Select to expand quoteMarvin and the gang have posted some tips for safety regarding hydrofoils on their site, definately something to bear in mind .
copy and paste from the site
Safety
<div class="content">Learning to kite foil and safetyIf you’re into kiting, ride a twin tip but looking for a bit of zing, foiling may be it. For sure it will hit the spot and open a whole new dimension of riding and flying to your experience on the water.Once you’re up and going the sensation really needs to be experienced. It’s weird, incredible, unbelievable, truly amazing-it’s more like hang gliding than paragliding.The buzz is being suspended from a kite, a foot above the water, weightless, doing 50km/hr in less than 15kts of wind, racing the peak hour traffic on St Kilda boulevard.Thankfully the learning curve for foiling is steep. There’s no question the start is frustrating and the initial 10 hours is humbling, even for talented experienced kiters. But with a bit of persistence, a kilogram of patience and a sprinkle of madness you’ll soon be out on the Bay, wind in your hair, cruising with the yachts.The Do’s
Firstly, wear a helmet, always. A buoyancy vest or impact vest is also a good idea.
1. Start in light wind, 10-15kts, at a beach location where the wind is cross-onshore and deep enough to clear the length of the foil.
2. Introduce foiling to your normal kite sessions, mixing it in and committing to one hour of foiling each session.
3. Keep your front foot in the strap, the rear strap in the beginning isn’t as crucial. Bar out, kite up high and pull bar in as kite slowly passes 12 o’clock to lift you up onto the board.
4. Ride the board flat on the water, like a surf board but with less heel edge pressure. Do this lots, up and down wind. Get a feel of the foil and how it controls the board, how your back foot position effects the lift. This may take 2- 4 sessions.
5. Once you can ride at faster speeds, slow down its now time to begin to foil. It helps to think of the foil as a seesaw with the centre of balance between front and back feet. Start by experimenting with increasing the weight on the back foot.
6. This is the tricky part, balancing the pressure of back verses front foot pressure- like balancing on a seesaw plank. There’s 10-20 hrs of challenge to be had here.
7. Down wind requires greater balance. You can always drop the board onto the water and ride it flat downwind if necessary.
8. Take your time. Go slow. Keep your speed down.
9. When changing direction, doing turns, simply drop into the water, off the board.
10. Once you’re up and going turns are the next challenge. Upwind (tacks) and gybes( downwind) require tuition and are beyond this introductory article and this is where you can injure yourself.The Dont’s.
Do not attempt foiling unless you’re competent on a twin tip, surfboard or race board. You need kite control and kite skills.
1. Do not foil without a helmet. A PFD or impact vest is a good idea also.
2. When getting up on the board from the water, take your time, don’t send the kite too fast and especially edging the board like a twin tip. This can cause the powered kite to pull you over the board onto the foil wings- you don’t want that! Be patient , especially in the first 10- 20 hrs.
3. Don’t start on a beach where the wind direction is direct onshore. You will keep getting nailed back onto the sand bar.
4. Avoid pushing off the board when falling, the foil will bounce back like a spring at you. Be careful with turns- tacks and gybes, this is where you need a helmet.
5. Try to avoid falling off going down wind, it hurts, it’s a whip lash type injury. Keeping the board as low as possible at all times, especially downwind, is key to less painful stacks.
6. Don’t foil too far from shore, especially by yourself. If you stack, the foil rides small chop without you very well, it can easily end up away from you while you focus to relaunch kite, grab the board ASAP. A buoyancy vest can be a life safer here.If you’re into kiting, dig cruising the Bay or like the thrill of speed then you’re going to love foiling.
