strapless hydrofoiling from the beginning on a zeeko spitfire

[le grec]

I post as a new topic a testimonial from a friend who just begin foil, and strapless; interesting:
"strapless hydrofoiling from the beginning on a zeeko spitfire
roundup how i learned it basics
rider weight 85kg hight 183
riding level
experianced kiter 18 years kiting therefore 8 years strapless up to 180 days in the water every year
equipment
9m drifter 2017 zekko spitfire with the surfboard
conditions
12 to 15 knots sideshore from the left flat warm water save exit (lefkadie greece check www.kitegreece.com)
pre knowledge from friends and internet
ride every course flat on the water first before u try to lift /use a helmet / use your elbow to hold and tilt the board for starting / get your board into the starting position by digging the tail into the water / put your back foot onto the middle pad/ bodydrag by laying flat on the board / timing to get on the board and be fast on it when going strapless /pre training on a balance indo board on land for some time

1 day
all together i had 4 runns downwind abouth 2 houers of trying
first i choose to go strapless in order to keep the injurie posibilitie low
(twisted ankles and geting far from the foil when faling )
walking 300m upwind with kite in the air and foil (very exausting )
i been getting on the board with the 2th try (flat the foil didnt lift) the difficulty is to put the kite and the foil into the right position which is the kite to 1 to 2 o clock (very light wind ) and i found out the board have to point abouth downwind and have to be tilted (it helped me if i put the backfood on the back wing) , put your frontfood first ,use your knee of the backfood on the board , put your backfood onto the board while moving the kite to get on the board , if your food is to far behind u will imideatly shoot upwind , once on the board without lots of wind it feels very sketchy still this foil reacts to every weightdistribusion fast the foil seams to slow the speed a lot .
in the 4th try i did lift for some distance the speed it took on, got me of guard, its like a turbo hits
conclution i was aware that it is difficult and i will feel like a beginner again , and this is exactly the truth no mather how long you kite and experianced you are ! the most exosting was to carry the board with the kite upwind on land so i did it one by one but its still the most exosting and boring part , on the water i needed some wind of min 15 knots in order to hold my self kind of comfortable on the board (flat on the water ), when the wind picked up the hydrofoil picked up speed and lifted itself out of the water in a slow movement !!! so no need to push anything like kiking the back food ect., the distribusion of the weight for the front and backfood on the board is vital and very sensitive, going a bit into your knees helps to stabilise (it brings the body weight balencepint down ) if you are a quite tall guy neccessary at least untill u manage to be good , cuts and bruses i got 2 cuts on my knee and on my ancle by swiming and moving the board into the right possition (long leeg wetsuite and shoes to protect is recomented ) .
The progress was from try to try immense and very rewarding, but 2 hours are enought carrying the board upwind , lets see what brings the 2th day ."

[le grec]

2th day slightly stronger wind with the same direction 9 m drifter cabrinha 4 runs 1 1/2 hour
first run the wind didn't pick up strong enough got on the board but to keep on going it was not enough wind
2 th run stronger wind 15 knots kiters using usually the 12m i have managed to get on the board quite well and did a distance from about 500m on the water sometimes get the foil slightly lifting still having troubles to get on the board to the other side to get back managed by bodydraging
3 th run again long distance to the left feeling more comfortable on the board flat on the water managed to go upwind the way back its still difficult to get on the board but managed with different technics like revers water start moving hand on the bar ect.
4 th run to the left its dialed in got on the board quiet easy and running quite a distance without falling checking different foot positions on the run get lifted sometimes and stool the hydrofoil on the way back i finally found a technical way to get on the board (using both knees on the board while holding the upper rail with the front hand than punting the front foot on it and using the reverse water start ) once on the board i managed to get back on the board flat in the water but this needs more practice
conclusion
getting up on he board is dialed in due different technics and long time strapless kiteflying experience but get the hydrofoil of the water is still quite a challenge . first goal for tomorrow is to keep staying upwind in order not to have to carry the hydrofoil and the kite back upwind on the beach which is still very exhausting . i Found out learn this you need a good strong wind around 18 knots (consider my weight and kitesize)
lets see what i can manage the 3th day ."

[le grec]

"3th day
18 knots same direction
to get on the board gets much easier and up wind is no problem any more in the 2th run i got lifted for about 10 sec . (a foiling friend gave me the tip to make only micro movements and kind of freeze if you get lifted not moving the kite a lot) what a feeling !!!!!! its like flying ore jumping without getting down 3th rum i manage to get back at the same point sometimes bodydraging when the wind drops under 13 kn (by laying completely on the board
conclusion
mikro movements and keeping the kite as steady as possible
4th day
carrying the foil upwind is history, i always got back to the spot i left and now i get lifted many times on the way out the way back is still more difficult but i manage as well
conclusion
getting on the board is better if u use both knees on the board holding the upper rail , than putting the feet on the board while holding the upper rail the board points downwind the kite is at 2.30 (same kite position in both direction) just the nose of the board point in the opposite direction , than move your kite with one hand to 11 and release the rail at the same time , u lift up on the board fast (this is for me the best way to get on the board) after this its up to your stands and speed you develop is important small cop waves help me to get the foil lifted i keep very calm on the board and just move my back food a bit if necessary to lift faster next goal i have to get a more comfortable and relaxed riding style and of course trying to jibe"

[Jzh_perth]

Well done !

