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So,

Summer is here for the N-Hemi, which in the UK means it goes flat, in Hawaii and Southern France it gets windy.

Downwind is pretty firmly on foil people’s minds. Each and every foil brand has released some kind of downwind or downwind-style board, most of the foil companies are working on related gear. If 2023 was the year of the downwind race, 2024 might be shaping up to be the year of the downwind saturation?

What matters though, is that people are frothing to get out there and figure things out. Have a look at the list of races for 2024 (some complete, some unconfirmed).

Racing does seem to mostly end up being held as no-wind pump races. The M2O deep water channel crossing being the exception, and rare to have that much in between.

Even more interesting than racing is seeing downwind popping up in increasingly unexpected spots. Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, Idaho! Any one of these places could turn into some new centre of gravity for the progression. Or at least show you the extreme reach.

I’m excited to see where things go, but in the meantime it is summer, for me this means light winds, long days and occasionally small clean bumps.

Matt

People downwinding

Kai Lenny hits 30mph, which is pretty amazingly fast. Kai is by far the most famous person to be actively interested in downwind. I wonder what his sponsors think of this strange side hobby.

Speaking of pro surfers. This is a great clip of Ezekiel Lau paddling prone. The first few tries he paddles super hard, but doesn’t get going. On the bump that he gets up on, he barely paddles, and even better, he hardly pumps at all. Clearly deciding when to go is more important than how hard you go.

Upwind in a train, downwind in the sea, best kinda foiling! I think that there will be some natural pull towards destinations with hassle free logistics. I’ve got a list going here.

Huge send in NorCal.

Huge send in SoCal

This clip from Jack Ho is epic (skip to 4min for the run). Catching chip-ins on the prone board is the best, pity it is so hard to find good setups. Small boards and no-falls is super fun.

Huge send in France (though there is a lot of boat logistics going on here😅)

Another one from France - flatwater pumping out into the zone. My money is on someone that speaks fluent French taking a few wins this year in Hawaii.

New time on foil record 👏 According to Matt Costa it is easier to do this in Hawaii (3hrs on foil that is). There is a long discussion around how different water temperature and salinity affect the lift of a foil (viscosity is the thing, not density, fyi)

Gear

Kalama and KT have released new boards, which look epic. Add these to the Armstrong DWP and you have some very high performance boards for big ocean conditions.

• Kalama 8'12 x 16 - 102L 

• KT 8'0 x 19 - 105 L

• Armstrong 8'11 x 17 1/4” - 108L

In the more mainstream mid market, both Duotone and North have launched DW products - this is significant because both of these are big players with deep pockets and investors to please, and they generally follow the crowd, or indicate that there is a large market (they aren’t here to play games so to speak). It might just be that there is sufficient demand from the wingers.

Still not sure about an inflatable downwind board… but I’m sure it works for some. Takoon released one too (incredibly cheap $650?), alongside Gong. Starboard has a version which bolts through the deck, which honestly seems like a reasonable idea.

On the efoil front, I’m sure most people are probably bored of hearing about foil drive, related etiquette issues (which I think is very important), and the predictable banning.

On a more interesting front, I present my solution, which I don’t think would be classed as a PWC? Basically a winch that gets you on foil beyond the backline and then you pump in to catch a wave.

A PWC is described as this in Santa Cruz (where efoiling has been banned, among most places)

MPWC is any vessel less than 20 feet in length designed to be operated by standing, sitting, or kneeling on, astride, or behind the vessel and is propelled by machinery, a water pump or drive. MPWCs can include Jet Skis®, wet bikes, surf jets, eFoils, air boats, and hovercrafts.

On the whole I endorse efoil for learning to downwind but I think it’s pretty lame to use in the surf where you could otherwise foil, or even worse, could just surf.

racing

An outlaw style race happened in California this weekend which seemed to have good conditions. I like the idea of social gatherings with a competitive element 😉. Maybe it was my time downhill skating back in the day, but a good meetup + unsanctioned bragging rights at the end is pretty fun.

Doing unofficial racing is mostly illegal, and becomes more illegal as it gets better attended, publicised and formalised (there is real personal liability attached to doing this). I think the way to run these would be to keep them invite only, informal and offline. #sponsorfreesince2023

@oahufoil has been doing a few of these “get togethers”.

At a more organised level, the “DW Triple Crown” of races is happening in July. James Casey says pretty much all there is to be said at this point about this in the video below, but essentially they’ve put all the Hawaii races back to back, and crowning a winner of the 3 as a mini series. Pretty much the crown of the Downwind world.

