First having a foiler in the line up.

$kully

Duke status
Feb 27, 2009
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Anyone on a foil buzzing through a lineup full of surfers needs a talking to. 99% of the time it’s absolutely not cool….

Based on this pic I think it’s safe to say that you can reasonably fear for your life if a foil enters the lineup and well, you know the rest.
 

SurfFuerteventura

Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Sep 20, 2014
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I surf with a foiler regularly. He literally surfs in circles around us. Take off way deep on in between waves that noone even thinks about, flows down the line below the take - off and normal surfable wave impact zone, then tries to pump his way back outside going wide of the take off zone and back to sit at his little corner to wait for another one. Never seen him link up waves the way you see in online videos, but he probably could with noone out, he chooses not to to respect the line up. English guy, used to longboard. Definitely knows what he's doing it seems. I'd hate to paddle those little boards with that massive wing way out there though. There's also a team of guys who take turns on a foil with a jet ski for support, they also tow when it's bigger.

Personally never had a problem with any of them, nor what they choose to ride, as long as they all respect me taking the best set waves.

Used to have a SUP aversion (thanks to this place no doubt), until one of them helped me back in after my most recent leash breakage on a sizeable day. :bowdown: Otto!

:shrug::shameonyou::shaka::waving:
 
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Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
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Are you implying a modern foil couldn’t cause that kind of damage?
I'm implying in the 3 and a half years I've been foiling I've never seen that type of injury. I've personally never had stitches from my foil. I do personally know of a couple guys trying backflips that needed stitches when their feet came out of the straps and the mast hit them.

The kite foil that did that is something else. Kite foils have knife edges and are wet sanded/sharpened all the time. That guy was borrowing a kite foil trying to learn in way to big of waves.

Modern surf foils have thicker leading edges to create lift, more like the rail of a surfboard. I haven't seen that type of injury except in that picture. I'm not saying it can't happen. I'm just saying I personally find it unlikely. I will present the fact that there are anywhere from 1-30+ foiler's out at San O every day for the past 2 years minimum and those types of injuries haven't happened.

That being said, I asked what the spot was, as I do think it's a right tool for the job issue. Some waves are not conducive to foiling. I really only foil 4 spots in all of LA/Ventura county. There's always going to be greedy surfer's looking for a way to get more waves though. It annoys me same as it does all of you I'm sure.
 

Subway

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Dec 31, 2008
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Hanalei on a small little fun long board day 2 years ago- there was a guy foiling straight through the crowd of beginners, girls, old timers, everyone, doing the full pump around to the next wave, repeat etc, and the uncles gave him sh!t and away he went. He was damn good at it, I won't deny that, but he was a bad accident just waiting to happen, racing through that type of crowd on a small beginner style day. Just poor form, and while not much scares me in the water, watching that guy do what he was doing had me thinking "he's gonna disembowel some teenage girl with that fukking thing"
 

manbearpig

Duke status
May 11, 2009
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I'm implying in the 3 and a half years I've been foiling I've never seen that type of injury. I've personally never had stitches from my foil. I do personally know of a couple guys trying backflips that needed stitches when their feet came out of the straps and the mast hit them.

The kite foil that did that is something else. Kite foils have knife edges and are wet sanded/sharpened all the time. That guy was borrowing a kite foil trying to learn in way to big of waves.

Modern surf foils have thicker leading edges to create lift, more like the rail of a surfboard. I haven't seen that type of injury except in that picture. I'm not saying it can't happen. I'm just saying I personally find it unlikely. I will present the fact that there are anywhere from 1-30+ foiler's out at San O every day for the past 2 years minimum and those types of injuries haven't happened.

That being said, I asked what the spot was, as I do think it's a right tool for the job issue. Some waves are not conducive to foiling. I really only foil 4 spots in all of LA/Ventura county. There's always going to be greedy surfer's looking for a way to get more waves though. It annoys me same as it does all of you I'm sure.
A surf foil is 100% capable of that kind of trauma. Or maybe instead of a clean slice you end up with the Grand Canyon embedded into your cranium.

not only is it a matter of time but I’m sure there are incidents that aren’t broadcasted throughout social media.

they can be the right tool for the right place but there’s more clowns than reason on those things it seems. Like a crowded line up full of surfers as Duffy said.
 

Subway

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Yeah I’m not saying I’ve even shared the lineup that often with foilers, but they are almost always safe and keep their distance, don’t surf too close to others at all really. this guy was doing none of those things
 

feralseppo

Billy Hamilton status
Feb 28, 2006
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At the spots where I've seen foilers they are on a completely different playing field, not really in the way. Can't say the same for SUPers....
Last winter crowded day at the cove, there was a dipshit weaving through the crowd. Not if but when
 
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Tarab_ish

Legend (inyourownmind)
Nov 14, 2018
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One thing that makes me hesitate to take a doom-and-gloom, "surfing is ruined" position is that I thought that about SUPs when they were newly trendy in the early 00s, and for the most part it ended up being not as bad as I feared. (At least in my area; all of you in san diego etc may feel differently and I wouldn't blame anyone for loathing them).

But yeah, if people are foiling around me I'm not going to hesitate at all from screaming at them. I remember seeing a clip of someone foiling at cowells santa cruz(!) through the crowd there and that's just irresponsible. They can foil waves that are unsurfable, they should surf waves with no surfers around.
 
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Subway

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Yeah it’s easy to get a little discouraged being a surfer here, especially as fall starts to flirt with winter. The 5 mils come out, and the primary source of waves in the winter, the classic coastal nor’easter or similar storms, usually come with howling north winds on their heels and 20 degree air. But, you pound 24 ounces of hot coffee as you suit up, and pull into even a single freezing barrel or get a long runner with some good rail action or even a good old fashioned 80s style floater on the close out, and at least for that day, you wonder how you ever thought about not surfing this winter in the first place
 

santacruzin

Kelly Slater status
Oct 17, 2007
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Never surfed with a foil. At 2 of the Spot I surf you would be immediately ejected from the lineup. No questions asked.
‘beaches don’t think it would matter?

guess I am lucky so far? Is it really bad in socal? I remember everyone complaining about sups but I still only ever see one in the lineup . He’s good and kind of greedy but one dude so not too bad.still no Foils.