Fun times on foils
ROB Pirie grew up surfing at the Surfers Paradise Surf Club where his older brother taught him how to surf at only four years of age back in 1967.
“I was fortunate enough to grow up with guys like Trevor Hendy, David Orchard, Dwayne Thuys and Craig Shelton who taught me from an early age how to be a competitive competitor,” he said.
Pirie combined his surfing with waterskiing and surf racing, including many years of water polo and outrigger canoe paddling in the Hawaiian Molokai to Oahu channel race.
But it was the open ocean canoe racing that really lit the fire in his belly to be out at sea where he progressed to stand-up paddle racing and surfing and eventually trying SUP foiling and surf foiling.
“It’s now possible to paddle out into the ocean swells and ride them on your foil at the same speed as the ocean swell, it’s an endless exhilarating ride.”
And that’s the big difference between surfing and foiling as he explains, “100m rides turn into 500m rides that you can catch and ride something that doesn’t even break, averaging speeds of 25 to 30k/ph.”
Foiling is not for everyone, as dictated by the price. You can buy a surfboard for an average of $650 compared to a foil that’s double that and more, although prices are now dropping.
“Foils alone were around the $2500 mark but have now come down to $1299 like the Neil Pryde Glide Surf which is what I ride,” Pirie said.
You also need a prone or SUP board and it’s possible to convert existing boards for around $300, although Pirie recommends purchasing the real thing.
“A foil-specific board is much better and the prones are around $800 to $1200 and the SUPS $1600 to $2800. It’s a big investment but you will be surfing triple the amount of time you used to.”
So how hard is it to learn how to foil?
“Foiling for most people is a daunting learning curve. Some guys pick it up super quick but most people will take around a month before they are consistently flying on waves. The best and safest way to learn is on a SUP foil behind a boat or a jetski or get out to the Wakeboard park at Oxenford for a private lesson.”
Obviously the experts know how to be safe on foils.
“While it has opened up whole new areas for foil surfing, it also has places where it doesn’t belong. The crowded line up and the main peak on point breaks are definitely not spots for a prone or SUP foil,” he said.
“It’s just not necessary as there are so many spots normal surfers just can’t ride that you can have a ball on foiling.”
IT’S AN ENDLESS EXHILARATING RIDE (ON THE OCEAN SWELLS). ROB PIRIE