As a reminder, here are the points from last year (the points I awarded unofficially).

Two races in Spain recently, first the wing-foil crew added a demo race to their roster:

Then the Barcelona stop of a more formal SUP tour ran a foil race as an add-on, across two days. Interesting to see the interest from Wing and SUP, both interested in grabbing this new discipline and adding it to their roster.

In any case, Clement (mentioned as a beast above) won on a Starboard foil. Here is some more info on the foil he probably used. Here is a writeup of the race.

And here is a review of the Barcelona race from Romu, with some insights on logistics.

And another format - Sydney crew ran a “Strava style” race, where you recorded runs at a set location and the fastest submitted run won.

learning

Gwen and Damo with some humble tips, this was great:

And then a few tips across the following videos:

1. smaller tails sometimes worth a look

2. keep paddling once on foil

3. learn to brace with the sup paddle when paddling

4. learn to link without pumping

5. learn to shim your tails for optimum trim

hand kites

folding wing - Integrate a SUP paddle, make it smaller and lighter and we may be onto something.

Another sighting of the mythical kite:

Here is a video of a commercially available version, and some details on the design.

And another version:

And if one wing wasn’t irritating enough, how about two…

leftovers

“the wing is not in my way” 😅

Lol, though to be honest if the conditions are marginal I’ll do a reconnaissance with the wing

Efoilers

On the train back from London, two people were arguing over money. The argument in favour: “I spend money on what I want.” Honestly, not much to argue with there. I try and keep in mind that foiling and especially downwind is equally an adventure and a grind, and that the moment is the joy. Gaining mastery, or even competence, probably also means you’ve cleared that beginner fun zone where anything is possible, and each session could be a breakthrough. Sure, an e-foil could accelerate you through the process, but then what.

In wondering about foiling, it seems only natural to wonder about how big it could all get. I have long thought that foiling will be cyclical in its growth. I could imagine foiling crossing the gap from niche, fringe and a bit awkward into something more mainstream. What I do find interesting, and maybe telling, is that Downwind foiling is the only foiling that is interesting to anyone from a non-windsport background - surfers in particular.

It isn’t even that likely that foiling will go mainstream, but two things are essential for that case: Cool people (of which there are currently almost none, sorry fellow dad crew), and kids (of which there are even fewer). This is starting to change. With pro surfers starting to crossover, and wing kids ditching the wings to have fun and break the rules, it could get interesting.

Anyway, here is a recap of the things that you may have missed since the last foam hit. Please subscribe if you want to get this in your email 🤙

Matt

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People doing downwind

This clip got the UK downwind scene fired up. The first true offshore send (captured on drone). I was doubtful of the viability of this day, with a Big West swell, and a strong 30-40kn Northerly forecast for this stretch of coast, making for probably too technical conditions for the average punter. Needless to say, Guy Bridge raised the bar, and captured an epic clip. Epic!

I spent so much time mind-surfing the clip that I decided to draw on it. Cool to see the wind and ground swell converging.

Down in Aus - I love this clip of foiling from a sailing boat. Definitely bucket list material.

Tenerife seems to be emerging as a downwind hub for Euro-foilers, with pretty much consistent footage emerging as people head down to make the most of it. It is a famous windsurf destination, as is Maui and Cape Town - not hard to make the connection.

Please have a look at absolutely the smoothest flat water start I’ve ever seen. See the story for details on how you can glide up without breaking a sweat. I copied and summarised these tips below, thanks Dan J!

1. Paddle ups are about breaking water tension and getting air between the board and the surface of the water. That's what I was aiming to do. Get air between the board and the surface of the water.

2. Use your legs. Imagine a skateboard ollie but not as critical. LEGS!!! So important. I found the paddle should be secondary.

3. Wait for swell to give you a push and get some momentum, get the next one, HIGH CADENCE worked for me not big and powerful slow cadence. Turn left or right when the opportunity arrives. NEVER RUN UP THE ONE ONFRONT

4. When you feel you're starting to come up, Remember those legs. and pump when the foil is underwater. Even though you aren't up by pumping it's releasing the water pressure, reducing drag and helps to increase speed

5. Keep paddling after you think you're up, because your still not at speed. That's why a slightly longer paddle helps.

6. If you are up and going, find the high point on the nearest bump.

7. Once up get legs closer together. Even the slightest shuffle will do different things. Tiny movements will change verything.

