according to Wikipedia) was invented and put into use in 1965 (also the year I was born). So you would have been 45 when the first windsurfer, S. Newman Darby, glided back and forth across Pennsylvania’s portion of Chesapeake Bay. Moving on, between all the innovation, progression, and creativity – well, I could be here for a considerable amount of time talking about the marvels you had witnessed in the last 10-20 years. Anyway, that brings me back to that lost paddle. Between that first shoot eight years ago and today, so much has changed in the water sports world. Losing the paddle was just karma… that was then, this is now. Now being the foil and the wing…

The swell bumped up a notch and the wind was pretty calm for our next outing. Weather wise, we were just battling intermittent fog which drifted into these uninhabited bays and left me speechless as we had found our little slice of nirvana. Ollie was whipping Will into these pristine little waves and Will glided along, and at times he was all laid back, Gerry Lopez style. I battled not just fog in the sky but, because of the extremely cold water, I battled fog on the outer lens of my water housing. Sunset was approaching way too fast, yet here I was, a kid again, subconsciously laying on my stomach, head cradled in my hands, eyes wide with amazement. And it dawned on me, eight years ago this activity was not going on, the loss of the SUP paddle at this point seemed purposeful, because moving forward it conjured up a line from the movie Back to the Future, where Doc Brown says, “Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads...”

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LEFT The locals were out in force...

A B OV E Will enjoys a little back-lit left-hander goodness.

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It’s safe to say that big wave rider, waterman and perpetual ocean nomad Chris Bertish is enjoying to the fullest his relatively recent conversion to multi-discipline foil rider. Here he waxes on how his wave-riding passions and love for the environment have all been complimented by his move into the foil realm‌

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oiling as a sport is incredibly difficult to explain to anyone, especially people who don’t foil, but we all know that! They simply just don’t get it and you see yourself losing them halfway through the conversation if you try and explain what makes it so unique. If you compare it to surfing and how inefficient surfing is in comparison, you just make people defensive and mad. It’s a lose-lose, unless you’re describing it to people that are non-watersports people, as they just find it fascinating and unbelievable, and even more so when you show them pictures and or videos.

The journey has been truly humbling, but super rewarding at the same time. You have these micro wins and lightbulb moments on your foil-learning journey, that suddenly trigger micro-epiphanies and a new perspective on ocean landscapes and locations you have never seen, noticed or explored before, all while experiencing this incredible sensation of flying across the waves and the ocean, and tapping into the energy of the ocean in its rawest and purest state.

But as soon as you foil and you find yourself gliding and floating above the water in effortless silence, everything makes immediate sense and – as we all know – it’s like no other feeling on the planet.

It’s pure joy, and when you break it down, foiling is the most efficient use of the wind and ocean energy that exists, and so much so that all sports on the water that aren’t using foils already now seem slow, inefficient and somehow archaic.

If you come from a multi-sport background like myself where I surf, sail, snowboard, wakeboard, ski, kite, windsurf, stand up paddle, downwind, and now foil and wingfoil, then foiling is just a no brainer, the next logical step in the progression which has now, somehow, connected all the dots.

A B OV E Chris, visualizing his line as the bottom starts to drop away from this left-hand beastie... Photo: Grant Scholtz

I won’t lie, it’s been a massive and humbling learning curve, but I’ve loved every minute of the challenge and the evolution over the last three years. I’ve also never been so wrong about any new sport as I was with foiling. Like most people, when you first watch someone good doing it, the initial reaction is “how hard can it be?”. I thought it would be pretty easy to learn, especially coming from a strong foundation of ocean sports. This was my first and biggest mistake – assume nothing! I assumed I would just be able to take my 35 years of watersports knowledge across and transfer it directly to this, and I would pick it up in no time. Wow, how wrong I was…

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TO P R I G H T Full focus on his next move... Photo: Grant Scholtz RIGHT Chris works on laying down his carves. Photo: Shawn McNabb

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I think the most amazing thing is that, if you have vision, you realize we’re only just scratching the surface… this is just the beginning and there is so much to explore and progress yet to be made. This is really just the start of the next generation of speed, efficiency and what’s yet to come. Look at the trajectory of sailing and what it’s done for the sport – foiling has literally transformed it from a pretty low speed sport to a high intensity, extreme, speed sport. And it’s done the same for many others over the last four years… moths, catamarans, and now with the flying AC 72 mono-hulls being used in the 2021 America’s Cup, which will revolutionize the sport further and refine other sports that use foils with the updated technology and foil advancements.

In my three-and-a-half years it has completely transformed my life and the way I see all ocean sports, period. From prone foil surfing and just learning something new, to connecting waves and learning to ride them in the same way as I surf, to now towing into massive waves of 20ft plus at outer reefs like Dungeons and Tafelberg on a foil… a truly incredible and pretty scary experience. Whether it be connecting waves miles offshore in South Africa or in Hawaii, doing downwinders, connecting up multiple points on a single wave, or bringing it all together with wingfoiling, it’s transformed my watersports world in every way. Foiling helps me see opportunity and potential everywhere by changing my perspective, and if you can get through the first six months of frustration and the scary falling/ face-planting, learning curve, you will be hooked for life.

For an ever exploding population of watersport lovers, the other massive plus to foiling is that you’re generally away from the crowds and looking for totally different kinds of waves than most other surfers, or on the inside catching the foamies and then using that as a platform to launch into multiple waves behind it. Personally, as someone who has been chasing down some of the biggest paddle-in waves in the world for decades and winning awards for it, it’s been amazing to be stoked in 2ft surf! The energy intensity and fitness involved is also super intense and next level (especially when pumping) and if you’re a good foiler, you’re generally a very healthy, strong and fit individual, period! It’s the best workout I have done across any sport, and so much so that I normally halve the time I would usually be in the water, as it’s so draining on your fitness and energy levels.

Getting into foiling larger waves over the last two years as foils have evolved has been a whole other story. I was foiling waves off Dungeons, Tafelberg and Outer Kommetjie last year. Kai was already foiling Jaws last year, and now a few of the boys are doing it at Nazaré! This just demonstrates even further that foiling is transforming surfing, and the waves that it is possible to ride… 100ft open ocean swells, no problem! When we have the right foils, that won’t be an issue.

The progression into wing foiling has also blown my mind… I recently took a trip to the Gorge at Hood River to go and improve my winging skills. On the last day I found myself with an awesome crew in 30-40 knots of wind, doing a downwinder, riding wind chop 13 miles up a river for two hours, surfing waves on a foil with the wing. It was truly an incredible day, a mind-altering experience and it made me realize the potential and how much I still have to learn and progress.

“IN MY THREE-AND-A-HALF YEARS IT HAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED MY LIFE AND THE WAY I SEE ALL OCEAN SPORTS, PERIOD.” Being able to tap into the raw source energy of the bumps, miles offshore, connect runs for miles and literally hours, and having a small, light wing to help you just link it all together, help you get going again when you fall or to go back upwind at speed – winging connects it all. With wing foiling you don’t even need a Jetski or a boat to assist… you literally can go out and do downwinders and upwinders for hours, just surfing, riding, depowering the wing by letting it fly behind you and just ride, surf and glide for as long as your legs will allow you to…

I also recently took a two-month trip to Southern Baja, where I was foiling 90% of time and it was only on the last couple of days that the waves got above 3ft, so I whipped out my regular shortboard. I thought it was going to be a disaster, as we all know, the transitioning back onto surfboards is sometimes challenging. But it ended up being one of the best shortboard sessions in memory, I didn’t put a foot wrong and found the transitions and flow between turns easy, smooth and seamless! I got out the water after a couple of hours, stoked but also confused, trying to work out why it was such an incredible surf session, having not ridden a shortboard for six months.

Everything seemed easy, forgiving, and in perfect flow, and this was thanks to the foiling, where your balance and timing has to be so meticulous. It really helped my surfing more than I could have possibly imagined and that really blew my mind.

Never before have I found a new passion that has opened my eyes, my mind and my horizons to so many different possibilities while simultaneously connecting it all together like foiling does, across all sports. If you want to be in tune and in flow with the wind, waves and power of nature in its rawest, purest form, connecting with the powerful forces of nature, perfectly in tune with the ocean, the elements and everything around you, while silently and simultaneously connecting the dots between yourself, sport, fitness and nature, then you just found Elysium. Welcome to the foil revolution!

TO P Chris makes gravity and physics work for him... Photo: Shawn McNabb B OT TO M L E F T Outrunning a Tafelberg herd of white horses...

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CLOUD9 With a roster of top-level team rider names that many from a surf background will recognize, there’s no question that Cloud9 are a brand that enjoy a good reputation for the quality and performance levels of their foil gear. Co-founder Chris Gutzeit (below right, with business partner and co-founder Kent Hardley on the left) talks us through where it all began, and where things are heading for the brand now‌

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HE R E Cloud9 team rider and Kauai local, Jesse Evans. Photo: Jason Phillips

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You guys were obviously into SUP foiling real early. Tell us about those first fumbling experiments and the equipment at that point?

We converted our 8’0 SUPs by glassing in double fin boxes for the base plate but had no idea about reinforcing the foam, so those ripped out right away. Our friend Earle Alldredge was also involved in this painful learning process. We were the first three guys to foil in our area, maybe even in all of California. Earle lost his kitefoil when the boxes ripped out of his board and it sank to the bottom of the ocean never to be seen again. That was a $1500 bad day. From that painful mistake we started tying a piece of kite line around the base of the mast and connecting it to the leash plug so if your foil did break off at least it was hanging on by a thread. Once we figured out that our kitefoils were just too small to create enough lift at slow speed we started designing our own wings. We scrounged what we could for masts and fuselages from Liquid Force, since they were already in production with building kitefoils. Gary Siskar, a long-time friend, was the brand manager for LF. He helped us out with the parts we needed to complete our first foils. We used their aluminum masts, collars and fuselages with our wings. Once we got rolling along, we ended up working with LF as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customer and bought everything we needed to make a complete foil package. This really saved us a lot of time and money! We even ended up designing their Impulse wing which is actually our S24 wing design and their factory built those wings for us too.

So how did you guys first meet, and at what point did you decide to start up a business together?

Kent Hardley and I first met at the beach in Ventura, California back in 2001 through our mutual love of kitesurfing. That was the start of our friendship and in 2016, like many others out there across the world, we saw Kai Lenny doing something that literally blew our minds! Kai was like some kind of alien god from another planet defying the laws of physics as he flew and hovered over the sea. Our first thought was: SOLD! Where do we sign up? We were both into kitefoiling in the surf at the time and figured we already had an edge with our foil experience and background. Boy, were we wrong! We mounted kitefoils to our 8’0 SUPs with no knowledge or instruction of what we were doing, and off we went. I remember my first time trying to fly... Kent almost immediately ripped the foil out of his board and mine was only fueled by the fear of the foil as it kept trying to kill me! I remember coming home and writing my experience down in my calendar that this might not be for me with a sad face next to it. Out of necessity we decided to start building our own foils because nobody had them and they weren’t available anywhere. Soon after that we built a successful prototype and decided to create a business of our own.

Was it Cloud9 right from the beginning?

In 2016 Pelican Surffoils was born. Kent is from a design, engineering background and owns his own granite marble fabrication company so he knew how to successfully run a business. I had contacts and sources in manufacturing overseas through a prior business I was involved in that made carbon fiber products. I also had numerous contacts in the surf, SUP, wind, and kite industries from my love of water sports. We combined our expertise and resources, and off we went! Our first order was 200 units and right about that time we received a Cease and Desist letter from a kayak company that also made SUP boards. They considered a foil an infringement on their name since a foil could be added to a SUP as an accessory. So rather than fight it with lawyers we decided to change the name to Cloud9 and rebrand our inventory.

What’s the harshest crash you can recall when starting?

I remember cracking my ribs pretty good on the rail of my SUP when I was frothing too hard in the beginning. I’ve had a couple of other incidents since then. The latest one was right when the quarantine started and the board cracked me in the teeth. I had three teeth pushed back into my lower jaw and ended up with seven stitches in my face. Luckily I got my teeth pushed back into place and was back in the water two days later. Kent has dodged the bullet thus far. I think he once got a scratch across his nose when his paddle smacked him in the face and that was from paddling. I don’t think he was even on foil yet.

When was the tipping point into you starting to develop your own foils?

