View Single Post
  #1  
Old 08-18-2018, 03:11 PM
tanre tanre is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 39
Default Any ideas of how to fall safely off hydrofoil?

This year picked up hydrofoiling with a kite and have scoured every video imaginable. There is not one tutorial about how to safely get away from your foil when crashing. Recently, cut myself; that with 2 people I know of getting stitches and an eye injury made my think, there has to be more info out thereā€¦so, am requesting the collective experience an knowledge of this group to hopefully prevent some injuries.

Here is what I have found thus far. There is one roughly 30 minute video on hydro foiling SUPs in Hawaii. These guys had a bunch of good info on body stance. The takeaway was that one should not have a twin tip stance, but angle your front foot and place it off center it along with squaring your shoulders.

While riding I have done this, but also find that a twin tip stance seems to be quite comfortable especially when in shallow water and launching initially trying to angle the mast a bit to avoid running aground. Additionally when I shift my front foot while in the angled stance I seem to lose balance a bit more easily.

Most people say try to get away from the foil when crashing. I have tried by jumping off the board, but quickly became afraid that the added foot pressure on the board would send the foil going quickly in the direction it is on its way to crash.

I have falling forward over the front end and had the board catch up to me and hit me.

I have fallen forward over the right rail and had the wing cut me.

I have fallen backwards over left rail and luckily, not hit.

Can anyone help me and hopefully the rest of us with some good advice/pointers?

What do we do with our foot pressure? Do we bail each time it feels a tiny bit sketchy? Do we tuck and roll?, do we deliberately add foot pressure with some better understanding of how the foil will react? Do we try to add toe or heel pressure to slow the roll rate if we go over each rail? Do we try to redirect the foil while falling? Is the angled (squared shoulder) stance better than the twin tip stance?

Thanks all
Reply With Quote