How many hours do you estimate you have spent in the water thus far over the 3days ? Sounds like you are a quick learner.

I couldn't manage much more than an hour at a time When I learnt. After at least 5 hours It started to come together on 1 tack and after 10 hours I felt like a hero being able to foil both directions with some consistency. Flying turns took many more hours but the spitfire is great how tight and slow you can turn and keep flying.

With your Experience you will find foiling toeside quite easy. As soon as you can foil upwind toeside, life gets much easier as you can just link heelside and toeside with flying turns and stay dry the whole session. Your progress will accelerate. Footswitches is where I am finding it much, much harder.

[DukeSilver]

Good job. Now you have reached this stage, your learning will accelerate quickly and you'll soon be having fun. There has been very little wind here in Perth for the past month and I'm really missing my foil sessions.

[le grec]

I couldn't manage much more than an hour at a time When I learnt. After at least 5 hours It started to come together on 1 tack and after 10 hours I felt like a hero being able to foil both directions with some consistency. Flying turns took many more hours but the spitfire is great how tight and slow you can turn and keep flying.

Thx I told him. You have understood that this is not my story;
I had an easier start with a zeeko but the White & Green;
which is according to me the most intuitive foil,
and therefore very accessible associated with a surf no-volume (like the pocket)

Personnaly couldn't manage more than 30minutes at my beginning.
After 1 hour I was comfortable on the water; after 2-3 hours (so 4-5 sessions) I was in the air rather comfortable. But I had a strap for waterstart help; And that helps a lot because we get tired less.

My 25 year old daughter is 'worse', only 2 times 30 minutes to be in flight and spend her first gybe on the water !!! I would like to be 25 years old and discover the foil.
I am so happy for her and all these young people...

[le grec]

The continuation of his adventures

5th day
light wind around 13 knots 1 hour
well getting on the board goes quiet easy getting upwind without lifting as well ,getting lifted consistently is still a challenge and will take more kiting time
conclusion for the day
i learned how to pump the hydrofoil and i got hurt the most today on my elbow hitting the wing . this was happened because the wind was low and the kite couldn't hold me on the board so by pulling the bar to my body i fall back while the wing came at me no possibility to react, still i got quite some time lifted jibing i am still not ready for it mainly because i don't know the toeside riding on the foil , getting to the new direction i manage with the board on the water
6 th day
had a brake from the water and talked to a foiling friend , i found out that in opposite to the most guys learning foiling i had no problems going downwind and going upwind quite ok not excessive . by analyzing this i think this is happening due my strapless surf stand on the board which is more centered on the board than with foot straps . foot straps make your foot placed more to the edge of the board . Well i am going too check this the next day

7 th day
good wind 15 to 18 kn most of the twintip other kiters are on the 12m
as usual no problem getting on the board, my straplesses surf experiance kick in, i can control the board a 100 % by pushing the tail under the water , i have to mention that the cabrinha drifter a pure wave kite which works exceptionally out of arms not the legs this helps me as well a lot .
i got liftet low quite some time on my runs and running up to 10 sec lifted high, all together i been more than 2 hours in the water , addiction i didn't want to get out !!!
conclusion for the day
figured out that by having an exact surfstand (like a surfer in the wave )on the foil when its getting lifted its the best way to control it , today i was running far from the shore getting there in seconds (it feels like ) and the hydrofoil when lifted accelerates so fast, that when i was falling at that speed it really hurt so tomorrow i gonna use a impactwest for sure . Further by punting my foots closer to the edge i am shooting upwind . being strapless on the foil confirms my thinking from the beginning, it is saver and in time u are able to adjust your stand on the board much better than with footstraps (same experience i had with the surfboard ,strapless and with footstraps ) the progress in the beginning is harder but at the end much faster (long time strapless experience make me able to be comfortable, getting the board into the right starting position and getting onto the board ,which is actually quite easy )

End of his narrative.
We will see at the end of the summer its progression?
Reiner is a very good surfer strapless, I find this experience interesting

Good wind at all, Eric

[le grec]

I started quickly because also the conditions were ideal: flat and hot water, regular wind, every day for 1 month ...

[Hugh2]

Impressive.

I'm really struggling to ride a slingshot hover glide toe side. I'm comfortable on a surfboard strapless. I wonder if I got the Converter surfboard to go with a Hoverglide foil I could drop off the foil and just do a standard surfboard gybe instead, then back onto the foil. Or would it still be unstable?

[Starsky]

It's way more stable, but not quite like jybing a surfboard, you still have to stay aligned with the mast.

For sure learn everything on the surface first. Flying through a move is just an extension of being able to do it on the water.

Eventually you have the confidence to do each move with the speed to stay foiling, but just having it deep will add a lot of stability and its easier to recover from those early drop outs. Get the footwork and timing, then add speed, and only take it to normal height after you have it dialled. Eventually you learn new things while foiling, but learn the basics on the surface, it beats crashing 20 times in a row from height. The one thing that is like the surfboard... Never give up until it's actually over. You can wobble your way through an ugly surface turn or foot switch and its still 20 times better than falling.