Imagine cutting through the early morning waters of your secret cove with butter smooth conditions every day of the year or jumping higher than ever
before without even using the ramp of a wake. Impossible? No longer. Hydrofoil boarding has recently begun to answer the question of where to find that
epic place for riding where conditions are perfect all day, everyday. The question isn't necessarily where, but what.
Skyski founder Mike Murphy has been riding hydrofoils for enjoyment since 1966 and is credited with pioneering the design to allow board flight behind a
boat a reality. Selling over 20,000 sit down hydrofoils since patenting the design in 1992, Murphy acquires much of his research and development from
the consumers, constantly making modifications to the already existing Skyski. Until now, for those of us who prefer to push the limits using a sideways
stance, nothing has been offered in the foiling world. However, with the recent introduction of the hydrofoil to a few open minded, world class surfers,
the marriage has been made and a new sport has emerged: Foilboarding.
In the Hawaiian Islands, the pinnacle of ocean equipment testing where the waves are giant and the kohones of those who challenge them are even bigger,
foil fever is spreading fast. Big wave surfers Laird Hamilton and Rush Randle, known for surfing waves as big as mountains, are setting the pace for foil
surfing. When the swells hit the North shore, they tow into double overhead waves and go foil surfing.
Since the apparatus has such little friction, the ride is fast and fluid, offering wide arcing turns, allowing them to position themselves on sections of
the wave never ridden before. When the wind picks up, they launch their kites and go foil kiting. With only the foil wing in contact with the water, the
surface conditions have very little effect on the overall ride, turning the roughest and ugliest chop into a carving and jumping playground.
No surf, no breeze, no problem. They drop their ski into the water for a tow on the airboard. Foilboarding allows them to rise over two feet above the water,
soar like a bird while jumping and ripping through the open ocean swell.
Foilboarding is attracting the highest caliber athletes from surfing, snowboarding, kiteboarding and wakeboarding, bringing with them their own bag of tricks,
riding style, and amplifying it with new aerial maneuvers and deep, carving turns. The possibilities are endless. Surfers are already getting some of the
longest wave rides in history. With the help of a jetski, they are able to catch the wave in its infancy while it's just a bump and still building. Because
all you need to do is lean back to send the airboard flying, foil surfers are now jumping completely out of the water while charging down the face of the
wave, landing and continuing to shred.
The development of the equipment is evolving rapidly. With daily testing of the airboard, attaching the foil to different style wakeboards, surfboards, and
kiteboards, has allowed testers to take the positive aspects from each board to make a board made specific for foilboarding. Step-in snowboard boots and
bindings are currently the attachment of choice because they are offer the most support needed for the quickest reaction between the rider and the foilboard.
Soon, the binding will be improved to a cross of water repellent materials used in wakeboarding, combined with the stiffness and rigidity of a snowboard
boot and binding setup. Foilboarding is wide open right now with an invitation to any of you who think you can improve the sport or are simply ready for
a new challenge and an even greater reward.
For those of you on the endless quest for tapping into the river of pure adrenaline, foilboarding is the vehicle that can take you there. Whether you
ride behind a boat, jet ski, kite, or tow into the waves, foilboarding offers an indescribable feeling of freedom, balance, and weightlessness. Foil Zen.
