Analysis of a Take-off

This is a slow-motion video of a takeoff. I hope this will help some people to learn a little faster or even improve their technique. I am not the best, but my mistakes make me an expert in mistakes.

There are three main areas of a takeoff that need to be addressed.

Wave judgment

This may seem simple. I thought it was until I first went out and was annihilated by some one-foot beach break waves. My 40 years of wave experience needed to be adjusted.

Waves should be breaking gently and if possible, you need to find a break where the wave will back off just after it breaks. Pitching hollow waves from one foot to whatever are the equivalent of juggling machetes in foil surfing terms. It is not going to end well. Waves where you would longboard are typically good but then are also good for longboarders and the crowd factor can be a negative. One technique is to sit inside of a break about 50 feet and let the wave break and the old school surfers take the wave to the side and then get into the wave in the whitewash as the wave backs off. The reform is where you will have the most fun and that does not even need to break. River mouths are good for this if they allow the wave to back off. Reef breaks are another great type of spot to have this type of wave.

You do not need to be on the proper area of the wave at takeoff. What I mean by this is that normally with surfing you want the peak or the interface of the pitching part of the wave to the foam to get into a wave surfing so you can ride the face. In foiling you can just be in the middle of the whitewash and then make it out to the face of the wave easily. This allows one to not have to sit where surfers are and therefore not have to compete.

Initial Paddle in

It is not rocket science, just paddle really hard. You need to put a lot of effort into getting your little board into a wave. I ride a 4-foot board and there is not a lot of paddle assist there. I find that when I put a lot of effort into my paddling I get in much better. This allows a quicker entry and usually an easier transition on the drop into the wave.

Late Paddle in

Ok when do you stop paddling? This is a critical time in the takeoff process. There are three things to consider. The board, the foil and the steepness of the wave. Now two of these are set. The size of your board and foil. You must keep in mind that the foil is contributing to the take off. If you ride a bigger foil it will allow you to get on plane or foil faster. I stop paddling when the effort of my paddling is matched by the speed of the board. The force needed to paddle is diminished and this is another clue to stop paddling. Now as a beginner this is the time that you will feel your board start to buck up. This moment is that critical time where foiling muscle memory is different then regular surfing. When you start to stop paddling you will need to put a lot of pressure on the front of the board. I do this by pressure on my chest and keeping myself further forward on the board. My takeoff position is much further forward and if I where just paddling the nose of my board would be underwater. The second thing I do is as soon as I stop paddling I put my hands in a more forward position to keep pressure on the front of the board. This will help in transitioning into the next phase.

Stand Up

This is where foiling differs from traditional surfing. Forward pressure! If you watch the video closely you will see that my hands are applying pressure to the front of the board just as I start to stand up. I keep this pressure on the front of the board as I crouch and slide my front foot towards the front of the board. I do not let go of the board until my front foot is in place to continue to apply pressure to the front of the board. This allows me to maintain control of the lift of the foil as I stand up. This forward pressure is counter intuitive to every traditional surfer. I have rarely pearled from applying too much pressure to the front. Forward pressure is the key to a proper take off. Never lean back! This will result in you being bucked off the board.

Standing

So you are up, what do you do now? You lean forward! I would say that when I first started foiling, I would have 80% pressure on my front foot and about 20% on my back foot. I think if you keep this ratio in mind it will help you put pressure where it should be. This will change over time and right now I would say my ratio is 60% to 40% front to back pressure. This is from a multitude of factors. I have a board that fits me better. I keep pressure where it needs to be earlier and more consistently during my take-offs. I have better foil wave judgement. I use the appropriate wing size for the waves I am riding. Beginners should just stick to the 80-20 rule and they will do fine. A great rule of thumb is that if you think you are putting too much pressure on your front foot it is probably not enough.

What you can see initially is that I paddle rather hard to get going on the wave. There is a point at which my effort to paddle is being matched by the speed of my board. You can feel the amount of force needed to paddle diminish. It is at this point that I start to get up. What you see is that as the board starts to drop down the face of the wave I counter it with pushing myself up. This makes the push up to stand easier. My push up motion is slightly forward and down. This keeps the pressure on the front of the board and prevents the wing from lifting. When I start to get up, I slide my front foot forward underneath me to place on the board. Right as I am bringing my feet under me you can see that I actually push down on the front of the board with my hands. This is more of a push forward and down at the same time type of motion rather than just pushing straight down. This keeps my board going down and counters the lift of the wing. When my feet are under me, I lean forward as I stand up. This is the critical difference between regular surfing and foiling. If you stay neutral or lean backwards the foil will lift immediately and cause you to pitch up. Beginner foilers make the mistake of thinking they can lean too far forward. This is exceedingly difficult to do during a foiling takeoff. The worst that would happen is that you surf that board on the water just like old school surfing. I hope this helps.