How to enter or exit a shorebreak | WING FOIL

[@TheOKKiteboarder]

Yes. Finally. Inland lake riders like me who travel for a coastal vacation hoping for a little winging…until large shore break and onshore winds 🤔. Thanks and keep it coming.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you friend we appreciate you!

[@JasonNorwoodSPI]

Plenty of beat downs here on South Padre Island when the waves are head high with a 3 foot mast digging into the sand. Generally I walk out like I do when long boarding. Nose pointing to wave with board on its rail, Keeping the board tight to your side so you can dive thru the shore break. Meanwhile, your downwind arm holds the sail high as possible. I've even thrown it over waves when getting munched and reeling back in quickly. Don't let go of the board keeping the foil upwind! If you totally get blasted and all tangled up, remember to disconnect your sail least... not your foil board. The sail is not going to cut, name or decapitate anyone ;0 My Armstrong waist leash for the sail even has a kite style quick release. Pretty cool as long as it's not blowing offshore. Also, I use a Kaohi 5' double coil calf leash that has neoprene handle where it attaches to the board. Being able to grab the handle is nice when you're struggling to control the board in the beach break. Returning to shore I grab the mast and walk in tail first after face planting on the sandbar while showing off. Hope this helps y'all and see ya in the Fall on SPI. Still only a handful of Wingerz down here, Aloha Keep the excellent videos coming Damo!!! We love them :D

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

@@JasonNorwoodSPI Thank you so much for the feedback it really helps everyone... We appreciate you, thank you!

[@grahamreed8443]

Once I couldn’t make it back to my protected launch and had to make it to shore with chest-head high waves breaking on shore (lunar high tide). I foiled around just outside the shorebreak and waited for a set. I then followed the last wave in on foil in Umbrella mode, just shy of stalling. I rode into the shallows until I grounded out and jumped off to the sand. Immediately ran up the beach dragging the board by the leash with my free hand. Worked a treat minus a bruised heal!

[@Gmoney201201]

Yeah, exactly. I'll stay on foil with wing power, not necessarily surfing a wave in, and then ride to the beach. When it gets like 6"-12" of water I jump off and kind of try and stab my foil into the sand. And run out of the jump with the wing. Get the wing settled down and go grab my board from the edge of the water. You have to commit and send it. But so far no damage to gear or self.

[@cbliddiard]

Another safe option is deflate the wing and roll it up outside then paddle in between sets.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

That is a great idea as well friend thank you!

[@jackindekeu528]

Yes - shore break entry/exit is often the most critical - and stressful - part of wing foiling in Delray Beach. When entering and exiting, I always keep my wing on the leeward side (downwind)... this means that I typically end up switching my wing leash at some point during the session, so that it is on my leeward arm when returning to the beach. This way, there's less chance of getting tangled up in the leash and/or ruining the foil canopy.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you for your thoughts friend..... Everyone appreciates it....

[@joesteef2766]

Thanks guys, could you show a little more safely exiting the shore break with a wing and foil in a future vid? I'm still intimidated. Thanks

[@eddiehawley7145]

Safety, Safety, Safety First for you and your friends around you. Always where a board leash so others don't get hurt by a run away foil board. If there is a chance of a bigger shore break where a helmet, impact vest/life jacket and a wetsuit, even if the wetsuit is 1 to 3mil it will help the accidental foil impact.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Eddie great information thank you!

[@michaellambert8606]

What about a wing leash extender, so during the critical section you can ditch both and go deep if you need to with your board and wing different distances from you. Take it off while foiling and put it in your Fanny pack. The stories of getting sliced often are from trying to hold the board in the falls. Getting out I find quick distance can be gained by sailing on my knees, then throwing the sail and duck or turtle under the waves. Haven’t actually tried turtling yet.

[@Rocco_Kurokawa]

If there is only shore break, it might be an option to put a buoy outside of shore break and just swim out with the wing first and attach it there, then go back to get the board.

[@dolcevitaspain9029]

I release both leaches before exiting big shorebreak... just in case if I get washed or loose control. So I can release foil.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you for sharing!

[@martinomovies]

One foot waves look and feel like a six foot waves when you’re paddling out especially if there is a small period between waves like up here in Lake Michigan. Going out is tough but if you’re patient you can wait for the sets to die down and then go, quickly. Coming in is harder to gage the timing so find a place on the beach with the least swell and then walk your board back up the beach. Oh and wear a helmet. I would also say that it’s important to know how to jibe because coming down off foil and then back up again in the waves is exhausting.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Great advise friend thank you!