8. Stay high on the mast. Less friction. Stand up tall if you can with our weight over your feet. Don't swing your body out over the edge of the board

9. Drift, don't paddle before the paddle up. Save you energy. Don't paddle downwind just feel the ocean. If you get tired sit down and watch the bumps

Excellent recap of a huge South of France send that I had missed - Julien Salles foils a 200-km SUP foil run in the Mediterranean (boat assisted, but still). I sailed from Marseille to Porquerolles once in a 20kn following wind. It was incredibly beautiful and felt very exposed. Would love to return and do this on foil one day.

Learning

An excellent video on what gear to consider. I like that Gwen says that you don’t need to worry about specific features, just focus on lots of length, big on volume and just get what is available locally.

Some great tips and insights below - especially the point that while smaller foils are much easier to ride, if you cannot get them up onto foil then they are useless, and so you need to ride much bigger foils than you would ideally like to ride. I’ve used my progression 140 in good Cape Town conditions, but on average I ride bigger foils than I would otherwise want to ride.

This clip was pretty cool - James Casey coaching in real time. Funny how something as slow as a realtime coaching session makes for pretty good viewing. Very interesting to see the small mistakes and minor corrections.

This video below explains the SUP stroke. Useful stuff. Once you’ve watched that, have a look at Glenn’s corrections for the foil, great combo to watch and then read.

Coaching

The list keeps growing!

1. Coach Casey - Aus

2. Dark Arts of Downwind - UK

3. Voyager Foiler Retreats - Hawaii

4. Surf Ears - Tenerife

5. Ocean Paddle Camp - Tarifa

6. La Ventana:

Racing

NSW Foil Club have a cool concept - Record your tracking data and the fastest times get a prize. Simple and easy 👍

Spain Wing Foil Tour is running a promo race in April. Great to see the competitive stoke spreading.

Some race recaps - Aus, Ze Race, Oahu, Florida.

The interesting thing about all of these races is that they all happened in relatively light wind for the region.

Aus: Can you pump a downwind board 10km in crossed up reverb bumps with no wind? I know I can’t!

Ouahu: “Marginal” conditions for this race… Looks epic!

Ze Race: Gwenn recaps his first big ocean race, from someone who has only done inshore downwinds, and how much of a challenge the offshore conditions were. Finishing the race seems like a challenge in itself.

Florida crew:

This first clip is not downwind, but rather the prone surf racing… which looks super sketchy, super fun and I really don’t know what to make of it!

They have a big downwind crew there too:

Gear

10’ x 23” x 5” @ 153 liters

Paddles

Interesting insight on Paddle size - after everyone went large, now it seems like the general idea is going smaller. The other reason might be strained shoulders!

Big = power, makes it easy to get a big foil going

Small = higher cadence, appropriate for a smaller foil

Boards

The emerging dynamic might be the displacement hull vs planing hull. With the Amos Bullet vs Armstrong Downwind Performance being prime examples of each. It is probably fair to call all downwind boards “semi-displacement” anyway, but there is something of a split in the design approach here. Oskar breaks it down below in the intro video to the Armstrong board. These Armstrong DW boards are the highest ratio length to width production boards on the market that I’ve seen.

In the below video, we get some insights on what the rest of the racers are riding, and some details about what works and doesn’t work for them.

• James 84kg, 105L, 7’6x17 (25%) - planing

• Oskar 73kg, 98L (old was 85L) - planing

• Zane 77kg 105L - displacement

• Josh 77kg 108L (doesn’t want to go under 105L) - displacement

Based on the chats about volume relative to weight, I came up with a guide. Let me know what you think in the comments. Follow the numbers 1-4 to find the right board for you. With the pros plotted, and Dave West who I entirely agree with - GO LONG!

Kites

Whatever happened to all the kites and parachutes? This was interesting and maybe sensible, removing the need for such a long board. Also a nice safety backup to make a better angle downwind, or even upwind? Watching Sam for some more details. In the meantime the deflate downwinder seems like a decent compromise.

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ps don’t hurt yourself for the sake of novelty likes 🫣

ps - New Barracuda dims

ps - James Casey flogging on the rocks! Unreal! Glad you’re OK James!

Racing

Ze Race in Guadeloupe just happened, some clips below and the podium. Local ripper Melvyn Mouret taking first place.

