Hydrofoil board leash

[Regis-de-giens]

From my experience in maginal wind relaunch, I can relaunch it with lower wind when swimming back punctually rather than sitting on the sinked foil. Maybe it is due to my light weight and I can't sink the foil deep enough but it happens sometimes that the little downwind drag when sitting on the foil was killing the relaunch. While free of hydrofoil I can swim backward with punctual hard energy to start getting it out of the water.

An second point when you have 4-5 knots average and punctual 7 knots gust : you can relaunch the kite in gusts but you cannot bodydrag downwind in 4-5 knot toward the hydrofoil. Indeed the hydrofoil goes downwind at about 2 knots while your kite cannot hang in the air (even with loops) in 4-2=2 knots related wind. So the hf drifts faster than you, whatever your bodydrag technics. My feeling at least. Hence the leash.

[TomW]

Regis, is the leash attached to the front of your board or the tail?

Honestly, many years ago I used a reel leash on my TT in waves. Then I got that leash wrapped around my legs in 3m surf. Never again. It was stupid idea.
Then last season I went out on strapless surfboard at a spot where losing your board meant it was going onto the boulders, and you weren't going to get back to the launch site. So a local convinced me to use a leash, and even with helmet it was scary when I fell.
And in Cabarete there were several old dudes using them, to my surprise, and they were a danger to themselves in and out of the water. Guess that's why that place is called Bozo Beach.
( note: i am old dude)

So going to reel leash, no thanks.

[Foil]

I use a reel type leash attached to the rear of my harness and fixed over to my right side, clam style clips at the boards rear attachment and one at the leash attachment point, this allows easy clip off or on at either end, using this device removes any concerns about loosing my board, and after a wipe out I never have to spend any energy or time looking for it as it slowly returns, and even in the most severe wipe out or superman wipe out will the board twang back, it simply can not do this with the slow return reel leash which extends to around 4 meters.
The benefits far outweigh the perceived "dangers", but setting one up on your harness needs a bit of know how to stop it becoming a pain.
I know the guy who dropped his kite at Flag beach a few back wishes he was wearing one,he failed to relaunch his kite as the waves rolled it over and the same waves pushed his foil away from his reach, the rescue boat was launched as it was clear his kite would not relaunch, he was ok and so was his kite, but his foil board was washed up on the reef,
He was stung for the 100euro rescue and worse still the damage to his foil was upsetting, I had a chat with him after he calmed down and he looked at my leash which he declared a good idea and he revealed he did have a small leash attached to his harness but did not react quickly enough to clip his board on and it was washed away.
At my home location I sail in the same area as flag58 and confirm the currents are insane.
I was out today again at flag beach with cross off winds, gusty gusty, but with my rescue boat fee paid and a wife with a great pair of Binoculars, 5 of us foil boarders could not resist the flat water with 5-6ft waves, many not breaking, I dropped my kite a few times in the lulls which were hard to see but other kites down in that area were the clue.I was thinking about the tips about sitting on the board, but the thought of having the foil near me as I was reaching for the correct lines to turn the kite on its side in next to no wind was a no thank you, I needed all the room around me to tease the kite from the water and then grab a handful of centre line to tug the kite free off the water, and later on I tried to sit on the board to see how stable it might be, but the board had too much volume and sat too high in the water tipping me off, it amazes me just how good today's kites relaunch in next to no wind, yes it takes practice, and foil board users must be the most skilled at this, as we do get more practice than anyone else.

[Peter_Frank]

I honestly dont understand this

I have been "sitting" on my thin 118 board and others just as small that "sink", and on my medium as well as huge volume big board, NO issues whatsoever and huge benefits in terms of launching (and being much safer) in light wind.
If you can not relaunch, you can redirect the mast so you get ashore where you want to - and you have a good overview no matter how small the board is, as you ARE up a bit higher even on the tinyest small board.
Also, when water is cold, you can keep your head and hands warmer, being higher - if you have to drift all the way to shore.

Find it really odd that some of you can not sit on your board, no matter what size it is ???

When you sit on the board, you can either stall the rear end down, or turn the board to the side and maybe even tilt it a bit - so in both cases it acts like a really good anchor, to give you even better relaunch options.
Besides lots of time, because it is so comfortable - I would never want to be IN the water for long, at least not in deep water if only boardshorts

PF

[Eduardo]

great ideas here. I haven't tried the 'sit on board' technique. Great idea if the board is close after the crash. next time. I am new to foiling. In one of my first sessions, the board got away from me and went fast down wind straight into the kite and lines. End of session. In another early session, relaunch took a long time due to being underpowered and the board had gone a long long way. Probably took 30 minutes to get it. Since then, I use a 6' surf leash attached to the back like a surf board. There is no leash hook like most surf boards have so I just put it on the back half strap (like TomW's half strap). I imagine this is only helpful for beginners or in places with very strong currents or bad consequences of losing the board. I'm usually strapless without foil and only rarely use a leash. I once saw a guy have a bad accident with a reel leash so wouldn't do that either.

[bragnouff]

I think it's great to have a plug at the nose for rescue. I had started a post a while ago about how to retrieve someone else's foil board and having a tow point definitely would have helped in that context. In fact, not that long ago, at least in France, all windsurf boards (and more generally watercrafts) were required to have a tow point for rescue. I imagine that this line gets somewhat blurred with surfboards, and low volume boards that can easily be embarked on the rescuing boat, but still...

I've had times where I attached my foil to a buoy upwind in deep water, while I was coming in to swap kites. And while this can be done somehow with wrapping something around the mast or footstraps (if any), it's always easier if there's something built in.

[cglazier]

you should always sit on your hydrofoil in ultra light wind during a relaunch. it is the only way to push back against the kite enough..

Another technique that works well especially for boards that are too small to sit on is simply place your feet on top of the fuselage under water on either side of the mast. You can then angle whole foil enough to resist the pull of the kite. The board is in front of you and you can easily see over it as you control your lines.

Try it.. it works very well.

CG

[Peter_Frank]

Snip...
I've had times where I attached my foil to a buoy upwind in deep water, while I was coming in to swap kites. And while this can be done somehow with wrapping something around the mast or footstraps (if any), it's always easier if there's something built in.

Just curious now, WHY ?

Isnt it faster to get back out having a foil (maybe on its side if "things" on the bottom) while dragging out, instead of having to body drag out to your board ?
Dumping waves maybe in lower water ?
If the wind was from the side, then it would be easier indeed.
But you wrote "upwind", so assume wind was onshore.

Or maybe just for the fun of doing it

PF

[nothing2seehere]

Sorry to bring the thread back on track - but isn't the leash on the front of the board to connect to your kite whilst on the beach to stop it blowing away?

You need something to weigh the kite down whilst you get ready to launch. Most would use an upside down twin tip but the sharp edges of the foil (especially when removed by an inexperienced hydrofoiler) would have a risk of pinholes and small tears in the kite. Lots of folk round here use a weighted bag of stones (stony beaches) attached to the pump leash point of the kite, rather than put anything on the canopy/leading edge. 5kg of foil and board should be plenty in light wind conditions to stop the kite moving - my twin tip is half that weight and that keeps the kite secure in 30knots?

[slowboat]

you should always sit on your hydrofoil in ultra light wind during a relaunch. it is the only way to push back against the kite enough..

Another technique that works well especially for boards that are too small to sit on is simply place your feet on top of the fuselage under water on either side of the mast. You can then angle whole foil enough to resist the pull of the kite. The board is in front of you and you can easily see over it as you control your lines.

Try it.. it works very well.

CG

Nice. Will try this.