Wake Foiling | Dock Start Rookie Gets It in 21 Tries

Cole, an expert wake foiler with mastery in dock starting, recently took on the challenge of teaching Pat the art of dock starting on a hydrofoil. Although Pat had a diverse background in foiling, the dock start technique was new territory for him. Can Cole successfully coach Pat into adding dock starting to his bag of foil tricks?

Cole: We're on the water today, and we're going to see if Pat can do a dock start on a foil.

Pat: It's my first time trying to dock start, so let's see how it goes. I've got Cole instructing me, so I've got a good coach. We'll see what happens!

Cole: When you run across the dock, you want your back foot to be on the dock last. Practice that first without actually getting on the foil. You'll kick off with that back foot and then you'll land with your front foot on the board.

Pat: All right, shall I give it a go?

Cole: You got this, Pat!

Cole: One other thing that'll help is if you can gain some speed. The faster you take off, the more stable the foil is going to be. All right, let's see it! Round three...

Pat: Ow.

Cole: Dude, that was gnarly. Another thing that might help you is if you visualize where you're going to put your feet. If you get that visually set in your mind, it might help you get your feet dialed in. All right Pat, give it the beans.

Cole: No way! Dude, that was sick. That actually wasn't terrible. A touch more speed might help, but you're close. Okay, you're nine tries in. What would you say dock starting is comparable to?

Pat: I don't think it's comparable to anything, really. It's its own thing. Once you're up on the board, I guess it's similar to wake foiling, but building your own speed to start right off the bat is a bit tough. Getting on the board for the first jump is a bit tough, too. It's kind of like skimboarding back in the day, but not quite the same.

Cole: Gotcha. Ok, number 10... let's see it! ...Oh my gosh.

Pat: I caught a toe in under the rail.

Cole: Once you break through first three pumps, all of a sudden it works out.

Pat: Oh, once you get past those first three, it's normal.

Cole: This is attempt number 21. Let's see it, dude. ...Look at him go! So how does it feel to be a dock starter?

Pat: I wouldn't call myself a dock starter yet, but we're getting there.

Cole: Pat just killed that one. If you are wondering what kind of foil experience he has, he's a kite foiler, he's a wing foiler, and he also gets out behind the boat quite a bit on a wake foil, so he's very skilled in foiling and it took him 21 tries on a really good dock starting setup. We hope this also helps you on your dock starting journey, but feel free to reach out to us with any other questions. Until next time, happy shredding, and we look forward to seeing you on the water.

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