I'm trying to get better at riding bumps, and there are so many progression steps I could work on - choosing the right foil, figuring out which skills to focus on first, etc. Conditions don't line up often enough for me to test everything, so I'd love to hear some advice from those who've been through this part of the journey.
I'm an intermediate wing foiler - can jibe,and switch feet comfortably, can make most of my tacks. I'm about 82?kg dry. I can flag out and catch a bump for a few seconds, but I haven't been able to link them yet. I'm not chasing aggressive turns right now, just hoping to ride short-period bay swell for around a minute.
Foil choice - I've got three Duotone "glidy" foils (aspect ratios around 9.5): 1305?cm?, 905?cm?, and 750?cm?. Which one would be best for learning to ride short-period bay bumps?
Pumping - How crucial is good pumping technique? I've been practicing with the 1305?cm? foil while flagged out on flat water, but I'm pretty hopeless at it so far. Should this be a top priority before I focus more on bump-riding?
Board setup - Does board size or shape matter much for early bump-riding? I'm currently on an 80?L mid-length (6'0").
Any other tips for figuring out this stage would be awesome!
Yeww... let the fun begin! Your gear is absolutely fine for the conditions you are describing. Start with the 1305 until you're getting consistent glide and then drop down to the 905. The 750 will be down the track or for larger days.
There are a few mis-steps that most people make when starting to downwind with the wing...Which I present to you as Jack's 4 Rules for DW Foiling:
1. PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
2. KNOW WHEN TO LEAVE THE PARTY
3. RIDE OR DIE
4. LESS PUMP MORE BUMP
To elaborate:
1. Foot positioning. Generally, your foot will be a bit too far back when you wing compared with where you want it for glide. This may present as dropping off the back of waves and your nose goes vertical if you don't use the wing to recover. Try bringing your foot forward a bit as you drop onto the wave and play with that. Watch videos of downwind foilers using the same gear as you and see where their feet are placed. This is probably the biggest thing towards effective glide on a wave. A corollary to that is weight distribution - you may tend to weight back foot more from the freestyle winging and will need to adjust to a more central stance. If you are using straps you will need to get used to bringing a foot out and being able to slide it forward of the strap.
2. Overtaking the swell. Once you get on a wave, your next wave is behind you. There will be a tendency when you start this process of overtaking the bump and using the wing to recover and chase the wave in front, particularly on higher aspect foils. Practice getting on a wave, and *as soon as you get speed on the wave*, angle off and glide at about 45 degrees off the face so that you end up in the trough of the wave behind you. Then angle back on to this new wave. Rinse and repeat. At this beginner stage, as soon as you start having fun on the wave, its time to leave the party.
3. Don't use the wing to recover! Focus on riding the wave, finding the next wave, and trying to connect. Don't give up on this until you fall in the water. This will hold you in good stead for proper long rides and if you go to para/sup/prone it will help a lot. Ride or Die!
4. Don't focus on pumping. Otherwise it will become a crutch for not properly riding and connecting bumps- if you have to pump in downwind riding that represents a failure of either planning or imagination. Focus on getting glide on a wave and know when to pull off and find the next one. Try and put as many of these together as you can. At the point where you are no longer on a wave and you can feel that you are slowing, you can try a few pumps and over time you'll get a feel for how much and when to pump, but don't make it a priority or a focus.
Once you spend time on it, it won't take long. It will become obvious when to step down foil size - you will either be getting bored on it because your runs are indefinite and the turning is more limited, or you will be overfoiled in bigger conditions and you'll be terrified and out of control on the faces. On the 905 you'll then drop back a little in your runs while you get the hang of connecting bumps on a smaller foil, but you'll start to open up the magic of responsive carving on a wave.
Enjoy the journey!
Very good advice above. The one thing that I'll add is that you need to figure out where the power in the wave is, and how to stay on that power. The #1 mistake that people make when they start to ride bumps is that they ride them straight, which means you are outrunning the power. Power is positive in the peak and face of the wave, neutral in the trough and negative on the back of the wave. particularly on smaller slower waves, If you ride straight, you get out of the power, into the neutral zone, and then into the negative zone. You need to stay in the power by either setting your angle to stay on top of the wave, or turn to stay in the power zone (more advanced). That angle just depends on how fast the wave is moving vs your glide speed.
Figure out how to manage the wing. To start, set your angle so that the wing is luffing behind you. That will mean turning into the apparent wing, which will slow you down, but it makes it a lot easier to see whats going on. Running downwind with the wave will cause you to run into the wing, which gets a little more advanced to manage.
Keep your head on a swivel. Scan the water looking for waves/power. Short period bay swell like you mention, makes this even more important since the bump you are on may be a trough 10 seconds later. Look forward/back/side for new peaks developing.
Practice riding high on the mast. Lower drag, more efficient, requires less wave power.