1. 🥇@melvynmouret (@armstrongfoils)

2. 🥈@simongalamez (@fonefoil)

3. 🥉@romualdmamadou (@armstrongfoils)

Amazing race with perfect conditions this year. The level in SUP Foil is constantly progressing, it's so good for this magical sport 🤩

Not really too much about what it was like. 37km in relatively light wind, 90-120min time on foil. Clip below gives an idea.

Check out the rest of the scheduled events at events.dwfoil.com, the ones below have confirmed dates.

This Sunday, 4th Feb, two races! Sydneyfoilclub:

Oahufoil is running a cool local series, I would love to see more of this!

Big sends

This is the clip I show surfers when I want to get them amped on downwind. Epic!

Andrew Redhead sends a neat 105km West Aus run. Discussed on the Foil Project podcast

Coaching / Instructional

There are now 3 coaching clinics running that I’m aware of:

If you’re in Aus or regularly visit tropical island locations, Coach Casey is your guy.

If you’re stuck on the soggy isle then UK based Dark Arts of Downwind aka How to deal with terrible UK conditions is probably your go. 6mm wetsuits with gloves etc. Delightful! (I’m doing it in a few weeks time, early Feb).

If you’re really lucky and somehow able to get to Hawaii then check Voyager Foiler Retreats (fancy! including meals etc).

Here is a clip from Coach Casey showing a good bit of progression for someone early in the journey:

Nice tutorial from Josh Ku for Unifoil. Especially useful part on reading bumps at 15:30

Something from Lift, a nice addition to the Unifoil clip above.

Electric foils

Flitelab* just released the jet foil, which I’m sure is causing a lot of recent Foil Drive buyers some desperate anxiety. Here is the first soothing balm that has been released, I’m sure lots to follow. Can you say pod dips? Anyway the comments section of Adam’s video where he explains how it works raised a fact check eyebrow, but na na no worries mate.

In all seriousness, the jet drive might be safer? Downside is that you need to buy the entire board. I present my solution:

My take is that you need to be a very proficient prone foiler for the jet to be viable.

In other battery related, an interesting video from foilonly on the upwind part of the Foil Drive:

The issue is the upwind part; it's just super hard and almost impossible to go against that strong wind. The water is choppy, and the bumps are steep, making it hard to keep the propeller underwater.

More recently the Foil Drive ambassadors seem to have been instructed to released a video demonstrating the battery life, which generally run counter to the above quote.

The last observation for e-foil is the Generic Foiling discussion where they aggressively agree that it is very easy, very fun, and completely irritating to watch in equal measure “wave-stealing bellends”. With all the good riders banging on, it does remind me that I’ve never seen someone rip on a foil drive who didn’t already rip. Old buyers, beware!

People doing downwinding

Oda, below, is a pro windsurfer who didn’t take long to crack a good few downwind runs in Brazil. Now in Cape Town. Seems the windsurf to foil pipeline is pretty strong!

Jon Mann with consistently great advice. This point below hits something I’ve discovered recently. If you’re getting up on bumps, try not pump! Aim to flow, peel 🍌, and spot the next bit of energy. Downwind is flow, not cardio 🧘‍♀️.

Unless your conditions are garbage, then you need to pump like a mad thing 🕴️

Prone downwinds are the best thing ever when they go right, but usually they go super wrong, or at least that has been my experience. Still one of the more fun ways to downwind, mixing between the swell and the bumps. This clip captures the best and the worst of it with a cool tune to go along:

Another observation from foilonly comparing DW on ocean vs lakes, with a video of the lakes.

The first main difference is the speed. Riding the lake feels like slow-motion ocean downwind. The bumps follow the same physics but it's a scaled-down version.

🏞️Lake: takeoff and go straight
🌊Ocean: takeoff and cut

Dave West sharing his video of him down at the Aus Hood river. (some more clips on the map here). Looks fun. Scouring google maps for UK equivalent as we speak (I think Jack, below might have the closest thing so far)

Jack Galloway has been documenting the Solent, an estuary on the UK’s South Coast. The Solent is interesting for a few reasons, but it is essentially an incredibly tidal, relatively sheltered, very complex bay run. I wonder about the possibility of a race there, the only shortcoming is the ferry! Map here.

Found this pic from 2018 while spending some time in Cape Town. Cool to think that they are on their 7th or 8th season on the foil downwind agenda. I’ll be sharing a guide to Cape Town next week.

Thats it for this Foam Hit!