[@rockm0001]

Great video but you didn’t show many videos of examples of people going in and out of the water.

[@actrand]

Would like to see more videos of people launching through shorebreak. Also, how critical it is to keep the wing floating above the white water. And never assume that you’ve made it through because there’s always that last wave that pops up. May be able to get the Wing over it too often the power of the wave pulls the board back and your starting all over.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you will add to the list!

[@rnetsch]

oh yeah, been waiting for this one.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

It not always goes your way! No matter how hoard you try! ahhhhhhhhhh

[@davecurrence1738]

Me too! Already shredded one wing getting in over my head on the way back in ;).

[@rnetsch]

well yesterday was ocean session #9 if my count is right...was lucky for the first 8. eaten by shore pound and split wing this time. looking back i can't think of how it could have gone well, other than to have had a better spot to come in. this, and leashes, are not my favorite aspects of winging.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

@@rnetsch nooooooooo. It was a hurricane right? ahhhhhhhhhh

[@wildhogget69]

The trouble with my board is the slot for carrying is on the top, so I always have to have the wing and the slot in one hand, so wing, board, me foil. Its the only way I can carry it safely. would love to know how people secure the board and wing on the beach. board face down into wind, seems logical to me as the wing creates lift, but this would reverse and create down force thus pushing the wing into the sand??? Another great video guys

[@Yanivkahana]

Watching this after I tore my wing fabric and window from the foil. Main conclusion when getting in is keep the wing high if you tumble.

[@DS-go8mn]

Regularly winging and kiting on super crowded beaches I would stress that the number one priority is making sure that no other swimmers and beachgoers get injured. If you get injured or your equipment gets damaged yeah that's bad... but it's not as bad and it's not a threat to our sport and access to launch areas if a bystander getting hurt

[@gnevesd]

I had my first shorebreak experience recently and while it was pretty small, I could see how it could get stressful and dangerous very quickly. In this video I saw two techniques to manage the board: 1. Board on it's side/foil upwind/arm over the top of the board holding the handle (seems fine until it gets deep) 2. Board on it's side/foil upwind/hand holding footstrap to drag board beyond the breaking waves. Thoughts on which you prefer?

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

The both work, but when it gets deep jump on that board, and paddle as hard as you can out past the break! It is all about timing....

[@jhmastodonj]

I noticed that too. But some boards have the handle on the TOP side so you can't use the handle AND have the foil pointing away from you. Also, some boards are too wide to get your arm around to the rail (like mine). Some people (there was a guy in the video @6:15 mark) carry the foil by the mast or foil-wing above the break. But he was using a very small, light board....I have loads of experience with nasty shore pound but have never had to deal with a foil while doing it, just a sailboard where the fin is

[@grumfa]

Thanks for all

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you!

[@jayboo175]

Thanks guys once again !

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you!

[@psychicjunkie]

I'm still on the lake, but I have been eying up the Noosa River Mouth where I live. I'm thinking a paid lesson in the ocean first time.

[@jhmastodonj]

No offense to the instructors out there, but I think you'll learn what you need to know by watching others do it first. As D&G said, it's a very site-specific thing. So, just understanding the place and seeing how others handle it will be very instructive. Plus you'll probably pick up some other tricks/techniques too

[@JeffreyJDavis]

This is an area I struggle with because where we live (Emerald Coast of Gulf) when there is surf there is almost always an inside sandbar (not really shorebreak but maybe 20m off beach) which is probably 2 feet deep sandbar and sucking out, and faces can be 3 to 5 feet easy. Generally it's breaking like this up and down the entire beach, with very few entry / exit points. One thing I've toyed with (but haven't tried yet) is putting a small boat anchor with say 20 feet of line with a boat tender float and a carabiner out 10 or 15 meters past the inside break. I was thinking about just putting the wing cuff on my ankle and just swimming / powering through the inside to get out to deeper water, clip the wing there for safety, swim back in and then try to make it out with just the board. I'm not sure if this would accomplish much but might make it a little safer. What do you think?

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Well its one way to do it! I feel you will get better with entering and exiting with time, but that is one way you can approach it for sure. Nice idea....

[@kennethtucker5193]

Agree, the surf on the Emerald Coast is difficult to get out when the waves are ideal for foiling the outer sandbar. I'm still pondering the ideal entry and exit. 3 to 4 foot closeouts will pound you!