When it comes to buying a foil the cheaper foils will get you going and provide a mountain of fun.More advanced foils have tapered wings and are engineered to be responsive. They are a buzz to ride. If you intend to foil with others you’ll need a better foil to keep up. There’s a marked difference in speed, agility, up/ downwind angles. In a 40km loop advanced foils may see you 10-15km in front of less engineered foils.It all depends on your mojo, horses for courses and foils for all types.
www.kitefoil.com.au/safety/
I learned three big things that helped very much in the learning process:
1. If you get tired, or too out of control, or too far downwind, lie on your board and ride slowly in prone position. You can go upwind or downwind and get to a safe landing spot much more easily than trying to stand. You can also get up on the foil a little. It is hugely good fun to come porpoising into the beach on your guts.
2. It's important to not fight the kite and the board when trying to get going. Slow down and relax and take it easy. You can't out muscle the wind and you can't force the foil to do what you want it to do. The worst accidents come from having too much power in the board and kite. It causes the board to flick up and do some really horrible things. Slowing down reduces the amount of energy in the system and reduces the consequences of losing it.
3. Learn to drag with the foil up. Unless you have a perfect, deep, sandy beach you are going to have to get yourself into deep water to foil. It is virtually impossible to walk in deep water with a kite and a board.
The videos show people body dragging with the board under their arm and the foil up to the side. This doesn't work for me. I sit in the water with my foot in the front strap and edge the board so that the foil lays out horizontally. In that position I can bum drag slowly out until I can water start and ride away. It is important to not let the kite get high. It will pull you up and over the top of the board resulting in a face plant for you and the foil rammed into the bottom.
Dusta, thanks for sharing the info and the link to the kitefoil site. After a short run on a foil last summer, I think after more general kiting experience that I'm now ready to give foiling a serious try. Info like this is really helpful.
What do the experienced foilers out there think about the beginner models versus the more advanced ones for a first foil?
Get one of the carbon foil;s for sure. There are a bunch of second hand ones around now if your want to save cash.
They are better in every way, most importantly they are easier to control so easier to learn on.
The bonus is that you won't outgrow it as soon as you get the hang of it.
I foil a lot and had a go on one of the LF foils the other day. It was very hard to ride.
Select to expand quoteMark50 said..
Dusta, thanks for sharing the info and the link to the kitefoil site. After a short run on a foil last summer, I think after more general kiting experience that I'm now ready to give foiling a serious try. Info like this is really helpful.
What do the experienced foilers out there think about the beginner models versus the more advanced ones for a first foil?
Hi Mark,
a well balanced foil and board makes all the difference. So one of the top brands designs are def the go. Anything that cant go faster than 25knots you will outgrow quickly.Also from testing and trying lots of foils the freeride foils are almost impossible to foil gybe/ tack.cheers
Are the liquid force ones going for 1500 or so carbon or ali mast? I think the wings are carbon but mast is ali...
I take it this is a beginer board?
Liquid Force are all aluminium. I don't know what the wings are made of. It's just black resin over something else. I am very pleased with mine, but looking out for the next one.
BTW. Both my mate and I spent about 6 hours riding flat on the board doing everything we could to keep the foil down (standing way forward works well). I was more committed to staying down. He spent more time trying to get up on the foil.
After 6 hours we both found we could pop up on the foil and just ride. The thing that made the difference is at first all we could feel was the board under our feet. After 6 hours we could suddenly feel the foil and it all became easy.
Easy was a little short lived. We could ride up on the foil, and plummet down in a series of "foil bombs" from a great height. Our feelings of skill alternated with troughs of despair on a daily basis.
I started riding the foil every day in strong winds with a small kite. It suddenly started to get easier every single time.
At first we limited ourselves to 30 minutes sessions because that was as long as we could maintain concentration and form. Now with 10-15 hours each we can go out riding for as long as we like and it is all fun. We're still beginners but the crashes are less frequent and the fun much more extended. We're both old farts.
Select to expand quotedusta said..
