Foil Drive Gen2... First salt water session & first prone surfing experience.

[@drbfitk366]

Great start on your first FD 🌊 surf session. You looked fairly comfortable out there. What were you doing practice wise before hitting the ocean. I find some sessions on Lake Ontario quite challenging, particularly in the fall/winter where the waves & swell significant.🏄‍♂️👍🏻

[@lakechamplainkitenwing]

Wow, this is going to be lengthy, but since a few people have asked... I think that if you can handle the waves in any of the Great Lakes then you can handle the waves anywhere. I correctly assumed that getting in and out of the water is where things can be radically different, especially with foil gear. So, here's how I prepared, and here's the plan I put in place that proved to be quite sound... Watch as many videos of people getting in and out of the surf as you can, and watch this... kzbin.info/www/bejne/o57WmHWfbbR_apYsi=TI6x0Jon8KJ1UEC_ When you do make it to the ocean, stand in the surf for 10 minutes with your gear just shy of the breakers to get a feel for the strength of the current and the power of the breakers (you might be surprised... I certainly was) and to learn to time the breaks when it would be safest to exit. You do not get that strength and power in a lake, so you'll need to readjust the way you enter and exit. Being patient and watching for breaks paid off big time!!! Although most of the surfers were in shorts only, I went out in a full suit, impact vest, and helmet. :) Practice duck diving! Once out there, stay deep and once you start riding the waves, exit before they break until you learn to read them. Don't try to hang in there... bail before you you get tossed! You don't want to get caught in the rinse cycle attached to your board and foil! Scary as hell!!! Finally, come up with a way to detach yourself from the board quickly in an emergency. I chose to enter and exit the surf without attaching my board leash. I attached it once I got deeper. My personal preference (not everyone's) is that it's better to sacrifice my gear than my body. I did release the board a few times during my first few attempts. It washed up to shore with no damage whatsoever. And, I was glad to have separated myself from the board. Some foil surfers have created their own leashes with quick releases, and I plan on researching that some more. These were my preparations and thoughts as a COMPLETE FOIL SURF BEGINNER. Now, after many sessions, I'm still glad I approached it the way I did, and feel comfortable sharing this. What I didn't do until several sessions in and would have benefited from doing sooner... Talk to the local foil surfers, ask them for any tips/advice, listen, watch, and learn, and bring the beer. ;) Another thing I didn't do, but consider to be sound advice, would be to venture out for the first couple of times under ideal conditions (no wind, no current, tiny shore break, etc.), and work your way up to the "bigger" days. I head back to the ocean in January and can't wait!!! ENJOY!!!