This happened soon after we almost killed ourselves. It was about three days after we figured out that our kitefoils didn’t have enough lift at such slow speeds.

Tell us about your development process. From what we’ve heard you guys have this down to a fine art...

We are pretty stoked with our process. We actually 3D print all of our prototypes. I even have friends who have passed down their first wings that we made to friends and they are still being used today. Not bad for a wing that we made four years ago. We basically 3D print our design and then vacuum bag carbon around the wing.

It’s taken us four years to dial this in and the prototypes we make are rock solid and built to last. Once we have the wing designed on the computer it takes about four days to complete. What’s nice about this is we don’t waste a lot of time and money into producing molds on something that might not work. We actually have created a more responsible and less wasteful approach to building prototypes. The only bummer about building wings like this is when they don’t work. Then it’s just another wall hanger to help us remember where we came from and where we are going.

What is the benchmark foil in your system?

TO P Pro surfer and foiler Lakey Peterson living her best life... Photo: SaltyBrother.com A B OV E Kent at his local spot in the early days... Photo: Jean Paul Photography RIGHT Paul Cooper. A true powerhouse on a foil. Photos: Jerrett Lau

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I would have to say our new line of foils, the F Series, is definitely changing the way we used to think about foils. The wings have become a lot more efficient which allows you to ride a much smaller wing. By increasing the speed and efficiency of the wing we have gained more lift out of a much smaller area. Our most popular wing right now has got to be the F28. At a projected area of 918cm2, or 149 square inches, this wing delivers quite a punch. It can easily handle someone at 200lbs and pumps and carries speed easily. It’s highly responsive and turns on a dime. We are very proud of what we have brought to the sport of foiling with our innovative ‘think outside the box’ design.

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Where in California are you based, and how’s the surf foil scene out there?

We are based out of Ventura, California where we have an office for all of our R&D and building of prototypes. It’s conveniently located at Kent’s other business site which allows us access to CNC machines, water jets, and other cool tools for the job.

The foil scene is definitely growing and we have a solid community in our area with a good mix of SUP, prone, kite and wing foilers. Wing foiling has really gained a lot of growth this year. We had a good run of wind wing days over the summer and it was super fun to see everyone get excited about this new sport! Now we wait patiently for winter to bring us some desperately needed surf.

You have a solid team – who are the key players and where do they ride?

We have an awesome team of riders/ambassadors that all offer and serve a unique purpose to the success and growth of our brand. Here are a few names you might recognize: Paul Cooper / @flew_da_coop – Oahu. Powerful lip smashing style and at 200lbs he’s able to showcase our products for their efficiency and durability.

Chad Kalima / @hawaiianalldatime – Big Island. Chad was held back by his equipment but I could see he was a diamond in the rough with his explosive style and lightning fast rail to rail turns. It has been a pleasure to watch him grow into the ripper he is today, and the best part is he just keeps getting better!

Jesse Evans / @born_to_fly_kauai – Kauai. Jesse likes to fly under the radar, he has a very powerful style and lets his riding speak for itself. When he does produce content, it’s always jaw-droppingly good!

We’re stoked to have him representing us on the island of Kauai.

Gerry Lopez / @gerrylopezsurfboards – Baja, Mexico. Gerry needs no introduction, he’s a legend and a great guy! Who wouldn’t want Gerry Lopez riding their foils? We are beyond stoked to have him flying with us.

Rob Machado / @rob_machado – Southern California. Another surf legend that needs no introduction. Rob is recognized as one of surfing’s most iconic figures and has always been known for his smooth-flowing, zen-like style. I can’t wait to see what Rob contributes to the sport of foiling but I’m sure it will be nothing short of amazing!

Eric Geiselman / @ericgeiselman – Florida. Professional Surfer and probably the most diverse and talented surfer I have ever seen. Eric is always pushing the limits no matter what he rides! Can’t wait to see more of him on our new foils. I’m sure it will be very exciting to watch.

Lakey Peterson / @lakeypeterson – Australia, California. A WSL professional surfer, Lakey is currently one of the world’s top ranked female surfers on the world tour. She and her husband Thomas are now flying high on Cloud9 anytime they get a chance to fly in between swells. I’m excited to see Lakey’s skills and knowledge of surfing translate over to foiling!

Edo Tanas / @whoedo – Italy, Hong Kong, Oahu. Edo is a very talented windsurfer and is amazing to watch on the wind wing. He was very instrumental in helping us with the design of our new wind wings. His knowledge and experience was greatly appreciated and I look forward to seeing him ripping it up once they come out!

Karl Muggeridge / @cloud9surffoilsinternational – Australia. Karl is based out of Australia and handles all of our international orders, Australian team, and works directly with the factories for us. He has been very instrumental in the forward momentum of our brand.

TO P L E F T Rob Machado, a man who’s never been afraid to mix up his watercraft options. Photo: Kevin Lukens

How did you get Kai Lenny involved and has any of his input fed back to the production level?

Kai has family from Santa Barbara, and we have a lot of mutual friends here. We usually get a chance to catch up whenever he passes through town for a visit. If we’re lucky we even go for a foil at one of our local breaks so he can test out what we’ve been creating. Kai has always been super supportive and given us feedback on our foils over the years. I can’t say there is one thing that stands out from his input into our designs, but I can say we wouldn’t be here making foils if it wasn’t for him showing us what is possible on a foil.

Where do you see the biggest growth and development right now?

It’s been pretty steady growth in the surf side of foiling but lately there’s definitely a surge in the wing foil market. What foiling has done for surf, SUP, kite, wind and wake now we are seeing those same customers expanding their foil quivers and embracing wing foiling.

Complete the sentence: True foiling nirvana can be found in…

Two-foot mushy waves.

What’s next on the blackboard for Cloud9?

We’re excited about our new line of wind wings that are about to launch. They will probably be available before this comes out. We worked hard on producing something that would complement the quality and efficiency of our foils. We didn’t just rush into this and slap our logo on someone else’s design. We wanted to come out with a product that was well thought out and had the performance characteristics we were looking for in a wing. We are pretty stoked on what we’re bringing to the table. Sizes: 6m, 5m, 4.2m, 3.5m. We also have a beautiful line of surf, SUP, and wing boards that we had designed by legendary Oahu surfboard shaper and long-time friend, Blane Chambers. We are currently working on having these boards built at our factory and you can also get them custom built in Hawaii

by Blane himself.

In regards to foils, we are creating something new but I would rather not say at this time. It’s too soon to announce but let’s just say if you’re stoked on what we have come out with up until now then you might possibly lose your shit with what’s coming next!

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For me it all began on a joyful tropical afternoon on the north shore of Maui back in 2016. I remember being awestruck after watching Kai Lenny and the Spencer Brothers effortlessly harness the raw power of the ocean and smoothly glide down along the coast on seemingly invisible waves. I was completely hooked on learning the ropes of this new elegant dance. But after my first futile attempts I felt more like a fool who had unsuccessfully attempted to ride a mechanical bull after too many beers at the local bar...

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HERE Robby Naish still rides as hard as the best of them...

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It was a rough start for me with a very hard learning curve, but quickly foiling became a real gamechanger for me. In addition to regular SUP, foiling has allowed me to increase the amount of hours I spend on the water by making more of otherwise marginal wave conditions.

Essentially, foiling has opened up a whole new dimension of fun on the water for myself and thousands of people around the world. I hope my experience and advice can help shorten your learning curve.

Let’s get started!

EQUIPMENT Before hitting the waves, start by familiarizing yourself with the simple physics of how foiling works. Also, understanding and choosing the right gear is essential to becoming a happy flier. I highly recommend finding either a skilled foiler to act as your mentor, or taking some initial lessons at one of the many new foiling schools opening up around the world.

• Choose the right board Just like for SUP surfing, find a board that can easily float your weight and won’t require too much effort to balance on. Aim for volume through thickness instead of length. Somewhere between 6-8 feet in length is ideal regardless of rider size. Typical SUP foiling boards have come to resemble a rectangular outline that is optimal for stability when floating and control while flying.

“JUST LIKE LEARNING TO FLY AIRPLANES, YOU DON’T START OFF BY CAPTAINING A F-35 FIGHTER JET. THE BUZZ THESE DAYS IS VERY MUCH ABOUT EFFECTIVE HIGH ASPECT FOILS.” T HE 1 01

• Choose the appropriate foil (and short mast) Make sure that the foil you start on is designed for stable and low speed flying. Just like learning to fly airplanes, you don’t start off by captaining a F-35 fighter jet. The buzz these days is very much about effective High Aspect (HA) foils. Although they definitely are amazing to ride they aren’t the optimal choice when initially spreading your wings. Also, try using a shorter foil mast during your first sessions. A shorter mast is easier to control at first and will help you gain confidence and balance. Once your skill increases you can try a longer mast and also gain experience with other wings on your foil.

• Use a coiled leash = less problems A regular leash tends to easily get wrapped around the foil itself. I find that coiled leashes really help avoid those sticky situations.

• Protect yourself (consider a helmet) Foils can have a mind of their own. At some point you’ll probably come into contact with your foil. Living in the cold waters of Denmark usually has me wearing thick neoprene year-round for warmth.

A light wetsuit does help soften these encounters as well. I also recommend that you consider wearing a helmet on your first attempts.

I won’t say that it’s a must, but rather a personal choice and is definitely a good thing if you develop an overly intimate relationship with your foil.

Once you’ve got your equipment dialed and properly assembled, you are ready for the fun part…

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ON THE WATER • Hitch a ride (if possible) Your biggest issue with riding waves on a foil is gonna be exactly that: riding waves. Being in the right spot, catching the wave, lifting the foil out of the water, adjusting for changing wave speed and dodging obstacles or people. There are many variables to deal with before even learning to control the foil. This is the single biggest cause of a long learning curve and can lead to deep frustrations towards foiling. Good news: there is a short cut! Being towed behind a boat, jetski or even cable at a wakeboard park eliminates many of the headaches. Because you have a steady pull and thereby speed, you can focus entirely on cracking the code of getting the foil out of the water and racking up effective air time. I highly recommend trying this as it will save you many hours of frustration. When you get the foil under control then you can progress to the waves and have much more fun immediately!

• Choose the right spot and conditions Choose a spot with small mellow waves that break in deep water.

Make sure you don’t go to a break with many surfers already there.

It’s better to go to more remote or foil-friendly places. Remember: that’s the beauty of foiling…

• Catch the wave (and take a deep breath) SUP foiling will be much easier if you are already accustomed to SUP surfing. Paddle for your desired wave so that you either catch it very early before it breaks, or when the white water is small and mellow. Avoid waves with a steep pitch. On your first waves keep a straight angle and go in the same direction as the waves. Just as when you’re SUP surfing, jump into your surf stance in the seconds just before you catch the wave. Make sure you are standing in a fairly wide stance near the center stringer line of your board. Take a deep breath as you start going down the face of the wave.

• Lean into it (trust me) Once you are on the wave, make sure to continue to keep a compact posture, i.e. don’t stand tall and proud with your arms flapping. As you drop down the wave going straight, your focus should immediately be on controlling and keeping the foil in the water.

The most common mistake on the take-off is that people lean their weight backwards as if they were on a regular surfboard. Leaning back will send the foil into the air and you off the side like a cowboy unable to tame a raging bull. Instead, you should focus on keeping the foil in the water by maintaining firm front foot pressure. Only when you feel you can manage to keep the foil down should you begin to loosen the front foot pressure and let the foil rise. The key is to find this balance between weight being shifted forwards and backwards.

• Find the sweet spot (baby steps) Playing with shifting weight forwards and backwards will allow you to find the so-called “sweet spot” where there is harmony between lift and dive. You may also want to experiment with your actual foot placement on the board. Depending on your foil, board and the ocean conditions you may need to stand further forward or backward on the board. As a rule of thumb, I usually have my backfoot directly above the foil mast. Once you get the foil airborne and under control you can begin to explore going more sideways on the wave. Remain compact and composed in your stance and gently roll a very little amount of weight sideways. Too much and you will flip the board. That’s why I always tell my students to take “baby steps”.

• Learn to fall Trust me, it’s not a question of “if”. It’s rather when, and how bad.

It’s a wild bull underneath your feet and your job is to tame it.

