Trying Sup foil in waves with a Gong Zuma Board

First day trying SUPfoiling in waves with a wide board

To avoid hurting my shoulder while carrying the board from the parking lot to the beach, I used this small shoulder protector.

And it works really well; my shoulder is much more comfortable.

After failing to SUPfoil in waves with the narrow, long Takoon Escape Air board, I got a wider board, a 6'3" 105-liter Gong Zuma, which I hope will give me more stability in the waves.

First, a little paddling on my knees to warm up.

And I'm going to stand up.

The stability isn't bad, but I'm not in the waves yet.

As I approach the waves, I try paddling with both feet parallel, and it's quite stable.

I'm getting closer to the waves, and I'm doing better than with the narrow board, but I can't get much speed.

I'm going to turn around to try to catch my first wave, but I'm already starting to have balance problems.

This time I try starting with one foot on my knees, but it's not much better.

I'm not comfortable, so I'm going to try another area to see how it goes.

Here the waves are bigger, although they don't break hard.
I'm still having balance problems.

I feel very heavy when paddling, and I'm not picking up speed. Maybe a big wing like the Sirius XL isn't helping either, right?

This isn't going well, so I'm going to practice somewhere else.

I go to the port to try the board in completely flat water. Just pumping it doesn't move anything like the Takoon Escape; it's too low to move forward.

I practice picking up speed on flat water. With balance, I pick up more speed, but still not enough to catch a wave properly.

Practicing paddling a bit more, I realize a mistake. I had been determined to put my front foot at the height of the straps, but when I put it in front with my feet further apart, I notice that I'm much more stable and I paddle more comfortably and faster.

I head to another wave area to try again with my feet better positioned.

But the waves break very close to shore and are sometimes too big for me.

I try with a few waves.

They aren't strong enough to carry me, but the feeling is good. The important thing today is to get a feel for it and practice.

I practice turning before the wave arrives.

And I practice several attempts to catch a wave.

Standing up on the SUP to big waves is also exciting.

I call it a day. I haven't caught a single wave, but as practice and training, it's good.

I have no SUP background, and that shows in my balance and paddling, so I'll have to take it easy.

I also need to practice getting up on the board, because between the weight of the board and the paddle in my other hand, I'm not very agile...