Marvin and the gang have posted some tips for safety regarding hydrofoils on their site, definately something to bear in mind .
copy and paste from the site
Safety
<div class="content">Learning to kite foil and safetyIf you’re into kiting, ride a twin tip but looking for a bit of zing, foiling may be it. For sure it will hit the spot and open a whole new dimension of riding and flying to your experience on the water.Once you’re up and going the sensation really needs to be experienced. It’s weird, incredible, unbelievable, truly amazing-it’s more like hang gliding than paragliding.The buzz is being suspended from a kite, a foot above the water, weightless, doing 50km/hr in less than 15kts of wind, racing the peak hour traffic on St Kilda boulevard.Thankfully the learning curve for foiling is steep. There’s no question the start is frustrating and the initial 10 hours is humbling, even for talented experienced kiters. But with a bit of persistence, a kilogram of patience and a sprinkle of madness you’ll soon be out on the Bay, wind in your hair, cruising with the yachts.The Do’s
Firstly, wear a helmet, always. A buoyancy vest or impact vest is also a good idea.
1. Start in light wind, 10-15kts, at a beach location where the wind is cross-onshore and deep enough to clear the length of the foil.
2. Introduce foiling to your normal kite sessions, mixing it in and committing to one hour of foiling each session.
3. Keep your front foot in the strap, the rear strap in the beginning isn’t as crucial. Bar out, kite up high and pull bar in as kite slowly passes 12 o’clock to lift you up onto the board.
4. Ride the board flat on the water, like a surf board but with less heel edge pressure. Do this lots, up and down wind. Get a feel of the foil and how it controls the board, how your back foot position effects the lift. This may take 2- 4 sessions.
5. Once you can ride at faster speeds, slow down its now time to begin to foil. It helps to think of the foil as a seesaw with the centre of balance between front and back feet. Start by experimenting with increasing the weight on the back foot.
6. This is the tricky part, balancing the pressure of back verses front foot pressure- like balancing on a seesaw plank. There’s 10-20 hrs of challenge to be had here.
7. Down wind requires greater balance. You can always drop the board onto the water and ride it flat downwind if necessary.
8. Take your time. Go slow. Keep your speed down.
9. When changing direction, doing turns, simply drop into the water, off the board.
10. Once you’re up and going turns are the next challenge. Upwind (tacks) and gybes( downwind) require tuition and are beyond this introductory article and this is where you can injure yourself.The Dont’s.
Do not attempt foiling unless you’re competent on a twin tip, surfboard or race board. You need kite control and kite skills.
1. Do not foil without a helmet. A PFD or impact vest is a good idea also.
2. When getting up on the board from the water, take your time, don’t send the kite too fast and especially edging the board like a twin tip. This can cause the powered kite to pull you over the board onto the foil wings- you don’t want that! Be patient , especially in the first 10- 20 hrs.
3. Don’t start on a beach where the wind direction is direct onshore. You will keep getting nailed back onto the sand bar.
4. Avoid pushing off the board when falling, the foil will bounce back like a spring at you. Be careful with turns- tacks and gybes, this is where you need a helmet.
5. Try to avoid falling off going down wind, it hurts, it’s a whip lash type injury. Keeping the board as low as possible at all times, especially downwind, is key to less painful stacks.
6. Don’t foil too far from shore, especially by yourself. If you stack, the foil rides small chop without you very well, it can easily end up away from you while you focus to relaunch kite, grab the board ASAP. A buoyancy vest can be a life safer here.If you’re into kiting, dig cruising the Bay or like the thrill of speed then you’re going to love foiling.
When it comes to buying a foil the cheaper foils will get you going and provide a mountain of fun.More advanced foils have tapered wings and are engineered to be responsive. They are a buzz to ride. If you intend to foil with others you’ll need a better foil to keep up. There’s a marked difference in speed, agility, up/ downwind angles. In a 40km loop advanced foils may see you 10-15km in front of less engineered foils.It all depends on your mojo, horses for courses and foils for all types.
Having learnt to foil over this season I am well on my way. From first hand experience I agree with most of the points above apart from a couple....
