Re-entry (frontside) surf-foiling

The wave is closing out but you want more? The re-entry is the move to extend your flight on a wave dying in a final surge of energy!

Whether it is a re-entry with a classic surfboard or with a foil, climbing up to foam of a wave means crossing a zone of turbulence which puts your balance at risk. To get through this zone of turbulence unscathed, you need speed, perfect body position and a leading gaze.

A gaze that dictates the movements

It is the gaze that initiates all the movements, upwards to climb up the wave at first then in the descent, the gaze reorients the upper body. It is at the top of the maneuver that this reorientation is essential because at this stage, the stalling of the foil in the foam is an almost certainty, if not completely at least in spurts. The question is therefore not how to avoid stalling but how to hook back.

Capitalizing on speed

To avoid a sudden stall, it is essential to capitalize on the speed generated on the bottom turn to maintain as much lift as possible through the turbulence of the whitewater. Try to find yourself centered above your board when the foil sinks under your feet. This is achieved by the speed that propels you through the section. Take as little support as possible on the foil to avoid feeling the disturbances of the wave. By bending your legs to lighten yourself as much as possible.

Coping with the way down

In the descent your speed still makes you move forward but the foil isn’t doing much of a job anymore. This is only temporary because your foil will quickly make you take off again by regaining energy under the turbulence of the wave. On a foil, we can almost consider the re-entry as an air, as the foil loses contact with the lift of the water. The main thing is to be well centered above the board when landing.