Learning to fall properly and away from the foil is key to not getting hurt. I always think of keeping a compact stance when riding and falling in the opposite direction of the foil when it’s time to jump ship. Regardless of the crash type, I always make a point to cover my head with my arms. That’s a good base rule.

• Repeat, repeat, repeat I promise you it won’t be entirely easy and it won’t look glamorous in the beginning. But keep at it and the reward will totally be worth it. Foiling in control on the waves or going downwind later on is pure magic. So good luck, happy flying, and see you on the water (or in the air I guess…).

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“I PROMISE YOU IT WON’T BE ENTIRELY EASY AND IT WON’T LOOK GLAMOROUS IN THE BEGINNING. BUT KEEP AT IT AND THE REWARD WILL TOTALLY BE WORTH IT.”

PRO TIPS: Invest in multiple wing sizes = you’ll be ready for different conditions Video yourself = you will spot your mistakes more quickly and learn from them Always remember to breath = you’ll be less tense

H OW TO S U P FO I L

C LI N TO N FILEN AN D DAVE K AY

Name: Clinton Filen Job title: Brand/Design Director Years in the industry: 17 Proudest professional moment: There are a few key product breakthroughs, but ultimately developing the products that powered kitesurfers Alex Pastor and Bruna Kajiya to their respective world titles, and sharing their stories.

W I NG CO M MA N DE R

A double dose of expertise this issue, as we hear from AK Durable Supply Co’s Clinton Filen and Dave Kay, two designers whose work interlaces daily at their base in Cape Town, making some pretty beautiful and high-performance gear for you and I to enjoy…

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Name: David Kay Job title: Product Development Engineer Years in the industry: 19 Proudest professional moment: Getting a triple crown in 2016/17 which included a kiting freestyle world title, cable wakeboarding world title and the Red Bull King of the Air, all on boards I’d designed.

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PI O M A R AS CO

Could you give us a little background about your experience in the world of kite/foiling? When did your journey begin?

CF: I was designing accessories for a European brand, and while visiting a factory in Asia I met this slightly eccentric kite designer, Don Montague (the Naish designer at the time). He liked the look of my harnesses and asked me if we could swap for a kite, and that was me hooked. 17 years ago, I joined Airush as Product Manager/Designer. I became one of the owners 10 years ago and took on the role of Brand and Design Director.

DK: For me it all started with the development of the Double Agent for Cabrinha, back in 2014. I started learning to kite foil and developing my first foiling product all at the same time. Living in Hong Kong at the time was a blessing for the development, with HK having lots of ‘perfect’ 10 knot foiling days. In fact, foiling more than doubled my number of kiteable days in Hong Kong.

How did you both originally come to work for Airush / AK? CF: I approached our group CEO at the time as I had some business and product ideas. The company had recently acquired Airush from the Baxter family in Hawaii and asked if I would like to join the team.

I jumped at the opportunity.

DK: My wife Su and I left Hong Kong in early 2016 and went on an extended holiday, the end of which had us arrive in Cape Town in late December that year. The day we arrived in Cape Town, Airush advertised for a customer service role which Su was lucky enough to get. With her working here I would hang out and started fixing up some stuff in the development lab, which led onto making some prototypes which led onto some design work and here I am now with a titled role!

So what are your roles are at AK, and what do they entail?!

CF: I am the Brand and Design Director for AK. I also have a product design portfolio that I am directly responsible for, being the foil boards and certain accessories. I do a fair amount of the testing on surf foils for DK, and work closely on key concepts with him and Craig Thompkins, our newest design recruit.

DK: My job title is Product Development Engineer and for AK that means I develop our foil and binding programs. I take care of these from 3D design right through to the production ramp up.

Where would you consider your main expertize to be within the brands?

CF: Well I really enjoy new brand development, category development and thoroughly enjoy pushing myself (and everyone else) on developing more conceptual product designs.

DK: Three things for me really…

1. Computational 3D design - a relatively complex type of 3D modeling based 90% in writing code and software that describes objects.

2. Prototype making – we have our own development lab here in Cape Town with CNC, presses, composites etc, and I spend a large part of my time making development prototypes.

3. Designing for production – I consider it very important that what I design is well based on the process it will be built in. What I design is always possible to build well in production volumes.

How important is your current location to your design process, can you take us through how your prototyping process works for boards and foils?

A B OV E A regular day in the office for DK and Clinton.

RIGHT Team rider Alvaro Onieva in full ‘throw-it-hard’ pose...

W I NG CO M MA N DE R

CF: Our location is one of the keys to our brand’s success. We are able to design, build and test within a 5-minute radius for many of our products. Sometimes it is very structured with a defined brief and timelines, other times we just build rough concepts to test ideas.

But depending on the category there is generally a lead designer and the team will help where required. For example, I am responsible for surfboards, surf foil boards, wing boards and some of the kite foil boards. DK is on the foils and a bunch of other stuff. Mark Pattison is on the wings.

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C L I NTON F I L E N AN D DAV E KAY

So once we have designed and built something, we typically have three levels of testing. We have a team of testers who are not pro athletes but are focused and available to do a lot of benchmarking, then we will generally try to test products ourselves and then we have our pro team who are either more or less involved depending on the product.

DK: Having quick access to prototypes and testing locations is the key to the success of Airush and AK. I’ll start with some feedback from the testers and sales teams and then dive into my custom-written foil design software to play with a few concepts. Once I have a design that looks like it will meet the needs of the team and the design brief, I’ll export out all the CNC control files for a complete ‘build’. It’s then into the lab to get my hands dirty. Turn around on the bigger 1600sqcm+ wing is around a week to 10 days, with hours of machining time – molds, cores and support jigs etc. Once the wing is done, I’ll either test ride it myself or hand over to one of our local testers. After a week or so of testing the whole process will start over again.

We’re starting to see a few more “experimental” foil wing designs on the market and from amateur designers. Do you think there could be any more revolutionary swings in foil design? And do you have any plans for larger or higher aspect foils?

CF: There has been a steady march of design evolution more than a single revolution in foils and I expect to see efficiency and ease of use moving forward in leaps and bounds. I think we will see some major revolutions in areas such as eFoils and pump foils, as these areas have the most technology and pumping is on the fringe of human capabilities… This space could blend quickly. We have also developed a range of high aspect foils and bigger wings this year as we see increased demand for faster and bigger wings.

DK: New developments could come from any direction and the more people working on designs the better we will all become. We have a number of interesting new designs about to hit the market...

AK Durable Supply Co began as the technical accessory wing of Airush Kiteboarding. Clinton, when did this occur and why did you see the need to create a separate company?

CF: It actually started more independently as we had been developing an accessory brand within the group (Starboard, Airush Kiteboarding and Severne Designs) for some time, but we seemed to always have our hands full. I believe Graham Wiles (our Art Director) had been playing with some logos and AK just stuck with us as it had an association to Airush but ultimately developed into its own brand name that did not constrain us to a sport. I have always been a multisport, interested-in-everything designer.

Wing foiling is obviously the big story right now. Have you been surprised by how quickly it has taken off and is it tough to keep ahead of the curve when things are moving so quickly?

CF: We went through a process around seven to eight years ago of intensively developing the wing concept. Ultimately, we put it on ice as we could not generate enough power from the wings compared to a kite. Once larger foils emerged (basically through SUP) this really opened up the whole sport. I was surprised at how quickly the category emerged and the scale that it has grown.

So you have now released the FreeWing into the market. How big do you see this category growing in the coming years, and does AK plan moving into the world of boards as well as foils?

A B OV E DK’s keen eye translates into gear that does exactly what it should.

RIGHT Product testing close to AKHQ.

W I N G COM MA N DE R

CF: We expect huge growth within this category based on the feedback we are getting from new entrants to the sport and retailers.

I think the low barrier to entry is key and if the sport continues to evolve it will keep the participants engaged, which is something we have really seen in kiting. AK is set to launch the new Phazer foilboard as it fits perfectly into the crossover space, with the larger sizes being great wingboards but taking on the mantra of a single range covering kite, pump, surf and wing.

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“NEW DEVELOPMENTS COULD COME FROM ANY DIRECTION AND THE MORE PEOPLE WORKING ON DESIGNS THE BETTER WE WILL ALL BECOME. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF INTERESTING NEW DESIGNS ABOUT TO HIT THE MARKET...”

before the general public get these amazing new toys. I’ll show the process, warts and all – the broken machines, the days and days of sanding molds as well as the special stuff like custom carbon boards for the team riders.

Clinton, you’ve been really key in driving the direction of both AK and Airush. Would you say you’re content with where things lie currently with both brands, or is there more to strive for?

CF: If I zoom into what we are doing I am extremely stoked with the direction we are taking, the quality of what we do and the team we have. If I zoom out, I see so many things we are interested in and could push much further, but we want to take our time to focus on doing things really well and build slowly from there.

DK, you are very open about posting your latest designs and prototypes across your social media channels – more so than any other designers we know – do you like getting feedback and comments, and does this sometimes feed into your design process?

DK: I think my approach to showing the ‘inner workings’ of the development lab is well balanced – I like the people that follow my #digitalmfg world to see that new things don’t just drop from the sky – that there is a LOT of hard work and mess that needs to happen 133

Can you both pick the two products that you are proudest of designing and explain why?

CF: Right now I would say the new AK Phazer foilboard and the AK Surf Foil. The Phazer has been great to work on because it is a culmination of my interests in all the aspects of foiling, wind and water sports into a single product and I am going to really enjoy pushing it further.

The AK Surf foil range falls into a similar space in terms of versatility.

This was one of the first projects I did in conjunction with DK when he joined the company. He is an incredible designer and engineer, I was very involved in the testing and a bit less in the pure design side, where Dave CNC cut and hand-built every prototype.

We have been on this quest to make foils that are easy to use and maintain high performance for the everyday rider, I felt we really achieved this with the Surf Foil. I also worked on the new FreeWings at the same time, which was another exciting project, all within such a rapidly evolving experimental space.

C L I NTON F I L E N AN D DAV E KAY

THE TEST TEAM

NAME : RIC H ARD B OU GH TON (T E C H NIC AL E DITOR) DE VON, U K

@ KI T E B A R N

Richard, our Technical Editor here at Foiling Magazine, has been in and around the water sports industry for the best part of 18 years. He’s traveled internationally for many years coaching kitesurfing, runs his own sail loft in the UK, and is an avid paddle boarder. Rich fell in love with foiling in 2015, initially shaping his own boards and foils before equipment was commercially available. He’s a genuine multi-sport foil user… Be it propelled by a wing or kite, paddling or prone, he’s very adaptive, and gets out in all conditions, whenever possible. Now permanently based in the wild southwest of the UK, Rich has perfect ‘real world’ conditions for testing prone and SUP foils on his doorstep. His favorite spot is a bit of a secret apparently, but involves an empty reef break which requires a lengthy paddle and nerves of steel, but rewards with minute-plus rides...

NAME : K JE L L VAN S IC E C AL I FORNI A, U SA

@ KJ E LLI SS E Y

Born in Belgium and raised between Hawaii and the African island of Mauritius, Kjell van Sice’s life and career have been transglobal and shaped by the ocean which he clearly loves. An internationally published ocean photographer, university professor in design, and competitive water athlete (and now a Contributing Editor for us), Kjell added surf foiling to his pretty loaded repertoire in 2018. Although Kjell foils daily in the kelp-filled, rocky waters of the central California coast, he lives for towing into fast, open-faced lines of energy south of the Equator. Where the waves end, Kjell finds foiling potential too, and he loves exploring California’s alpine lakes and rivers on leg power alone.

NAME : S KY RAMA MAU I , H AWAI

@ S KY. R A M A

Maui born and bred, and with 20 years in Bali under his belt, Sky has been foiling for over 14 months now and loves every second of it. Having borrowed a foil in Bali, on his second wave ever he managed to ride it all the way to the beach, and from that point on he was hooked. After buying himself a cheap aluminum foil from China, he then graduated to better gear and has never looked back.

His favorite conditions for foiling are sheet glass waters with a nice mix of soft and vertical waves, and he loves to push the limits of both himself and the foil he’s riding, and his favorite spots are all contained within West Maui… The undoubted king of foiling social media thanks to his Soloshot set up, he’s guaranteed to ruin any afternoon in the office when he drops another dreamy clip.

