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Ok, so this is all a big MAYBE but it might just be possible to foil SUP race! It was only a matter of time until we saw the right video clip showing it could happen. This well shot video of rider Chuck Glynn from Ikaika Pidot definitly gets you thinking!
Can you paddle on a foil? And if so would it really be possible to race SUP foils?
Chuck is surfing a 1 foot day in California, and off the back of the wave he can paddle and stay on the foil and link waves. We’ve seen Kai Lenny do this on a short board with no paddle, so we know its possible to pump with the legs and keep the foil on the plane. But there hasn’t been many flat water video shots of a SUP foil.
But could a paddler doing sprint racing for example race, be able to get on to the foil from a standing start? At the moment no… but with equipment, fitness & technique tuning maybe it could just be possible.
We guess the real questions is “Do we as paddlers want it to happen?”… one board that really does it all!
As always your thoughts and opinions welcome.
No, please see the Flyak- a racing kayak on foils which has been developed and optimised over many years. Kayaking is more efficient than SUPing in terms of power delivered to the water, and the Flyak can only be got up and sustained for about 200m on its foils by Olympic calibre canoe sprint athletes.
So there will not be a foiling race SUP (even a sprint one) that is usable by the general population.
Very interesting, thanks for your feedback Jake.
True it is a lot of energy to maintain flight on the foil, on a kayak you don’t have full body to use to sustain flight where as with straps and a paddle and use of legs to pump I believe it is possible to sustain flight. I have flown about a 1/4 mile so fat and still just getting the hang of the pump rythem, but with proper strengthening I can see it happening very soon.
I am actually working on product that would make foil racing totally possibly I feel. Its a totally new twist on foiling yet again and ill share some flat water foiling photos and videos soon.