Tips by David Ngiam
Video : Bobby Mah
Photo : Tan Suter
Turning on a wake foil is not quite as straight forward compared with a wakesurf board. This is because apart from leaning on your toeside or heelside edge, you need to be aware of your up and down motion of your board as well.
Its easier to first practice with a rope and handle, and learn how high on the board you can ride without the foil wings breaking the water surface. Once you are comfortable riding without the handle, start with small turns first. Remember to stand directly over the board at all times. that is to say, the axis of your body should be in line with the axis of the foil. If your axis is not in-line, you will most likely fall of your board.
So to make the turns, lean over your heels or toes to get the board into a turning angle. You can’t be too aggressive at first as the foil does not react quite as quickly as you would on a wakeboard. So learn how to stand tall over the board and make subtle turns and try not fall off the board. Build a rhythm while you are at it.
Apart from leaning over on your heel and toe edge, lead the turn with your hips. At the same time, you can pump on the turns where you would pump down as you are turning away from the wake, and pump up as your turning in towards the wake. This will give you an endless ride in spots where you normally wouldn’t be able to on a regular wakesurf board. However, it takes a bit of practice to get use to this 4-axis movement while keeping your balance on the board.