T EST E D

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NAME : ANTOINE MALOLO B ADIN AL J E ZU R, P ORT U GAL

@ TONI O OV E RTH E R E

Antoine is a 33-year-old Frenchman living in Portugal. The day job as a surf coach means he has the chance to be at the beach every day, with plenty of opportunity to go foiling on the Algarve’s west coast. He’s been foiling for four years with experience in all disciplines (kite, SUP, surf, wing, tow-in) and his favorite test spot is a small bay on a rivermouth that offers long, reforming waves with plenty of sections and works with all kind of swells and gets zero crowds (hence he’s keeping it hush!). Antoine conducts his tests both in the surf and open ocean swells, but when the north winds kick in and the Algarve coast becomes a foiling paradise, he can be found at the end of rope enjoying some tow-in sessions…

NAME : JOS E P H C ARB E RRY C AL I FORNI A / I DAH O, U SA

@ J OEC A R B E R RY

Whether it’s snow, surf, or foil, Joe Carberry has been testing gear for nearly two decades. From New Zealand hut skiing to Himalayan river running to Mentawai boat trips, he’s made playing outdoors his life. Foiling is just his latest passion as he splits time between Southern California and the Pacific Northwest with both the mushy waves of San Onofre and the ripping winds of Hood River and beyond as his testing grounds. Joe is currently the managing editor of The Inertia and enjoys riding all sorts of craft in all sorts of waves, but has found the foil to be one of the most diverse tools on the planet.

NAME : KANE DE WIL DE MAU I , H AWAI I

@ K D M AU I

Born and raised on Maui, Kane has been in and around the water from a very young age, doing everything from skimboarding to sailing, and most recently of course, foiling. Kane enjoys riding weird and unusual surfcraft and is constantly tinkering with his gear and striving to improve it. On any day with solid north swell he is usually found testing at Kahului Harbor, with the smooth water and consistent wave shape making it the perfect spot to test and compare new gear. Kane has experience in designing, testing, and giving detailed feedback on foils and foil, SUP, and finless boards. This experience helps him look at a foil from a more technical and theoretical perspective and we’re stoked to have him on the team.

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FA N AT I C

FANATIC SKY SUP FOIL The Sky SUP foil 6’11 sits as the largest model in Fanatic’s range of foil craft, packing a massive 142L into that compact sub seven-foot frame. For 2020 it appears Fanatic have aimed very logically at a crossover product, bridging the gap between a SUP foil and platform that’s capable of entry level wingsurfing, as riders will increasingly grab a wing once the wind picks up.

Fanatic’s shaper Sky Solbach has the benefit of being based on Maui, at the cradle of progressive surf and SUP foiling and it looks like he’s taken influence from the custom brands around him, and applied some good old fashioned common sense to the Sky SUP. All the bells and whistles are in place. From a practicality perspective, a concave deck is present along with a centrally ridged EVA pad to help with that all important foot placement. The carry handle is intelligently placed to balance nicely with the foil attached. The rails are graced with a full vector net, which look the business, with that tech-on-show appeal sitting behind the top layer of laminate, and should also supply the rails some added protection from paddle dents. It’s a robust feeling construction with mixed composites including some bamboo, but not offensively heavy considering its sizeable volume. We tested with a range of foils from major brands and as the back section is almost perfectly flat where the foil box sits, no shimming was required to get the board to fly nicely. It’s plug and play.

Paddling the board, you immediately feel a high degree of buoyancy and all-round stability. There’s plenty of volume wedged straight under where you stand, providing the novice SUP foiler and/or wing surfer a heap of confidence, particularly if they are a big human.

That high level of float enables a very high success rate with paddle in and take off. It makes small surf easy pickings, and your wave catch rate high. Where we think the board works its magic is in the aggressively stepped rail. The flat section seems to provide you with a noticeable extra push, even from a tiny green wave, and this bonus little kick enables you to get on the foil earlier than anticipated. The compact length means you can throw the board more than other vessels of a similar volume; another bonus is the pumping ability is also noticeably improved, even for such a big unit. Taking the board out in larger and more consequential conditions, we were surprised just how well it handled it. That stepped rear and lack of T E ST ED

nose means you can get away with some scandalously late take offs. Testing the largest in the range gives us a healthy appetite to test the smaller performance models, including a lightened 6’7 120L LTD model, which is almost surely a performance peach. A version with a windsurf mast option also exists in the larger size.

Wingsurf crossover potential is great due to the shorter length per volume and ease of release. Beginners in particular really rated the Sky SUP due to its exceptional stability as they fumbled around learning their sail handling. All that volume and stability came as a massive bonus. For the more seasoned winger, the board proved great for offshore work in light or inconsistent winds. The volume gives you plenty of float to limp back if the wind dies off, making it a capable 4x4. It’s fairly effortless to pump and get going when it’s light and probably one of the most versatile crossover discipline boards we’ve tested, without horrendous compromise between either activity.

SUP foil boards are now evolving into something far more refined than a modified SUP shape with a foil box glassed in. The Fanatic Sky SUP is a great example of all the good design influences arriving in one product simultaneously, and in a production board. It looks as though Sky Solbach may have also named a board after himself, and he surely wouldn’t have done that without some serious confidence in it. Luckily, he’s concocted a masterpiece. - RB

FANATIC SKY SUP FOIL TAKE OFF

ROLL STABILITY

TOUCH DOWN

FORWARD/BACKWARD STABILITY

PUMPING

GENERAL PADDLING STABILITY

SURFACE TRACKING

DECK COMFORT

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F-ONE GRAVITY 2200 The Gravity range is a well-established carbon wing system for F-ONE, who have been producing a mixed materials modular hydrofoil system for kiting for several years now. It centers around a lightweight and lean aluminum mast system that has a favorable stiffness to weight ratio, and the best part is it all transfers over cross discipline, so you can use the same pedestal and mast for your kite foil, all the parts are interchangeable. The Titan foot plate slots in to the bottom of the mast and accommodates the larger carbon SUP and surf wing fuselage that neatly breaks in half at 45 degrees between the tail section and the front wing. It’s a unique design which eliminates the need for bolts to hold the front wing to the fuselage and maintains a completely drag free connection and zero flex in the front wing joint. Quite ingenious. All the fittings are lightweight M6 torx, including the pedestal, and the machining and fit is flawless. The pre-preg carbon is light weight and exceptionally tough. We witnessed this first hand at their dealer meeting, with the kit bouncing off rock and reef regularly and surviving well. It will scratch, but not break up or delaminate. The C300 stabilizer can be paired with the entire range of Gravity front wings from 1200 to 2200cm2 and some of the kite foils. Pre-preg carbon masts are due to be released soon, we’ve had a preview and you won’t be disappointed.

The Gravity 2200 wing is the largest in the F-ONE range, and aims for heavier riders, early lift and easy pumping. It’s got a massive span and a high aspect ratio at 5.5. Although it’s somehow packing 2200cm2 of area, its relatively lean profile means it’s still got some serious performance, and is perhaps more versatile than you think.

As you would expect, it takes off very early but manages to maintain a decent speed range and simply won’t top out and get noisy or unstable; it seems to reach terminal velocity and stay there in a

well behaved fashion. When coupled with a larger mast, it makes choppy European wave conditions very entertaining indeed. You can literally pick up a ripple with this thing and ride it as far as you like. The large span obviously means you need to be realistic about how pivotal a turn you can make at speed but for the most part this front wing will take most riders well past being an intermediate whether propelled by a wave or a surf wing. For heavier humans, it has a far wider application than initially expected and has become a bit of a go-to wing if the conditions are light or fickle, as with gusty wind and weak swell keeping on the foil is the aim of the game. For a large percentage of riders, the appeal of foiling is getting out on the water in conditions you normally wouldn’t bother with, and the 2200 extends that range of use further than imagined. Surf even smaller waves, or wing surf in very light wind conditions with a feeling of serious, albatross-like gliding efficiency. - AB

T E ST ED

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F-ONE GRAVITY 2200 GLIDE

STALL DROP

PITCH STABILITY

TRACKING

YAW STABILITY

CARVING STABILITY

SPEED RANGE

TURN RADIUS

A R M S T R O N G

A - W I N G

ARMSTRONG A-WING Armstrong have quickly built a reputation for excellent performance with a focus on quality products with no compromises on materials.

From the biggest board to the smallest screw, every detail has been refined and tuned to near perfection. The A-Wing has just arrived and we were excited to see if this philosophy had also extended to the world of wings. As we know, over the last few months, wing foiling has exploded at an astonishing rate with many brands scrambling to get in the trend and make something available as fast as possible. Armstrong, however, seemed to take a step back, look at what was out there, and said “we can do it right”. That’s exactly what happened with the A-Wing.

The A-Wing is available in three sizes: 3.5m, 4.5m, and 5.5m. There are also two accessory options, the Powerlink Control Bar, and the Waist Leash. Materials and design on the bag and accessories are top notch. Everything is easy to use and fits together perfectly. Handles, leashes, and the bar are very ergonomic and feel natural to use, even on the first session. Whereas you can often have to retune your brain to get used to handle placements or quirks of a wing, the A-Wing feels intuitive from theget go. The wing feels solid and built to last without sacrificing the light weight you need for fingertip control.

The A-Wing has a large leading-edge that stays thick throughout the tips. This provides maximum stiffness for the lowest pressure, reducing stress on the materials and increasing durability. The huge diameter struts also keep the A-Wing unbelievably rigid, helping keep the wing in its designed shape whether at the top or bottom end, and increasing low end power. The A-Wing also features a very flat canopy that works extremely well close to the wind. When riding next to many other wings, the A-Wing was consistently faster and pointed higher upwind. Handles are well placed and give even

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pressure between the front and back hand, and the two 45 degree handles are also a great addition and, using the top handle, seems to boost you to higher speeds and pointing angles. The handles are also extremely rigid and thicker than most other brands. In testing, this translated to better feedback and less fatigue in heavy winds.

In the surf, the A-Wing with the Powerlink Bar and waist leash was very impressive. Completely neutral balance, easy one-handed control, and instant power led to some of my all-time best sessions. The waist leash is unobtrusive and super comfortable and also features a quick release in case of emergency.

Overall the Armstrong A-Wing is a very impressive entry into this new sport. It does everything you want and we performed well in all conditions - KDW

ARMSTRONG A-WING POWER DEVELOPMENT

OVERALL STABILITY

DE POWER ABILITY

UPWIND PERFORMANCE

RESTING STATE STABILITY

SETUP SPEED

AGILITY

DURABILITY

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S TA R B OA R D

STARBOARD E-TYPE (FEATURING QUICK LOCK) Starboard are no strangers in the burgeoning hydrofoil market and for 2021 have implemented a comprehensive multi-sport system to cover surf, windsurf, wing and SUP disciplines.

First let’s talk about the modular Quick Lock technology as it’s fairly unique in the industry currently and a focal point of the system. At the business end of the mast, on both carbon and aluminum systems, is an aluminum T piece which makes up the center section of the fuselage. This slides into the top of the fuselage with a plasticized boot which goes under compression with the fixings, and weeds out any play in this joint completely. Your chosen front wing and tail slide onto a box section divided into two leaves. These are threaded and expand with a simple M6 Torx bolt, locking the tail and front wing in place; a second M6 Torx acts as a security measure. This is extremely convenient for someone that wants to build their gear simply and quickly, or wants to swap components regularly, in fact it’s a foil tester’s dream. One M6 Torx driver does it all.

Other technical features in the system worthy of note are the fuselage fixings. These are all M6 Torx again, and the threaded sections all sit in small removable casings. This means you have stainless to stainless connections for the bolts, avoiding any galvanic reactions, as well as the ability to replace the threaded sections very simply if they did fail. It’s an incredibly well thought out system, that can seem a little complex for the initial build, but after this you don’t need to touch it, as the mast and T piece are easy to transport fully assembled, and sliding on the front wing and stabilizer is a ridiculously simple and fast process. It’s worth noting that the stabilizer is also trimmable a few degrees on the pitch axis with two simple countersunk bolts. We had a bit of a play with this and ended up running it neutrally most of the time.

We tested the full pre-preg Carbon Light 82cm mast setup, coupled with the E-Type 1700 front wing and RAZR 250 stabilizer for both winging and SUP foiling. This is the high aspect performance hydrofoil setup, geared towards faster riding than the S-Type. The quality of the carbon work in both the wings and mast is of a high standard, and the assembled foil is exceptionally light. The mast has impressive torsional stiffness considering its length and has a minimal tapered profile and one-piece monolithic construction. The E-Type 1700 sports some pronounced square tipped winglets, flattish span and a hint of gul wing.

