Master a stall

Knowing how to master a stall can save you from a lot of falls. Whether on landing a jump or in normal navigation, a stall can happen at any time. Let’s see how to avoid a wipe-out when stalling.

 

Wing foiler : Clément, team rider GONG, en Neutra UPE Aramid X, Stunt FSP Pro, mât HM85, Ypra Surf-Freestyle et stab Freestyle.

 

"Let’s imagine that you are having a session. Everything is going for the best. Suddenly you feel that the foil is going up and that you won’t be able to lower it. At that point, be ready to stall.

As soon as the foil comes out of the water, it will automatically dive down. So you have to bring it back up by putting weight on the rear end. The best way to shift your weight is to move your pelvis. Just bending forward or back won’t be enough to counterbalance the dive. Since you put all of your weight on the back, the foil will come up almost as hard as it came down. You should therefore immediately shift your weight (along with the pelvis) to the front of the board. If you have managed the front / rear timing well, your foil should stabilize and you will just have to pick up your speed to regain full control. Note that when you have a very fine feeling of stalling, it is often sufficient to simply push on the foil to get it out of its cavitation. This kind of bubble around the profile doesn’t fade straight away. It takes some time to recover a clean and healthy grip of your foil. By throwing your pelvis forward, which also pulls your legs forward, you snap that bubble out and generate artificial speed. Pro only 😉 but essential for surfing and DW. There you have it, you know how to deal with an unexpected stall; now it’s just a matter of quick reflex…"

Malo Guénolé