Get over a wave in flight

Knowing how to get over the foam or a wave in flight can be very useful in certain situations. Indeed, if you find yourself in front of a 1,5 m wave, you will have to face it. That’s why we’re going to see how to deal with this kind of situation in this how to.

Wing foiler : Bastien, GONG team rider, with HIPE Freefly, Plus wing, HM85 mast, Ypra Surf-Freestyle front wing and Freestyle stab.

First, we’ll talk about technique.

This technique consists in lightening up the foil to let it follow the curve of the wave. So, once you arrive at the “obstacle”, you have to make the foil go up by lightening yourself up so that it follows the slope of the wave. As soon as you are at the top of the wave, you will group your weight together to stop the foil rising and then push on your legs to bring it back down. If you don’t manage the timing of the foil’s descent well, it will go through the wave and you will stall and lose the flight. The ideal is to keep your upper body at the same level and manage the action mainly with your legs. This way the weighting and lightening will happen automatically and you won’t lose your balance.

The mistake not to make

The mistake not to make, if you find yourself facing a huge wave or foam, is to panic and stop. I guarantee you that if you do that, you will really get smashed. So instead, get as much speed as possible and apply the technique. In the worst case, you will fall behind the wave. But be careful, if you pass through a big wave, there is a good chance that there will be another one right behind it. So, try to make sure you get through the wave in any case. Also, be careful when passing through the foam. Try to fly as low as possible to avoid the turbulance.

Now you know how to deal with a wave without getting swept away 😉