1. Start in light wind, 10-15kts.
In my experience in the very beginning it was better to have a bit more wind (16/17 knts ) and the kite you would normally use. In my case a 12m in 16-18 knts was perfect. 10-15 knts is super marginal and too much of your focus is absorbed by keeping the kite flying and generating enough power. As you progress to regular flying your bottom end is gradually reduced. I was flying well yesterday in 13knts but all the LW kite flying skills I have developed over this season needed to be employed.
5. Once you can ride at faster speeds, slow down its now time to begin to foil. It helps to think of the foil as a seesaw with the centre of balance between front and back feet. Start by experimenting with increasing the weight on the back foot.
This point is sorta correct in my opinion, but could be misinterpreted. Its important to understand that the foil will lift by itself once enough speed is generated. Using a seesaw logic will probably result in a dramatic porpoising effect, at least in the initial stages . I used a different approach..... Center of gravity is brought forward on the board initially by having the front strap completely forward and the back foot without a strap over the mast. This keeps the foil mostly down. As you get more confident with the board move the front strap back, along with your back foot position. This provides a gradual relocation of your center of gravity and a smooth and gradual allowance for the foil to lift. Micro adjustments in center of gravity can be made by pushing your hips forward or backward. I had seen other foil learners on LF foils with the back foot in the back strap which is quite a way behind the mast. Serious porpoising was mostly observed. Of course every foil has a different design and it may be the case on some foils that a back foot position well behind the mast is the ideal balance point, but in my experience a gradual approach to this location worked well
Disagree on two small points
Don't screw around. Commit to only foiling until you can foil about passably well. Going back to a TT will feel so wrong and you just won't enjoy it.
Start in smooth wind, with a kite that would have you up on your TT but just holding ground. Fast 14m kite or smaller.
As always, people's experiences are different and there are a few conflicting opinions above... My 2 cents...
@Kamikuza - Completely agree here. Went back to a twin tip after 5 foil sessions (because of the tides) and it was exhausting... Going upwind at a quarter of the angle of the foil (the wind was light) and it seemed to take so much energy to maintain speed and ground compared to the foil. Disagree a little on the 'just won't enjoy it' because I still had a ball - but I see where you are coming from!
For the kite size and wind, I agree with the original article and Kamikuza - 10-15 knots and a 12-14m kite would be about right. I took a 9m out in just over 15 knots the other day on the foil, and that was starting to get to the point where the foil/kite would get away on you (i.e. start going too fast to be able to stop it). If I was pushing it upwind constantly it was fine with that amount of wind, but I find myself needing to deliberately angle downwind/crosswind, otherwise you just end up way too far upwind (even in ~10 knots...) - and that is where the foil can accelerate away from you.
@snalberski - for me, at my stage and weight (80 kgs), a 12m kite in 16-18 knots would be way overpowered once you are up and going on the foil... but I'm from Brisbane, not WA - and 10-15 knots is more 'an average afternoon' here than 'super-marginal'... Before you are up on the foil though (still keeping the board on the surface), then definitely, you need a bit more wind/power (which goes back to Kamikuza's comment).
For the strap setup: I went with @snalberski's recommendation. Front straps only and initially have your rear foot over/slightly in-front of the mast which will keep the board down - then slowly move back to the point where you can feel the wing starting to lift the board. I'm still riding with my rear foot forward of where the rear strap should be, but my foot is creeping back with every session.
Also: short masts... I know some people don't like the idea because of the extra cost, limited useful life etc - but if the Kite Schools offered Foil Lessons on short masts I reckon there would be plenty of people who would pay for it. I've gone on about it on other posts, but I've taught myself on the staged short masts and it has been a blast right from the first session. Learn in just above waist deep water, no (or fewer/less severe) body slams, no hitting sand bars, no trying to drag out in onshore winds. The super short masts are barely more difficult to start on than a Twin Tip but still let you get the feel for the balance point. The medium mast lets you foil consistently without the porpoising/wipeouts, and the force from the wing comes from a lot closer to where you are used to. Anyway, another option to look at for a beginner. I'll shut up about it now...