T E ST ED

In its riding feel, the E-Type 1700 mixes a forgivingly early take off with a high top-end and cruising speed, and a wide band of application. Those winglets grip positively and feel locked around the corners for a high aspect wing. It is a playful and light-footed ride, and the foil feels exceptionally reactive to your inputs. We found the setup paired particularly well with a smaller volume board when winging, where the lack of swing weight made it all feel razor sharp and tighter cornering. In the waves we found the 1700 to have excellent glide characteristics and an all-round efficient feel without being overly twitchy; it made linking lumps of swell in the onshore particularly easy and enabled you to ride with a lot of speed. Pitch stability in its comfortably wide speed range is very solid for a relatively short fuselage length, and makes it nice and reactive to deal with lumps and big drop ins. On a mid-size foil SUP, pumping onto a green wave required a little paddle technique to build speed before the big take off, but the low-end stall characteristics are smooth and herald little surprises. The E-Type 1700 has a little brother in the 1300 which would be ideal for bigger waves, lighter riders or anyone looking for a step up in speed from the 1700, which has a formidable top end in any case.

Much like its Jaguar automotive namesake, the E-Type is an elegant shape, with light and rapid handling experience which may well become a future classic. For anyone requiring more speed and crossing disciplines between wing, surf or SUP foiling this should be high up the list of choices. - RB

STARBOARD E-TYPE GLIDE

STALL DROP

PITCH STABILITY

TRACKING

YAW STABILITY

CARVING STABILITY

SPEED RANGE

TURN RADIUS

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DESIGN FOR FLIGHTNESS From 2.7kg with the Carbon Monolithic mast // From 3.4kg with the Aluminium V7 mast.

Visit www.starboardfoils.com and discover the complete Starboard Foils collection.

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U L L M A N

ULLMAN OSPREY II Amongst one of the many great things about the new world of foiling and wingsurfing is that the whole thing is pretty ‘democratizing’. Unlike in, say, kitesurfing or windsurfing, you don’t need a huge range of 15+ products to become a respected brand, you just need good products. So it has been great to see brands who have never been on our radar sending kit our way to test, and it has been great to see how much of this kit is actually very good… A case in point is Ullman, a South African brand with a 50-year heritage in sailmaking and more recently in kitesurfing, who have now turned their hand to the world of wingsurfing.

They currently offer four wings, and the Osprey II is their ‘all-rounder’ designed to be accessible for all levels of riders and for all riding styles. In terms of construction and – straight out of the bag – this feels like a very solid and well-engineered wing. It has a window which runs the length of the wing, so needs to be rolled, although the window is relatively narrow so the wing can be partially folded and fits into a shorter bag so its less cumbersome than a fully rolled wing. Ullman have worked hard on the leading edges of the wings, with less V in the central two segments of the leading edge, which then increases across the remainder of the leading edge – the aim here is to smooth airflow across the center of the wing and to minimize the amount of lateral movement of the wing. One of the strongest features for us on the wing was the handles, these are “UHMWPE covered with soft internal cushioning” and they are exceptionally comfortable, probably the most comfortable we have used. If you are winging for any length of time, or for beginners who tend to be scrabbling to grab handles, this does matter and equals a more comfortable and enjoyable session. There are five main handles, and two Y handles. These are well placed, and we found that we shifted between the two back handles for general use (we had some super gusty 35 knot plus conditions), with the second handle providing perfect balance for one handed powered-up handling.

The wing has a medium aspect ratio with relatively pulled in wingtips. We felt that it handled more like a smaller wing with the tips not catching as easily as they tend to on a wing of this size. Overall

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it was easy to flip the wing and get it into position, and, once up and riding, the less experienced wingers had few problems with catching the wing tip. The Osprey is a super rigid wing – noticeably more so than some lighter weight wings – and this translates into quick power delivery and a very ‘tuneable’ feel. You can ease the power in and this immediately translates into power. In steady conditions there was minimal need to pump and the wing did the bulk of the work. Up and riding and the Osprey behaved very nicely. There is plenty of power on tap and the windward angles were excellent, off the wind and the wing is well balanced and can be held behind comfortably without any twitchiness, even with this larger wing.

Overall we were impressed with the Osprey II, this is not a ‘let’s just get a wing out there’ effort and it is very clear that a great deal of thought has gone in to every element, and the final product provides an excellent experience for novice and for experienced wingsurfers alike. - AH

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STARBOARD X AIRUSH FREEWING AIR Starboard and Airush have collaboratively brought out a wing using their knowledge from their respective windsurf and kitesurf brand expertise. Airush tinkered with inflatable wings as a brand as far back as 2012, but shelved the project in 2015 as they couldn’t outperform their windsurf rigs. With the advent of SUP and surf foiling and the efficiency that brings, the game changed, and they have been reactive in developing and bringing a production wing to the market.

From a build perspective it has combined a lot of good elements.

The wing is relatively squat and mid-aspect, making it good for shorter people and beginners, avoiding the dreaded tip hitting the water and the wing rolling over that many initially experience. The larger sizes have the wingtips angled in a touch to avoid this further. The wingtips include some decent Kevlar scuff protection for rocky spots.

The central strut has a generous diameter along its entire length, making it extremely rigid to pump against. Handles-wise, there are plenty of options, with five down the length. We had the 5m wing on test, and mainly used the first and fifth handles, where the wing seemed to feel most neutrally balanced and engage the power smoothly. In the hands they are chunky and stiff, giving a positive feeling without being too huge. Y handles are present connecting the strut with the leading edge at 45 degrees. These are relatively small and don’t span too far back onto the strut; they are useful for the initial stages of pumping as a beginner and conversely for making your transitions once you are more advanced. Sewn into the strut handles are some solid looking harness line attachment points, a clear windsurf-inspired addition for those long upwind slogs.

Leash-wise, it is Dyneema with some shock cord bungee to take up some of the slack – it’s quite long compared to others on the market. An optional spinner is included which is ideal if you are in a tight spot where you are tacking a lot; this has a neat neoprene cover.

Immediately you notice a large set of windows – they seem to be placed quite far forward on the wing and provide some improvement in vision for where you are heading as well as downwind. The windows mean the wing needs to be rolled for storage rather than 1 43

folded, so a traditional cylindrical roll bag is provided. This isn’t quite as practical as a backpack when carrying your rig any distance, but it gets the job done. Behind the strut is a deep profiled section of Ripstop to build some serious depth into the canopy.

There is not a huge amount of tension built into the canopy as the wing inflates and it has the ability to luff very effectively. There’s a stout band of Dacron framing the canopy and some darting running up the main seams to avoid flapping.

In the hands, the FreeWing feels efficient, and not massively grunty in its low end. Pumping against it is simple and responsive due to the massive stiff central strut, and the FreeWing rewards good technique to get you on the foil in lighter airs. Once you’re up, its engaging stiffness of that center strut gives the FreeWing a windsurfing feeling, it is at its most smile-inducing for straight-line blasting and loading up for jumps on smaller boards. The top end is quite extended with easy depower, particularly if you tip the leading edge into the wind. The wave performance is positive with the wing luffing adequately. You can feel the weight of the windows a little when it’s onshore and lighter wind conditions.

The cross-discipline knowledge from the two brands is apparent in the final product, and amidst its current competitors the FreeWing fairs well in terms of performance attributes without any compromises, and is a robust all-rounder for all levels of riding. - RB STARBOARD X AIRUSH FREEWING AIR POWER DEVELOPMENT

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NAISH 1240 HA + 4’4 HOVER SURF Naish need no introduction, as the legendary brand of all things windsports for many years now. In the beginning of the foil revolution, they set the standard as some of the best gear on the market, with the likes of the Hurley boys ripping on their foils. On test I had the 1240 HA wing with a 310 HA back wing and a 75cm mast coupled with the standard fuselage. The board was the 4’4 Hover Surf Ascend Carbon Ultra. First up, the foil… Unzipping the foil bag and everything was organized really well. The aluminum mast is super light, 25% more than its predecessor, and all bolts are T30 Torx which is quickly becoming a standard for the foil industry. The front wing is nice, thin and light, and I really like the back stabilizer as it’s a delta shape and from the wing tips up it looks and feels great. The fuselage connects to the mast tightly, and there is a new base plate that’s well connected too.

I tested at a perfect spot to test, with some nice fun rollers generally waist high with some a little bigger, and also in perfect, glassy, waist to shoulder high waves at a spot I call 1000 Cheeks in west Maui. On the 1240 HA the first wave I caught easily, and glided effortlessly.

The HA 1240 turns super easy with almost no effort. It’s kind of a hybrid HA wing because it turns very impressively but also has some great pump to it. In fact, I liked the pump the most on it, and the efficient glide into that first wave. On the second wave I adjusted it forward for more lift and got it under more control, and it was less tracky and went into turns very nicely. I didn’t need to shim it as the stab felt spot on. Also, I loved how it didn’t sing whale songs like a lot of foils out there! I was able to connect three to four waves pretty easily once I found the rhythm and cadence of it.

Overall I would say that the 1240 HA foil is well suited to intermediate to advanced riders with small surf in mind. That said, it does handle bigger surf, up to shoulder high, without breaching.

The neutral stance is nice and the set-up glides very well without much effort.

Onto the board, and I had the 4’4 Hover Surf Ascend Carbon Ultra, the smallest board at 33 liters. These boards really have stepped up their game from previous years, and we are seeing better construction and much lighter boards compared to the polyester resin boards of yesteryear. I won’t lie… as soon as my eyes landed on its curves, I thought “what a sexy outline!”, then I picked it up, and like any good surfer does I started to feel it out – first, the under the arm test, and: wow, it’s light! I love the bat tail and narrow nose and the bevels, it’s a real simple outline with no gimmicks – it’s designed to catch waves, and it does that well. You may know that I usually ride the smallest prone boards I can get my hands on, mostly at 22 liters, so this was a welcome board to paddle. It has a flat rocker and paddles well to get out to the break and fast. The slight concave

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deck is so comfortable, it’s made to fit your body as you lie into it and become one with the board. The front deck pads are insanely smooth, with no rash after my session and they are thick too, feeling nice and cushy under the feet. The back pad was excellent as well, with the arch bar and kicker mounted quite high on the board to make it feel shorter while you glide.

I weigh 190lbs and I’m 6’3, and from the first wave I was liking the Hover Surf Ascend, as I paddled and glided effortlessly while the wave easily picked me up. You can catch a huge range of waves on this board due to its length. On my second wave I noticed how easy it is to pump for a bigger board than I am used to, and at 19.5” wide it felt responsive while I whipped turns. It seems to have little to no flex that I could feel on pumping and turns, and was a real direct feel that translates into your foiling response. I feel that board performance is as equally important as foil performance, and you will enjoy the Hover Surf Ascend knowing it’s built tough but does not skimp on riding performance. I liked it a lot and would ride it more with my bigger wings for glides and pumps and open wall whips.

I love light, little beveled rails and flat bottoms with no rocker… So Naish is on my kind of formula! – SR NAISH 1240 HA GLIDE

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AXIS S-SERIES 860 AXIS have added some larger surf performance wings to their range, building on the popular tow and big wave foiling platform of their 660 wing. As we’ve covered before, the AXIS system is extremely comprehensive across disciplines and modular so there’s complete compatibility with the rest of their range. The 860 comes in at 1293cm2 and is lightweight at around 800g. Construction is a fiberglass and carbon shell, wrapped around a recycled core. If you’re familiar with the popular 660 wing, the 860 has quite a few of the same attributes, but an enlarged span and corresponding surface area. The key features, such as the pronounced gul wing and delta swept back shape remain, but built into a higher lift and higher aspect format. The 860 also packs a different foil profile to the original S Series 920 and 1020 wings with a flatter underside and a little concave in the trailing edge that fades out to the tips, which combines to enhance the top end speed and stability.

In the water the 860 is exceptionally playful and goes a long way towards injecting the feeling of surf and skate into hydrofoiling. The speed and confidence you can go from rail to rail (or wing to wing) is impressive. It’s a wing that loves to turn with power. This is partially down to the heavy gul wing, which means when the foil is banked over into a turn, only the lower half of the front wing side is providing full lift. This is important, as once you combine the power of the wave face with an aggressive turn you sometimes have a little too much lift and flatter wings can lose control. Essentially this design digs in around the corners and allows you to make a shorter radius, more ‘surf’ like turn without losing control.

