The best spot to learn foil surfing is behind a boat. The idea is simple. Imagine learning how to ski or snowboard by hiking up the mountain first. Having a boat or jet ski is just like having a ski lift – it’s an assisted way to get going and drop in right where you want to be. Learning to foil surf is doable, but it will be much slower than riding a lift.
Learn How to eliminate foiling fear HERE.
There are two steps to learning how to foil surf:
- Learn to foil
- Learn to surf your foil
Once you’re ready to start paddling in, try to find small mushy waves that are far away from other surfers, with plenty of depth so you don’t run your foil into the ground. Steeper, faster, breaking waves that you would normally surf with a shortboard is NOT what you want to paddle into when you’re learning to foil.
Do not, we repeat, DO NOT (no matter how good of a surfer you are) paddle out to your local break and try to foil around other surfers.
If you have the proper setup (a high-lift foil like the Slingshot FSurf package and a high-volume board with an early-takeoff tail, like the Skywalker), you’ll be able to catch easy inside waves that have already broken- the kind of waves someone might learn to longboard on for the very first time. Once you’re on your feet, you’ll have enough speed to engage the foil, get in front of the white water and ride it all the way to the shallows.
Of all the foiling disciplines (surf, kite, windsurf, wake & SUP), surf foiling is probably the most difficult to learn. If you can already foil in another sport, or if you can get a little foil time behind a boat or with a jet ski, you’ll have a huge head start in the surf.
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