I agree with the above that pumping will promote bad habits, but you are going to need to pump in those kinds of conditions. When the conditions aren't conducive to practicing wave riding, practice pumping a bit. The best way to practice pumping is with a drop anchor so you can get rid of the wing. Pumping also ties into the power zones I mentioned above. You will find you will get much more effective pumps in power zones, than in dead zones. Eventually you will figure out where to pump to maximize the efficiency and minimize the pumps/effort.
Great question & answers. I'm at the same stage as the OP. While winging I'm scanning the water looking for "the mother" bump amongst the smaller ones that's rearing up with a nice small but steep wall. I then flag out & ride that overtaking the smaller bumps ahead. I eventually run out of steam & grab the wing again. Now I know this is wrong but can't stop doing it. It feels like I'm a pro for those 20 seconds or so. I don't want to leave the party - I'm having too much fun, you'll have to drag me out!
I've tried peeling off sideways but don't have much luck finding another bump with as much energy as the initial bump. Do I need a bump as big as the initial one once flagged out to continue or should I concentrate on just staying sideways riding along the tops of small bumps while trying to stay high on the mast? At my stage I'm not sure if it's conditions or inexperience.
I've got a great foil (code 1130s) for riding bumps.
Select to expand quoteMicrosurfer said..
Great question & answers. I'm at the same stage as the OP. While winging I'm scanning the water looking for "the mother" bump amongst the smaller ones that's rearing up with a nice small but steep wall. I then flag out & ride that overtaking the smaller bumps ahead. I eventually run out of steam & grab the wing again. Now I know this is wrong but can't stop doing it. It feels like I'm a pro for those 20 seconds or so. I don't want to leave the party - I'm having too much fun, you'll have to drag me out!
I've tried peeling off sideways but don't have much luck finding another bump with as much energy as the initial bump. Do I need a bump as big as the initial one once flagged out to continue or should I concentrate on just staying sideways riding along the tops of small bumps while trying to stay high on the mast? At my stage I'm not sure if it's conditions or inexperience.
I've got a great foil (code 1130s) for riding bumps.
The latter. Don't need to look for the biggest bumps. Come off the initial bump with speed (which usually means early), high on the mast, to maximize glide and allow you the most time and flexibility to find that next pocket of power. You aren't always going to be on the biggest bumps, you are just connecting pockets of power - if you get a big one, great, but they arent always there. Unlike your initial flag where you can go for the biggest drop - once you peel off, youve got to take what youre handed.
Great topic and really insightful answers. I'm in exactly the same boat. I have a parawing that I've hardly used as I'm trying to lengthen my bump rides beyond my current maximum 20 -30sec rides. I'm definitely too forward focussed at the moment. Looking forward to implementing what I've read above.
Thanks for all the advice - cannot wait to put it to practice!
I was originally thinking about using the 905 cm2 foil to learn. It felt that this foil would get more speed and make it easier to overtake smaller bumps leading to longer glides. I understand that's not the right approach and I should stick to the bigger foil before downsizing.
CH3MTR4IL5 (Jack?), your rules are brilliant! I am dreading the RIDE OR DIE as it means I will be in the water more than when I was learning foiling :). Next time I have good conditions I will commit to following the rule for at least 10 falls.
Select to expand quotewingfoilernoob said..
CH3MTR4IL5 (Jack?), your rules are brilliant! I am dreading the RIDE OR DIE as it means I will be in the water more than when I was learning foiling :). Next time I have good conditions I will commit to following the rule for at least 10 falls.
For me the best thing I did when first trying is ride till I die. I've found Foiling is a process of getting over baulking. My biggest progression was getting used to riding high on the mast - like really really uncomfortably high. Now my brain knows how high I can go I don't worry about it anymore.
Select to expand quoteVelocicraptor said..
connecting pockets of power
That's gonna be my mantra for the next session.
A few of my nuggets on my journey to sucking less... i'm pretty hopeless at pumping but have managed to break the 1+minute barrier ;-)
* Get higher on the mast. Even if you think you're high, you're probably not high enough. Get some video of yourself and you'll probably be shocked how close to the water you are. When you get high, you can really feel the energy more from the swell/bump.
* When you're on a bump and need some extra glide, try sucking your legs up or lowering yourself down (e.g. take weight off the board). It's a really neat feeling to accelerate as you take weight off the foil. Kind of gives you some free speed if you need to catch up to another bump. (i heard Kane DW talk about this a few years ago but it took me a while to feel this)
* Practice with all your foils and stabs you already have - each combo will give you something different to feel and learn from. Some of my most fun days were small wing and super big foil... going slow on medium sized bumps but finding it easy to stay on them.
* I was convinced i had to go higher aspect and my shop talked me out of a new foil and told me to try shimming the stab instead. That was another learning experience.
Have fun!
If possible at your locale, grab a friend (of similar ability or better) and do a drop wing/wing anchor downwinder. You don't realize how much you rely on the wing (even flagged) until it is not there. Also allows for engagement of upper body while pumping, carving, etc.
