Wake Foiling | How to Avoid Falling Off of Your Board

Do you fall every time you try to get up on a wake foil? Every single time you try to get up, you can't seem to make it happen, and you wonder what you're doing wrong? Here are some of the common falls that new wake foilers experience, along with solutions on how to avoid them.

The Turn

The first fall that I see with new wake foilers is "The Turn". This happens when you turn too far while getting up and you let go of the rope and sink back into the water. It's not fun and it's a little bit demoralizing.

To counteract this type of fall, make sure that you keep your front shoulder back. If you are left foot forward, take that left shoulder and pull it back so your chest is facing the boat. If you're right foot forward, take your right shoulder and pull it back so, again, your chest is facing the boat when you're trying to get up. The only way you can fix this type of fall is by being more patient when swinging your board towards the boat. If you swing it too fast, you're going to turn too far and sink back into the water. It's important that you go slow so you can control the board and stop turning when your hip and the tip of the board are pointed towards the boat.

The Rocket

The second type of fall that I see in new wake foilers is something I like to call "The Rocket". This is when the rider shoots out of the water from the boat. It's pretty spectacular. The foil flies into the air, but as a rider, it's not very fun. This type of fall is caused when you have too much weight on the back of the board.

The way to combat this fall is to apply more front foot pressure. If you are already putting all of your weight on your front foot and the board's still shooting out of the water, then you can do two things: you can move your stance towards the tip of the board, or you can move your foil backwards. Moving your foil backwards on the board is going to give you more front foot leverage and will give you more authority over the tip of the board, which is going to keep you from shooting the board out of the water.

The Submarine

The third type of fall that I see for new wake foilers trying to get up is "The Submarine". This is when you have too much front foot pressure, your stance is too far forward, or the foil is too far back on the board. This drives the tip of the board into the water and the board disappears underneath the surface.

The way to fix this type of fall is to move your stance towards the back of the board. If moving your stance towards the back of the board doesn't work, then you can move the foil forward. Moving the foil forward or moving your stance back is going to allow you to put more pressure on the back of the board, allowing it to get up and out of the water rather than submarining and diving down into the water, causing you to fall.

The Tightrope

The fourth kind of fall I see with new wake foilers trying to ride is something I call "The Tightrope". This is when the foiler is super unsteady when they are first getting up and out of the water.

There are two ways to combat this. One, spend more time on the foil. You're going to be more comfortable on the foil the more times you try. The second way you can solve this problem and expedite the first solution is to focus on your body positioning. I can't tell you how many times I see people drop their eyes, drop their shoulders, or try to ride with their knees perfectly straight. These positions are just going to lead to disaster. To get off the tightrope and get up and ride, make sure you keep those eyes up, shoulders back, and keep those knees nice and bent. That will solve your tightrope issues.

If you have any other questions about hydrofoiling, feel free to give us a call or email us. Until next time, happy shredding, and I look forward to seeing you on the water.

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