We're taking off! Foiling is THE watersports trend

Only flying is better. Or perhaps just as good? Foiling gives you a completely new gliding experience – almost as if you were flying.

A trend is born

The revolution began with the America’s Cup 2013 in San Francisco, when catamarans began to fly and reach incredible speeds. The secret: hydrofoils. Rudder blades that lifted the yachts out of the water like wings, thus reducing drag to a minimum. Foiling has fundamentally changed sailing and has meanwhile become an element of nearly all watersports.

How does foiling work?

Hydrofoils consist of a fin and two wings, which extend below the boat or board into the water. Basically, they work exactly like the wings of an airplane. By curving the upper side, a vacuum is created that draws the foil upwards, creating more lift. The water resistance on the hull is no longer important.

The trend is growing

From sailing, this trend spilled over relatively quickly to windsurfing and kitesurfing. The advantage: classic (kite) surfers are always dependent on sufficient wind and with a foil board much less wind force is required. As soon as the surfer reaches the necessary glide speed, the board is lifted up by the wings. The water resistance is reduced and the surfer begins to fly.

Wingsurfing finally possible - thanks to foiling

The youngest sister of windsurfing and kitesurfing is called wingsurfing. Surf wings are a hand-held sail that has no lines or fixed connection to the board. The concept has actually been around since the early 1980s, but conventional surfboards were too heavy to gain real speed with these wings. But in combination with hydrofoils, which take off even at low speed, the trend has picked up again.

Flying high with a paddle: stand up foiling

In the meantime, the trend has also reached stand up paddling. With stand up foiling you can ride smaller waves than with a normal SUP board. If you manage to bring the board to the necessary speed with the paddle, it will lift itself out of the water.

Jumping over the lake

Foil pumping boards come to life without sails, wings or paddles. They are similar to the boards used for surfing so it’s a good idea to use the momentum of a wave for getting started. Alternatively, the board can be brought up to speed behind a boat, similar to wakeboarding. Then the surfer keeps the board in motion and in the air with pumping movements of the whole body. Due to the constant up and down the surfer jumps over the water. Best of all: Pump foiling works even in zero wind and on mirror-smooth water.