Any tips for avoiding the board&foil in your lines when you crash? Had a very near kitemare when i came down and skidded along the water, board just downwind of me, as i stop it glides through the front stearing lines right up to the foil, kite loop initiated and im ****ing bricks..kite rolls into hot launch as i try and untangle but luckily the wind was too light for take off...this has happened twice after two spectacular high speed crashes.
I try and fly my kite to 12 when i crash but usually it happens so quick i dont have too much time. I try and fend the board away with my feet, wondering if anyone else has this problem? 
Well Green Cherub you are lucky to get away. I had a similar unlucky event the other day in 20-24 knts. missed a gybe and the kite fell out. As I missed my gybe I didn't down loop...anyway the kite fell out and my foil was in my lines. I had enough time to look at it and think the foil was far enough down wind to avoid being dragged into it when the kite booted up into the water..
Well....I didn't. I got dragged into the rear wing of my Mako and it opened me up at the knee to the bone and into my knee joint.
Surgery and 50 odd stitches later I learnt a lesson. If in doubt pull your safety!!!! do not hesitate!! better to swim in than foil back to the beach looking at your knee joint and tendons. 
It would have been a non event if I was on a twin tip or surfboard.. just be extra careful with the foils, especially the sharp race ones.
ps.. I had such a good session and was loving my Mako V2 so much, I was lying in hospital thinking how I couldnt wait to get back out!! :) its sooo addictive.
Fark thats a bit hectic! Definitely wanted to pull the quick release but didnt think that was going to do anything as the bar was just going drag everything with it including me...hmm certainly will be pulling it next time none the less!
Thanks for sharing, how long is recovery? I hope you get back out there soon
I'm two weeks in, got a post op appointment Friday... Hoping another two to three weeks and I'll be back. Lucky no structural damage to my knee, just lost some quad muscle that had to be cut away. So will need some conditioning work. Have fun!
And my two bob!
I purchased my foil board in Bali, Cabrinha from Jankie, and spent the first hours on 12 and 15m kites, in light wind.
The tide goes out until its nearly dry in Sanur. So I learn't that having the foilboard in the water with the mast horizonta,l while holding the front foot strap, allowed me to hang onto the board while getting to the deeper water.
The consensus of opinion was to learn to ride both directions, both natural and goofy before trying to gybe.
Im a surf rider, natural footed, been riding a kite surfboard for some 8 years. Not so good goofy, but toe-side..no problem.
Well... I had a bugga of a job stopping the kangaroo hops until I took my back foot out of the strap and planted it well in front of the strap (keep the front foot in the strap said Jankie..it gives good leverage), also don't over power the kite for take-off. Then the board stays flat until you load the back foot, and suddenly the whole bastard comes out of the water. So don't load your back foot!! Fly the kite one handed and use the other arm as a balance. Move your arse back until the board is about to come up then you can fine tune with the movement of the arm that's not flying the kite.
If toe-side is a skill you've learned then go for a gybe by concentrating on keeping the board low, and continue toe-side. I don't switch YET!
ps.. since coming back to Perth, the strong winds in Shoalwater have allowed 7 and 9m kite sessions. So I can just hang the kite out to dry and play with the board. I have found this soooo muuch easier. I don't have to concentrate on flying the kite...love it!!
Anyway thats my two bob
mike
Stephen, thanks for the background on your injury and foil board. After listening to you on Friday, you instilled a healthy amount of respect in me about the dangers and excitement involved. Driving home with that weapon in the car made me feel a little apprehensive and excited, at the same time.
I will definitely be spending more time on the easier foils before taking the Mako out. Even the name 'Mako' is quite apt for this carbon fibre piece of kit.