[@JeffreyJDavis]

@@kennethtucker5193 walk out west jetty or somehow other way charge through the shorepound. as you know also, normally when it's cranking outside, the inside is banging and the current is typically ripping to one side

[@wildhogget69]

Got trashed the other day, coming back in, nice big hole in the 3month old Duotone 6.5m!! Ankle deep to chest deep in seconds...boom... luckily it was my wing and not my head!

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Great way to look at it friend! We have all been there! Part of the sport, glad you are ok....

[@gatesurfer]

I don’t have handles on the bottom of my board. And if I grab the board by the mast, it’s very difficult to keep in balance. And the board and foil is waaaay to heavy to grab it with one arm.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

If your board and foil is too heavy to grab with one arm, we would recommend to avoid any shorebreak. Pick a nice flat water entry and exit for your session and have fun! 🤩

[@dolcevitaspain9029]

Prioryty big shorebreak: 1. Save yourself first 2. Stay awayvfrom foil that cut you or wing 3. Release wing ( or foil )

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you!

[@johntesoriero3382]

Great videos! Thanks

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you John!

[@sleepdoctor09]

what#s the max swell height that#s beginner safe in your opinion? cheers for the great videos

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Well its all really up to the comfort of the person! I would say its best to try and learn with no swell. Then start with 2-3 feet and build from there.

[@sleepdoctor09]

@@DamienLeroyKZbin thanks for taking the time. am itching to try. moving to the UK devon coast soon. great beach breakes but also rather shallow and sometimes hard to get out.

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

@@sleepdoctor09 You will find a spot sometimes you can use a location that maybe has less swell or is blocked in some way or a inlet. You will be able to do it friend. You got this, you will love it.

[@jaimemetcher388]

@@DamienLeroyKZbin Agree with the no swell approach, and to go by feel rather than numbers. At my local beach 2-3ft on the swell report translates into a wall of board-crunching hollow closeouts on a shallow bank. The surf in this video would register as 0ft in our local surf report.

[@jasemurphy977]

I find under 20 knots is easier for direct onshore wind otherwise it’s impossible ,anything over 20knots I I wait for cross shore wind and kneel out or I see if I can enter beach from the sides

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you Jase! Appreciate your info to help others...

[@Mickfoil1]

So I assume you are not using leashes with your board in the surf?

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

No we use leashes for sure.

[@Mickfoil1]

@@DamienLeroyKZbin OK I do too but I have poked about 6 wings already when entering or exiting heavy shorebreaks. I use Calf coil 8ft leash with my 5'8 wing sup 99L and a waist leash with the hand Wing .How do you keep the foil from poking the wing when you get tumbled in shore break

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

​@@Mickfoil1 So hard really, happens to everyone, but sometime you can ditch the wing or foil so it gets washed up and you can take one or the other in and grab the other so you do not tumble all together. There is no easy way to do it when its pumping swell. Other option is looking for a area that has less shore break to go in and out and then ride to the waves and come back to it. I am guessing you are on the beach so it is just game on all the time! We have the same and its more luck if you can sneak out. Another option is to deflate your wing and come in, wrapped in a ball.

[@koLLac]

Ride inland lake in 20 knots of direct onshore (any other wind direction is just not consistent). It creates awful short steep chop. Hoping I'll get strong enough to paddle far enough into the chop to then be able to get up before drifting into the shallows again. Anyone have a similar setup?

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

One of our friends, Tony, always rides inland lakes in Idaho, check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naHLfpedhNGga7M

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Full interview with Tony here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJbMhp-werShiqM

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Those are the hardest conditions! Just take the time and paddle straight into the wind as far as you can go. Relax and start the learning process trying to wing! It will be harder than side shore but you got this friend. We believe in you!

[@koLLac]

@@DamienLeroyKZbin you're too kind sir :). I could always drop in upwind from a different spot but the beach is the most convenient place to park and play from (great for kiting, even in direct onshore). I'll practice and hopefully share the stoke with a success story later;)

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

@@koLLac Remember nothing great comes easy! :) You got this friend. Have a great week!

[@francoismorrier4842]

But its not a very big shorebraek on the videos, not even really shorebreak .. ! so quite easy to enter, butwhen strong and intensive shorebreak its an other game .. like you say at the begning in fact. But there are the "middle" which is still practicable but quite strong and much more complicate to enter when waves are from shorebreak to few dozen of meters in the water, you have to be fast and slalom to go as far as possible as fast as possible .. !

[@DamienLeroyYouTube]

Thank you for sharing!