On day I added up the parts cost of one of the carbon fiber camera mounts I was making, the total was almost $200. I saw the bamboo poles that were sitting unused in my garage and remembered I only paid a few bucks each for them. So I spent the next hour hacking together a bamboo mount, tried it in the surf the next day, and it was a total and instant failure. I gave up on bamboo for a while.
Then over the course of a few months I tried…
A few weeks ago we had an epic super fun mass downwind surf outing – Glidezilla.
So fun to get together with this many surfers and water folks. Often I go alone or with a one or two people, so going with over 25 paddlers was a first for me. Awesome to have the social gathering before and after at the BBQ. I hope this becomes a regular event.
I enjoyed Glidezilla so much I felt inspired to make a how to downwind video. Seeing so many wonderful SUP surfers all around me I was able to confirm what works and what skills are needed…
The past week I tried downwind foiling in the San Francisco Bay with wind in the teens. Not enough wind for me to get the foil to lift. Yet I had the thought that if only I had just a little boost, enough to get the foil to lift and then with less drag I could ride those little bumps.
I got off my board and tried pushing the board into the little waves with my hand and after about 5 feet the foil was flying! It took very little energy to lift. I was like wow there has to be some simple way to get a little extra juice and launch us into these waves?!?
One fine day the best SUP surfers in the world came to Ocean Beach in San Francisco. When the pros come to town I do my best to go out and watch and learn I can from them. Seeing them on TV or at a break I am unfamiliar with is one thing. Then seeing them doing things I have never seen anyone do at one of my favorite beaches is mind expanding and inspiring…
I have found that folks who are willing to try new types of surfing are very welcoming and I enjoy being with them. Foil surfing has demonstrated to me again that those who see value in the weird or different seem to see value and good in everyone. For me Sitting in a crowded lineup feels similar to being in a office for 12 hours a day, I feel trapped and want to burst out running into the forest. With SUP and foil people, doing our own thing and welcoming everyone to join us, I feel welcome and at home.
On my twelfth day of learning to foil surf it all came together. I caught a wave, lifted up on the foil and flew down the line, opened my eyes to a new world of flying…
Seeing this video has me super stoked to keep practicing and learn how to foil SUP surf. Fortunately we had already booked a foil practice session on the Barbary Ghost.
Such a good time, I am really enjoying community on a boat. After Saturday’s outing I am asking how can we get together like this everyday and have the good vibes continue all day and into the night? After these group surf sessions I find myself reluctant to go surfing alone. I suspect this is what a day is like for hunter gatherers or ancient Polynesians…
The past few weeks I have been obsessed with the foil! So unique, so different, and the potential of opening up a whole new era of surf possibilities is blowing my mind.
Monterrey bay has a lot of kelp beds and I was concerned there was nowhere I could foil without getting it all tangled up in kelp. So this was a test to see if this surf spot was free of kelp and deep enough so the Gofoil wouldn’t hit the bottom…
Practice – another step forward in learning to fly a SUP Go Foil by being towed behind a boat, the Barbary Ghost.
It’s been a while since I have been pulled behind a boat, I forgot how much fun the group camaraderie is.
One of the reasons I am documenting my learn to foil experience is to give a realistic account of progressing. The pros make it look so easy, as do the experienced kite foilers. Seeing some of the video of myself I feel a bit embarrassed, it is humbling to be a beginner again and struggle to grasp the basics. At the same time I remember how hard it was to learn to downwind SUP surf, SUP surfing before that, and prone surfing way before that…
Once upon a time surfing was a group activity where everyone knew each other, everyone was welcome, and every wave was a party wave. After surfing there was a beach fire party and a seafood feast with live music and dancing. Today it is likely that complete strangers sit next to each other and the only words spoken are to tell each other to get off their wave. Also beach fires are often illegal or limited, the fish are often polluted, and few people know how to play music and forgot how to dance.
Foil surfing can change this by allowing us to ride the swells in oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, and more…
One dark cold early morning my cousin took me to surf Fort Point. First time I had been and it was bigger than I was comfortable with, I was feeling scared and anxious. My cousin jumped off the rocks and breezed out like it was effortless. I watched for a bit and then scrambled down the rocks slipping and banging my knee on a sharp rock, I sort of crawled into the water and then flailingly paddled as hard as I could to get outside before I got smashed by a set.
I made it out and then watched in a panic at how close the take off spot was from the huge sharp rocks…