We found it paired best with the Ultra Short fuselage to do its cornering ability justice, and for stabilizers the 370 seemed to give the most balanced characteristics across disciplines. The completely flat 460 gives an incredibly loose feeling where you can drift the tail out around the corners with surprising levels of control.

The 860 is aimed straight at surf performance, but this can span over quite a few disciplines. Its riding characteristics obviously offer enhanced lift over the 660; for most capable prone foilers of around 80kg weight this is going to be the sweet size you have been looking for, particularly if you ride in more average powered waves. For T E ST ED

a mid-size wing, the pumping characteristics are surprisingly good, and you’ll find yourself linking waves with relative ease; it seems to maintain its momentum. For slower waves, the 860 has a nice pace, and doesn’t outrun the pocket constantly. We found it very easy to maintain your position on the wave and your carves feel deep and more connected, particularly when swooping across a section at speed, where it pushes well into its top end without becoming too front foot heavy.

For powered and progressive wing surfing the 860 is an absolute peach. In flat water it immediately lets you really commit to your turns and reduces your turning radius considerably. Ideally it needs to be paired with a smaller board to do it justice. Towing into a wave it seems to find a comfortable balance between both glide and speed. Of course, the highlight is the cornering ability on the wave face, and that’s where the gul wing works its magic.

Overall, the 860 allows you to ride in a more decisive and confident manner and mixes the glide and speed of a high aspect wing with the maneuverability of a gul wing design in a practical multi-sport size. It is a very successful blend, which will increase your G-force readings on the corners and make critical turns when you need to with instantaneous heel to toe transitions. It’s poised for anything.

- RB AXIS S-SERIES 860 GLIDE

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RIDE ENGINE MOON BUDDY Ride Engine founder Coleman Buckley is one of the most iconic ‘out the box’ thinkers the watersports industry, with one of his most famous creations being the hard-shell kitesurf harnesses which turned that market sector on its head in the process. Coleman has always had a hand in shaping surfboards, and the natural progression to foilboards is no surprise, particularly as the Ride Engine brand is part of 7-Nation, Slingshot’s parent company.

The aptly named Moon Buddy is a visual feast, and comes with a matt grey brushed carbon finish, and a unique palm frond pattern on the hull. The bottom shape runs a double concave to flat with a gentle spine in the first two thirds of the board. The board feels light considering its volume, and thickness is distributed fairly evenly throughout the entire length. It does a good job of hiding a lot of volume in a small package. Thumb grips run down the rails to let you handle the board easily as you clamber on, this is great when knee starting on the wing or when pushing the nose through the wave. The deck pad is a thin comfortable black corduroy affair, and has more grip than your average SUP pad. Three white lines running across the deckpad initially appear to be decorative, but have function referencing the center of the foil box so you can glance down and make sure your rear foot is in the correct position. The deck is completely flat and has a normal SUP handle and a threaded vent plug. There is a provision for foot straps with inserts for all conceivable configurations – these accept standard self-tapping screws. A US box foil track system sits relatively far back on the board, which is good, as it is proportionally short, and you need some board in front of you.

As a wingsurf board for beginners and intermediates, the Moon Buddy hits the nail squarely on the head. The take off and release is one of the cleanest we’ve experienced and allows you to take a smaller front foil wing than normal as the board generates speed so well on the surface. It will make variable wind conditions a much easier experience. Off the surface, although 6ft long, it rides a little shorter than you would expect; with little swing weight it feels very balanced when flying, and doesn’t have all that weight in the nose that similar volume and usually longer boards harbor, which 1 47

can slow up your pumping and dull inputs to the foil. If you breach and nosedive, the wide snub nose does a good job of giving you a chance at recovery, and may well bounce you back to stability.

There’s a step down and more wingsurf focused 80l 5’0 also available which will suit intermediates and advanced riders with a little contingency volume to limp back if the wind dies, or for the highly skilled or lightweight paddler.

When paddling the Moon Buddy, it is well worth popping in a front keel fin which is a huge aid to the boards tracking. We tested this several times, and it makes a night-and-day difference. Due to its compact length and rail shape, the board paddles a little smaller than its literage compared to others of similar volume. At 90kgs and 6’3 tall, paddling the 6’0 was possible in clean conditions but being realistic, the larger 7’0 would be more versatile for someone of my size. If you were 85kgs and a little shorter it would be absolutely spot-on.

Coleman has curated an intelligent set of features and shape into the Moon Buddy, resulting in an eye-catching board that crosses over successfully between positive buoyancy for practical wingsurfing and a relatively easy-to-use paddle craft for people of average weight and height. He has squeezed a lot of volume into a compact shape and it’s a successful exercise. - RB

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RRD BELUGA 160 For their Y26 season, long established Italian windsports brand RRD are well and truly committed to the wingsurf phenomenon and have developed a comprehensive line up of wings and boards. The Beluga 160 is their mid-size wingsurf-specific board, packing 75 liters into a futuristic 5’2 compact shape. In this particular size, the board is available in RRD’s LTE construction which feels like a sturdy balance between strength and weight. It’s aimed at more advanced or lighter weight wingsurf aficionados and for me sits as a 15kg sub bodyweight sinker board, ideal for stepping up from full flotation board without going too small. All that litreage in such a short package also means there’s an obvious crossover potential for novice prone foiling. There is also a bigger brother in the range, the 170, which sits at 105L and comes in LTE as well as E-Tech construction, with a windsurf convertible option.

In the hands, the Beluga 160 has a fairly radical shape with some pronounced curves. A deep double concave with generous spine gradually smooths itself out as it graduates towards the foil box.

The box has quite a cut out surrounding it, making it protrude from the stepped tail of the board, and which appears aggressively designed to encourage early release. Its length to width ratio looks aimed towards hiding as much volume in that 160cm length as possible. The beveled rails extend your deck area and give you a larger platform to work with. The deck is a dug out concave affair which gets you closer to the foil and less perched on top. The carry handle is located in the hull of the board just in front of the foil box and balances with the foil attached, making your entry to the water that little bit easier.

In the water it’s immediately apparent why RRD named the Beluga after the friendly faced Arctic mammal. Although a small board dimensionally, it’s very accessible, particularly for someone moving to their first sinker. The business end of the 5’2 is gently curved and comfortable to handle. The deep concave deck makes it easy to

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feel your position for a sub-surface knee start, as the board seems to hug your knees. Its generous width means you also have some decent roll stability, particularly if paired with a longer mast. Getting to your feet is simple as you can feel around for the bottom of the concave without looking down at the board. Once planing on the surface, release is relatively quick as long as you have the wind, and the lack of swing weight makes it feel instantly nimble and responsive. The minimal dimensions and lack of length mean there’s little windage, and the feel of the hydrofoil is transferred well into the board, and we tested a few different rigs on it. There’s no riding body weight back on the board to compensate for extra nose mass here, and you can adjust your pitch quickly with little effort. Banking around on the foil, the deep deck concave comes into its own, and you can noticeably lean into your turns a little more. Coming in hot after a breach, all those concaves do their job and disperse the water well.

Much like its namesake, the Beluga 160 is a graceful creature, and provides 75 liters of pure joy for more advanced wing foilers who want a minimal, and potentially sub body weight board with plenty of practical features built in. - RB RRD BELUGA 160 TAKEOFF

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SLINGSHOT FLYING FISH Slingshot’s eye-catching prone and wingsurf board caught our attention when we first spotted team rider James Jenkins throwing it around as adeptly as you’d expect and clearly having a whole ton of fun. We got in touch to find out more…

Talk us through the philosophy behind the Flying Fish?

Tell us about the layup and the build...

We wanted these boards to sit a little higher in the water than the older High Roller boards that featured the concave rails. The mellow bevel on the Flying Fish helps with paddling speed for the average user. We find that a lot of people are looking for the mellowest bump with maybe just a little folding white water for their get in, the clean rails and kick tail help you get sufficient push from a real mellow top to middle wave.

While originally designed for prone surfing we quickly realized that our whole team wanted them for winging and huge airs. We put in a full wood stringer, wrapped in a 6oz glass layer, then comes a full wood rail wrap and another layer of glass. We added another patch of glass under the foot area to stiffen it under foot. The real tech comes with the US box reinforcement which has the standard PVC blocks, the added PVC stringers and a number of specifically placed 6oz patches.

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What rider weight do you recommend for each size?

This is a tough one as it has so much to do with skill and the type of wave you are surfing. Our team guys who prone it like James Jenkins and Trent Carter are pretty light – 150lbs to 170lbs and they go for the 4’2. If you are 190lbs you want the big 5’0 for prone with its easy get in and paddle out. For winging, if you are under 165lbs the 4’2 30L is perfect and easy to sink under you for deep water starts, whereas the 40L can be hard to sink. Our Wing Brand Manager Wyatt Miller is 200lbs and chooses the largest 50L for winging. He has no problem sinking it for deep water starts and after a jump or touchdown it is easier to stay on top of the water and get going again. He likes the 35L for winging as well, but he is more likely to sink after a jump and spend more energy getting going again.

Was the board originally designed to be a good crossover option?

A lot of what you want for prone is great for wing. Width being the main factor for easy paddle ins and getting the board to the surface for deep water wing starts. A slight concave deck gives nice leverage over the rails for turns but still allows the foot to shift its placement.

Then surfers demand an offset front foot, while really any winger who is on that small a board is going to stay with their natural stance and not switch feet, making offset front foot the way to go. It really gives a lot more control and allows you to drive the board forward.

“THE CONSTANT WITH LOGOSZ IS THAT WHATEVER HE IS CURRENTLY RIDING, THE MARKET IS NOT READY FOR YET.” We saw James Jenkins having a great time on the board! Has he helped on the development side of it?

James Jenkins is the man! He is so good at all the surfing sports. He was the main influence behind this board.

The EVA pad has changed quite a bit to a corduroy affair. How does it change the feel of the board and what are the benefits here?

The corduroy rocks, every single rider surveyed was in love with it. It is just so soft on your feet and gives great traction. It doesn’t bite into the bottom of your foot like diamond track does and it is leagues more comfortable to paddle on with a bare chest. We are actually thinking of redoing the walls of the office with 70’s corduroy wallpaper.

The world of foil riding is developing at a blistering pace. How tough is it to keep ahead of the curve, particularly when you need to plan well in advance for product releases?

When you are on the product design side, it is like living in the future.

By the time a product comes to market you need to be finalizing shapes for the following year and prototyping boards at least two years in the future. But staying ahead of the curve comes pretty easy when you have a savant like Tony Logosz as a designer… That guy lives like five years in the future! The constant with Logosz is that whatever he is currently riding, the market is not ready for yet.

And finally, what’s your average prone foilers go-to foil pairing for the Flying Fish?

The FSURF with the 70cm mast and the Infinity 76 wing for sure.

That wing is just magic. There is not a sports category out there that doesn’t love it. Surfers, SUP, kite, wind and wingers love that front

wing. Pure magic.

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FANATIC BEE When we tuned in to the (virtual) Fanatic dealer’s meeting a few weeks ago, amongst plenty of epic new kit on display, one board in particular really caught our eye...

The Bee, Fanatic’s multi-discipline watersport weapon, is as versatile as it is attractive. We caught up with Fanatic’s Craig Gertenbach to find out more…

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Why the ‘Bee’ Craig? We’re very intrigued...

A lot of people who are into a few different watersports want to have the ultimate one-board solution for holidays or even for their daily use on the water. We have some boards which work for SUP foiling and wingfoiling, some which work for SUP and windsurfing, some which work for windsurf and windfoiling. Our idea was to make one which works for pretty much all those sports, but with the main focus of being able to work properly as a SUP wave board, as well as being pretty handy in all the rest of the sports. That´s why it has a longer outline, to be able to paddle and have the fin setup for SUP and SUP foiling too. The name itself primarily came about as it’s our 40-year anniversary with windsurfing this year, and we were looking through all the old models. When we also saw the color scheme, it was obvious that the name fit perfectly, and the Bee was reborn.

Crossover boards for learning winging and SUP foil are popular at the moment, what do you think makes them so appealing?

