editor’s note
The art of flight
Recently I had an epiphany… With a decent forecast of wind and waves
swinging in, I was all set for some full power windsurf action (those in
the know will be aware of my other sport dabblings). Watching the
weather buoys, whilst waiting for the tide to recede, it became clear
the wind was backing off and the sun was starting to shine. Come time
for me to bolt and breeze levels were lower than earlier but the waves
remained solid.
Upon arrival at the beach swell lines of the head high variety marched in
with a 15-knot cross shore wind puffing. Previously I wouldn’t have though
twice about grabbing my SUP surfing gear but over the last few seasons
I’ve been getting more and more into foiling. Both SUP and wind but with
wave consistency through summer not being particularly consistent round
this ‘hood, more so of the latter. Yet having a grasp of both was about to
pay dividends.
Heading out I used the little amount of blow to manoeuvre into position.
Spotting a wave with my name on I gave the sail a pump and dropped in,
instantly accelerating on foil massively. In fact, so much so I didn’t need
the sail at all.
Behind me a chunky lip pitched over as I swooped down the line, flagging
the sail and using the board/foil combo to glide (my SUP surfing/foiling
experience coming into play here), and eventually as the wave reformed,
carve a butter smooth cutback. Back up to lip, then it was turn back down
the line and do it all again! Joyous fun doesn’t even come close!
I’ll not lie: there were a few decent crashes but by and large this was one of the
best wave sessions I’d enjoyed in a long time. Encompassing all types of skill,
from surfing, SUP surfing, SUP foiling, windsurfing and windfoiling it felt
everything I spent a lifetime aiming to learn came together in that one session.
But my epiphany wasn’t so much about the session itself it was more to do
with foils. There’s simply no two ways about it: riding foils in any kind of
performance environment where wind and/or waves are being hunted, will
give you more time on the water, more fun on the water and ultimately
guarantee your sessions rather than you having to play Russian Roulette
with Mother Nature. No more will it/won’t it. If conditions are rubbish, you
still get a run out and it’ll be fun, no question! And of course, with the latest
craze of winging in the mix, there’s now another route to potentially follow.
In the past SUPM’s covered foiling to a limited extent. As of this point,
however, kit has improved dramatically and it’s now easier than ever to SUP
foil. Perhaps you’ll get involved and take on other elements of the foiling
discipline. The fact is: if you subscribe to waves and/or wind then foils in
this arena will give you SO much more than you were already getting.
For sure, racing, SUP surfing in standard mode, white water paddling,
downwind and most importantly recreational SUP all have their place and
are still important. And we’ll continue to seek out coverage of all these
aspects. But there’s no getting away from the fact that foils and foiling is
here to stay and therefore deserves more coverage.
For anyone interested in giving foiling ago but having lots of questions then
feel free to give us a shout. We’ll only be happy to help or point to a source
of reliable info. And if you’re really not fussed then enjoy your paddling as
you were. After all, SUPs still a great thing on its own.
Happy paddling/flying.
Tez Plavenieks, October 2019
[email protected]
Twitter: @tezwoz.
Instagram: @tez_plavenieks_sup_wind