This is a great combo of course because it means when it’s glassy in the morning, you are out on your SUP, where you can choose to ride it as a SUP with bigger cleaner waves, or as a SUP foilboard in less than perfect waves. And then instead of sitting on the beach all afternoon when the sea breeze kicks in, you can get out and go wingfoiling or even windfoiling with the same board. Always having an option when showing up at the beach, no matter what conditions are like – perfect!

The Bee does look prepared for everything. Where do the compromises lie between disciplines and how did you mitigate them?

The shape concept was to make sure it works best as a SUP – that means it has to be longer than a classic wingfoiling shape for advanced riders, so that you can paddle it and paddle easily into waves, with fins or foil. The extra length is actually quite good for winging too, as it allows for more mistakes when learning, especially at the start when kneeling and trying to find the right balance point. And for windfoiling, a longer shape is also an advantage for balance and ride. Obviously a super compact wingfoil board will feel better for an advanced rider, but you can still do all the same maneuvers with the longer Bee, up to a certain point. Also, as a ‘vacation board’, where space is limited or budget is an issue, it’s a great choice to cover as many sports as possible.

What construction have you used? And how low did you manage to keep the weight down with those inserts?

It’s in our Vector Net construction, so obviously a bit heavier than a similar SUP due to the many inserts, but it’s still below 10kg which is okay for a 120L board, and we used all our experience from the different sports to make sure it’s reinforced in the most important parts.

What do you foresee being the most popular size in terms of sales?

We think the Bee 7’8 x 120L should be the big winner for most people, especially as it’s a good wave board for SUP. But the 140 could also be a very good option for heavier, less experienced riders, and the idea on that size is to also make it work on flat water paddling with a longer, stretched outline. So they both have good potential!

How does the Vector Net technology increase the rail strength?

The Vector Net is not only an optical highlight, but it’s an extra rail layer which automatically adds strength, plus the Biax layup reinforces the rail in multiple directions with high grade materials. We have had good experience with it on our other boards like the ProWave, Allwave, Stubby, Fly and Diamond ranges too.

Who has been riding the Bee and how important is rider input in developing your products?

Our new SUP shaper, Sky Solbach, a talented waterman on Maui, has a multitude of top local riders, combined with visiting team riders of all levels and weights. So we balance all the different opinions and of course depending on the product’s end user, we’ll let the riders influence the board in line with whatever the briefing is – for example, for a ProWave we’ll let our team riders get quite involved, together with normal customers. For a board like the Bee, we tend to let Sky handle it with his group of testers of various skill and weight levels.

Funny thing is, although there wasn’t much pro team rider input here, they all loved the Bee and it was a big fight to get it back at the end of the photoshoot!

“INSTEAD OF SITTING ON THE BEACH ALL AFTERNOON WHEN THE SEA BREEZE KICKS IN, YOU CAN GET OUT AND GO WINGFOILING OR EVEN WINDFOILING WITH THE SAME BOARD.”

What’s your recommended foil pairing with the Bee? Generally with the foilboxes fairly far forward and the 120L volume, we like to pair the Bee with the Aero High Aspect foils, in sizes 1500/1750 and our new 2000, with the 80cm fuselage and a 75 or 90cm mast. That is the best combo and then depending on whether you’re SUP foiling, wing or windfoiling, you can move the position around accordingly.

Finally, we love that sunset color fade. A Sky Solbach finishing touch?

Glad you like it, yes it’s a nice feature and we’ve had great feedback – no, this was from our renowned graphic agency, 3deluxe who work with a lot of companies across architecture, music and product design.

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STARBOARD WINGBOARD Starboard, already known for their expertize in building high-performance SUP, windsurf, and more recently foilboards, have now released a completely wing-focused offering, handily called the ‘Wingboard’. We hit up Starboard HQ to find out more…

Hi team. So being as it’s all still so new, what were your design objectives for your first wing-specific board?

Learning from both SUP foiling and also windsurf foiling, we had a good base on what we needed to achieve with the Wingboard design. First, having a board that is stable and comfortable to ride was vital. Short lengths make it easier to trim the board and control it, but without enough volume and stability it is harder to get riding.

The boxy rails pack volume where you need it, allowing you to ride a narrower board. We tried cut angles on the sides of the board, but lost too much stability, so then would have needed to make them wider to obtain the same stability. We also learned that the board pops up/lifts off quicker with boxier, straighter rails. If you look at the rails of our new Olympic windsurfing boards, you can see that concept brought to the extreme. The recessed standing lowers the center of gravity and brings you closer to the foil – this allows for better balance, reaction and simply a better ride sensation. The flat tail rocker allows the board to accelerate and pick up speed to take off early. The angled channels help the board rock up and onto the angle where the foil goes into flight mode. The cutaway at the tail assists this even further.

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surface. We tested multiple times, with and without the channel, and every time it was better with it, increasing recovery with little speed loss. Once up and riding, the board needed to be balanced and natural to control. The foot strap positions always ensure the rider is in the correct stance to trim the board with ease. The short lengths, right down to 4’6, make the hulls tremendously fun and fast to maneuver.

Our test team loves a concave deck, but not when it fills up with water, so the deck drains are a genius idea. Whose idea was it and how did it come about?

Learning the importance from the Starboard race boards and also the Hyper Foil, we knew how critical a lower center of gravity is for increasing stability. By having the volume in boxy rails, it makes it possible to ride a narrower board. Svein (Rasmussen – foil co-designer) pushed the drains through and after a few revisions with the tray, we refined the exits to get the water out efficiently. Not only is the recess about increasing stability, but it also makes you feel way more connected with the foil when flying. As everyone wants to ride short boards, the volume has to therefore be packed in the thickness of the board. But a thick flat deck means you have about 6-7” between you and the foil, making the feeling less sensitive and almost as if you’re wearing high-heels. The lower the recess and the closer you are to the foil makes it feel a lot more in control and in sync when flying.

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Tell us about the two constructions and their key differences?

Blue Carbon is all about being lightweight. Here we have designed the layup to be the lightest option, to help pop up faster, fly for longer in lighter winds, and be more responsive for more radical maneuvers. The Blue Carbon is the option for those that want the most performance! The technology features a full UD Carbon wrap for high stiffness and strength, at a super lightweight. In addition, we use a full biaxial carbon wrap to further increase the overall strength and provide greater overall hull resistance, and then we use a wood and glass layup to reinforce the standing area to prevent heel dents from high jumps.

The Lite Tech is our fantastic value offering. Strong and also coming in at a very competitive weight, the Lite Tech makes getting into winging totally accessible. A great choice for the first-time user and those that want the most affordable option. The Lite Tech construction consists a of glass base layup, a wood standing and multiple reinforcements to prevent heel dents as well as total breakage.

Both Blue Carbon and Lite Tech are supplied with foot strap inserts with multiple options to adjust to the perfect position.

The nose shapes seem to change between the various sizes, can you fill us in on that?

Like having different lengths and widths, the nose shapes and outline influence a number of factors. Firstly, the nose on shorter models tends to be very full and wide in outline as it’s crucial to optimizing the overall volume and float from being so short. On longer models, we can pull the nose in slightly to benefit from the added length and avoid the nose from catching through turns. The nose in general we found needs to be quite wide as it makes a big difference on recovering from touchdowns. A wider rounded nose proved to be the most efficient and forgiving when coming down to popping back up.

For anyone hovering over the buy button already, what foil would you recommend for the perfect pairing?

For those looking to get into wing foiling, a larger front foil wing will give more lift to get flying faster and be more stable when up and riding. Whether it’s the Starboard range with the Wave, Wave Classic and Ocean Surf, or the AK foils, we have a range of foil options to get flying. Starboard and AK Foils have a modular design, giving the option to switch the front and rear wings for different conditions.

The 1700 E Type is a favorite, as well as the 2000 and even 2400.

For those more experienced and wanting to reach faster speeds in stronger winds, a smaller front wing will be faster and more maneuverable in the surf. The 1300 and X Wing offer this. The main thing is the boards will accommodate and perform with all wings, catering from the beginner to the advanced, cruising, surf and race.

“STARBOARD IS COMMITTED TO IMPROVING THE WAY WE BUILD PRODUCTS, REDUCING THE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES IN FINDING NEW PERFORMANCE.” Finally, you have a pretty robust environmental policy at Starboard.

Can you tell us a little more about that?

Starboard is committed to improving the way we build products, reducing the impact on the environment and pushing the boundaries in finding new performance. It’s our role and responsibility to encourage new ways of thinking, to share and collaborate with partners to do more together and bring new solutions and eco innovations within our industry and wider afield. As we spend most of our time in the oceans, we understand and see our impact and so it’s our job to find ways to prevent and preserve the future of them. Starboard has introduced several eco innovations, being the first to reach Gold Level eco board status in mass production in Thailand and utilizing either recycled or natural materials into our product lines.

As well as products, the brand has lead initiatives such as the world’s Plastic Off Set program, where, when you purchase a board, we pick 1 61

up 1.1kg of ocean/plastic trash. Furthermore, for every board we sell Starboard plants one mangrove tree to offset the carbon footprint.

Each tree absorbs up to one ton of CO2 over 20 years and we are one of the world’s very few 10X Carbon Net Positive companies. With our ½ million tree-rich climate park, we are also carbon “past positive”, removing our CO2 footprint since 1994.

Other campaigns include the soon to be launched ‘Ambassadors For The Planet’ curriculum, which empowers younger generations to challenge the environmental issues that our generation have failed to do much about. We partner with a variety of companies and associations to move forward, one being the Joint Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, where we would like to see tax reductions for companies that meet emission reduction targets. Another partnership is with the United Nations Technology Innovation Lab. We also started the Bangkok chapter of Trash Hero, a leading organization in Asia’s fight against plastic pollution.

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TAKUMA CARVER EFOIL Following on from the release of their conceptual Kujira foil, Takuma reinforced their position in the growing Efoil market with the new Carver. We got the full lowdown on the new board from Takuma’s International Sales Manager, Sylvain Aurenche.

Hi Sylvain. We’re looking forward to getting a chance to ride the new Carver Efoil at some stage. How has the response been so far?

The Cruising was released in 2019, then came the Carver this summer, and there was a lot of anticipation! We ran out of stock from the beginning, and it’s still a mission to be able to produce enough boards to satisfy the demand. The Carver is a carbon-sandwich board (saving weight and improving reactivity), with a slightly longer mast, two battery options, and the options of smaller wings. The Carver is the Efoil model made for riders who are looking for engaged turns. We think we made the right move in taking our time before putting it on the market, it is truly a fantastic Efoil, perfectly accomplished by our R&D team.

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Is the Carver compatible with your new Kujira foil too?

Yes, you can use a Kujira foil instead of the LOL profoil that’s delivered with the Carver. The Kujira foil was designed by Laurent Borgna, well known for having already shaken things up in the foiling world with his work on the LOL profoils range, and Cyril Coste, the founder of Takuma. The revolutionary tubercle design is inspired by the pectoral fin of humpback whales who are known for their agility, power, and efficiency. The shape of the Kujira makes it complementary to the LOL profoil models, it pushes the limits of the Carver Efoil in reactivity, speed, as well as control. This foil is a beauty, it is a clear revolution for the industry and a fantastic evolution for all board-foiling activities. A new chapter has opened!

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How does the more compact board improve the riding experience?

First of all, you have a carbon construction (improving weight and rigidity), then having a shorter board (5’3 instead of the 6’4 that comes with the Cruising) offers maneuverability in the turns as well as when you drive straight lines in open water swell.

What range can we expect out of the different battery options available?

Some of us want the lightest possible battery, others are more focused on the flying time, so by proposing different options allowed us to satisfy all. With the 20A you’ll ride 40 minutes, with the 35A you’ll ride up to 90 minutes. A beginner will use more energy as the board will be flying less – this is demanding on the battery as your board drags on the water (like a boat), then as you learn to fly there is way less effort, and you’ll need less energy from the battery to reach an equivalent speed. Then as you improve, riding at the right angle on the foil, optimizing your weight placement and just generally using the remote control less will mean even longer battery life.

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What waterproofing technology have you used to protect all those different components?

That’s a bit of a secret, but we took the “problem” and used it to our advantage. We could have decided to make a waterproof compartment, but let’s remember we stand on the deck – at first it might be all waterproof, but as you use it more and more, materials will move, so the lid will move a little over time and then you would have water coming in. We decided to design a perfectly waterproofed ESC (Electronic System Control) which is the same for the battery as well as the connectors. It allows water to get in, creating a natural cooling system, and then as you start to move the water drains out through an opening created specifically for this effect.

What front wings and stabilizers work well with Efoils? And how are their requirements different to surf foils?

Like all foiling activity it is great to explore and to use different front and back wings. Some sets will offer drive control, while others will allow you to carve in the turns. It comes down to what you’re looking for. The FW 1900 comes with a 300 BW, same for the 1600 FW (these are both used on the Cruising model). For those who want to feel their Efoil “spin out” from the tail, they should test a 270 BW. The FW 1300 comes with a 270 BW (this is for the Carver). But you could also use a FW 1600 and a 300 stab if you’re a heavier rider. Then of course you have the option of the Kujira to push the limits.

Efoiling isn’t different to wave foiling when it comes to the required profiles. Efoiling is and must be accessible for all… We want to see as many people as possible flying above the water, having the most amazing experience. By making outstanding foils for the waves we understand the limits, control the lift, glide and speed. This research highly benefits the Efoil experience.

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE ON THE WATER… RESPECT OTHERS AND HAVE FUN!” Who’s your average Efoil customer?

This is the best and most difficult question to answer. But basically: everyone! The Efoil is an incredible open door to all other foiling activities. You don’t need to be an experienced water person, not even an athletic person, you don’t have to be born with specific physical aptitudes. Be you, step into an Efoil club and learn with an experienced team. Then if you want to carve and ride aggressively you find the right spot and the right model, and it’s show time! The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone on the water… respect others and have fun!

What’s the shell of the board made from?

Our Carver boards are built from carbon fiber, while our Cruising boards are made from fiberglass.

So we’ve now seen the Kujira and the Carver emerge from Takuma HQ recently. Any more exciting news you can reveal at this stage?

Our best sellers have no reason to be changed, they can evolve but they are here to stay.

Then an entire collection for 2021 is under production and will soon be available at your Takuma dealers. We invite you to follow our media channels as there is a lot of exciting news around the corner! Anyone who’s interested should always feel free to contact us. We are here to share our passion and to help you choose the products and models which fit you.

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There’s a handful of folks on our Instagram feed who are so consistently prolific with the quality of their output and seem to have such an intuitive understanding of the sport that we’re pretty assured we can ask them about the future of foiling and get some answers that, more than likely, will turn out pretty accurate. Time will tell of course, but here’s one such frother: Adam Bennetts.

The efficiency of foils these days is allowing us to be up on foil for 10-20 minutes, so if you combine this with any downwind swell elements, you’ll be able to head out on an adventure on tiny bumps for a very long time without using much energy. We are already seeing this in Hawaii with guys like Adam Ayers, Jack Ho and Scott McNally doing downwind runs on the reg.

If only there was a way to upwind run so you didn’t get stuck if you don’t have a buddy to go with? I also think surface finish of the wings will come into play eventually, which will also aid in efficiency and lift. So we should see smaller wings being more efficient and have more lift, so you’ll get a better combination of efficiency and lift as well as much faster wings because they will be smaller.

In my opinion, the more good surfers that get involved, the more the sport will evolve. Where I live, there’s a young crew of great surfers who have all just gotten on the foil program and I believe it’s this younger generation that will shape the evolution of the sport, which will lead to more of a mainstream acceptance. Once this is achieved, then we will see core surf brands throwing money at events and sponsorship. I can understand how it’s hard to accept and also appreciate for a lot of people because unless you have tried it, you really can’t describe how it feels and also how difficult it is. I think a lot of people think foiling is easy and also kooky because they have a tarnished image in their head, and it’s skewed their opinion of the sport.

You know that vivid image of a foiler with no control holding on for dear life and going straight through a line-up… But obviously nowadays the equipment is so well refined and high-performance, and the riders have gotten so much better and are now in full control and having more fun than ever. This important message has been handed out into the foiling community from guys such as Brian Finch and Erik Antonson, who have both been instrumental in educating people about foiling, including myself.

I believe foiling has a mainstream future eventually, which will involve some sort of foil tour with competitive contests. This is where we will see the sport evolve the fastest because there will be all the best guys collectively pushing what’s possible. You will see the young guys like Kane de Wilde, Jack Ho, the Spencer Brothers and of course Matahi Drollet pushing it the most as these guys are young, have little responsibility and could pursue a career in the sport. Obviously Kai will be right in the mix as he’s already a professional waterman, but it will be harder for older guys to try and pursue a full time career in the sport as most have families and jobs and are pretty locked down to where they live.

I can see the contests being run more like skateboard contests where you get multiple 1-2 minute ‘runs’, where the entire line-up is yours and you are judged on performing radical maneuvers in the most critical part of the wave with speed, power and flow throughout your run. Surfing-esque maneuvers will still be at the forefront with a focus of ‘on-rail’ carving (the reason why foiling is so fun – the G-force through carves) in those critical sections of the wave. Lip/ whitewash hits and airs should only be rewarded highly if the flow is there and it doesn’t disjoint the entire ‘run’. Smoothness and flow is key, in my opinion.

The other good element for competitive foil surfing is that it will always be entertaining for spectators both live and online, as we don’t really need to wait for swells and have waiting periods like traditional surf contests. You could lay out the entire year’s contest dates globally and it would be possible to run 99% of the time on that day. This will save money on logistics and would be a lot more enjoyable to watch with less downtime between rides.

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P O RT UGA L Such is the rate of growth, barely a week goes by where we don’t get an email or a private Instagram message highlighting the emergence of a new foiling crew in some distant corner of the planet, tight knit and brimming with stoke. Often there’s a story to tell in there too, so we thought it high time we created a new section to highlight these dispatches from out on the front lines of the foil revolution.

First up... Portugal.

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With a long and rich nautical background and establishing itself year after year on the world stage as a force to be reckoned in terms of board sports, Portugal has been keeping a low profile on the international foiling scene. But there is a small group of talented foilers from different backgrounds (surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP and even skimboarding) determined to make an impact. And for a weekend, this group of foilers met at one of Portugal’s most iconic locations and an absolute foiling paradise to exchange experiences, wings and push each other to the limits, all under the lens of Tó Mané, one of the most famous surf photographers around the world, and who made an impact on the mainstream scene with the world famous photo of Garrett McNamara riding a giant wave with Nazaré’s lighthouse as a backdrop.

The group met under the watchful eye of Algrave-based Arnaud van der Dussen, considered the Portuguese Kai Lenny, who has made an impact on both the national and international scenes on sports like windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP surfing, and now foiling in all its disciplines, “I’m stoked to be a part of this new age of foiling that will be the future in watersports. I started foiling because I wanted to escape the crowds and surf waves that nobody else could. And, for me, foiling is the best feeling in the world. It still has a long way to evolve and I think that with the development of new wings we will be able to foil over long distances in flatwater with effortless pumps.”

Arnaud’s foiling partner is João Amaro, 35 years old with a background in competitive skimboarding, and also a SUP and kitesurfer, who shares the same passion and vision about the potential of foiling. “There was a boom around the world and now we are starting to see the first good foilers in Portugal.”

A B OV E Arnaud van der Dussen makes the most of some gentle summertime swell.

LEFT Friends who foil...

RIGHT Arnaud, João and Hugo cruise the local waterways...

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Way north, in the Porto area, other foilers are doing their part in the development of the sport in the country. Tiago Campos, with a background in wind and boardsports and an impressive curriculum in SUP racing, has already made an impact outside Portugal, winning the first SUP Foiling National Spanish Championship as an underdog. “When I was a kid I dreamt of being a superhero and being able to fly, and it’s that feeling of flying that hooked me into foiling.

Now depending on the conditions I will prone foil, SUP foil, wingfoil, downwind foil or pump foil. Our coast has such a great potential that it enables me to be in the water every day.”

Foiling for only one year, Hugo Abreu, also from the Porto region, has made a name for himself surfing big waves in the winter either towing or paddling, but now he is showing an amazing talent for foiling and was lured by, “its versatility, speed and the fact that it allows me to ride consecutive waves and letting me decide when I want to stop.”

For photographer Tó Mané it was an eye-opening experience too, “This photoshoot for Foiling Magazine was amazing… We changed scenery between the ocean, the river and the mountain. Foiling is a sport that adapts to all conditions and that pushed my photo technique, vision and inspiration.”

With other foilers also developing their skills in all foiling disciplines and with the vast potential that Portugal has along its coastline, we can expect to hear more from the Portuguese foil contingent soon.

A B OV E A spot of scenic pumping for João...

LEFT The guys letting the riding do (most) of the talking...

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Lift Foils CEO Nick Leason offers up his take on how foiling sits in the world right now, and how it’ll develop as acceptance and uptake levels grow...

To those close to the foiling community, it may seem we’ve entered the mainstream, but I believe that the sport is just getting started.

We’re finally starting to see small groups of surfers adopt the foil for their small wave needs. In the wind sports, wing foiling is officially taking over. Kitesurfers are making a complete move, and windsurfers who haven’t contemplated rigging a sail in the last 20 years are now coming out of retirement to start winging on a foil board. In the world of electric, more and more eFoils are starting to pop up in the

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wild and as houseboat owners cruise around with multiple outdated jetskis on the aft deck, they ask themselves, “Why don’t we have one of those?”. The first person foiling was a kook, when it was two people they were weird, and now, with gangs of foilers at local breaks and WhatsApp groups excitedly messaging each other about onefoot surf, we have ourselves a movement. If you look closely at the strange trends, you can start to visualize the evolution of a new sport with multiple segments.

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I personally see two advancement trends in foiling. The first is the early advocates, the ones who have been on the edge of the sport for years, who are going to achieve levels of mastery that are simply beyond what we can even comprehend today. I see it now with riders we work with at Lift. Some are only a few years into foiling, some are still in high school, but they’re doing flips and tackling waves that seemed insurmountable to pioneers just a year ago. I firmly believe these riders are going to be flying out of barrels, riding huge waves at incredible speeds, and doing acrobatics similar to what we see in the world of snowboarding. Have a look at what people achieve behind a boat on an Air Chair and then combine that with fearless young surfers on large waves, light equipment, and foot straps. These young guns may even adopt an eFoil as the tool needed to get them launched into such surf…

The second is that we’re going to see the infrastructure building quickly for further mainstream adoption, education, and enablement of new riders in all types of foiling. This is going to mean more brands jumping into the sport, more schools and lesson opportunities, and an increased desire from people of all skill levels to try foiling. The multiple branches of foiling – surf, SUP, wake, kite, wingdings, eFoils – is what will create so much attention and what will offer an avenue for everyone. We’ve signed up literally hundreds of schools and rental areas to represent and showcase Lift eFoils in the last two years alone, and that speaks to the excitement that’s going to continue across all areas of the sport.

Foil designs and equipment will continue to evolve. Wing designs will start to be refined for more specific applications. Just as you have

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different surfboards for different kinds of surfing, the same is true of hydrofoil designs. I think the most exciting will be the adoption of smaller wings as foilers discover an incredible amount of speed and maneuverability in more powerful surf. Glider wings will allow for endless riding of small waves and the ability to tap into open ocean swells and chop. It will no longer be people riding at specific breaks but instead riding their entire coastline…

Winging will allow for a new wave of excitement in the world of sailing as new people take an interest once again in the ancient art of riding the wind. What’s most exciting is that “non-surfers” will learn to wing foil and surf open ocean swells in a matter of a few lessons – something that traditional surfers have never dreamed of. Skilled sailers will create rigid wings (true foils) that allow them to reach new speeds and a whole new category of racing. The world of electric foiling is endless and new crafts will appear that will excite just about everyone. The combination of tech and tradition will soon meld into new levels of the sport. Just wait and see what we have in store for you.

At the end of the day, it’s no longer a question of whether or not foiling will become a mainstream sport; we’re past that phase. It’s a question of how far we can take it. I have so many ideas flowing that as soon as I finish one new design, I’m seeing three more in front of it. The potential is crazy, and as the community continues to expand, everyone will contribute more and more to the development of the sport. That’s the most exciting part of it all: community, and finding new levels of stoke with your peers and sharing new ideas that shape the next level of surfing for everyone.

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