Chapter 6: First Day in Water

I remember the day like it was yesterday. June 4, 2023 - I was 34 years old wearing a helmet and paddling out to the local beginner break known as Bambi's. Conditions were 1-3 ft SSW on a rising mid tide, light wind. My goals for the session were to 1) Paddle into a wave, 2) Try getting to my feet, 3) Learn more about my gear, and 4) Come home without an injury.

Now the truth? I don't remember much about that day at all. I just glanced at my Foil Journal from when I first started, which leads me to my next recommendation.

Start a foiling journal!

Look - the first few sessions for the average joe are brutal out there. It's easy to come home discouraged, frustrated, and want to quit. Creating a short journal entry for each session can really be the difference maker, helping you track your progression (as slow as it may be at first).

Regardless of your format (I used OneNote), I recommend at least including the following:

1. Date

2. Gear used (helpful if you have different boards / wings)

3. Conditions (helpful to add context to your day, especially if using a different wing)

4. Goals (I would set 1-4 achievable goals, one always being to come home without an injury at first)

5. Results (which goals did you accomplish? Any notable waves? What % of waves you paddle for were successful?)

6. Learnings (E.g. what waves were easier to catch? Do you need to focus on leaning forward more to avoid getting bucked off?)

Outside of that, it's up to you. The real goal here is to create 'micro-wins' while you navigate the most frustrating phase of learning. Didn't get on foil and have any long rides? Who cares!? You may have had a learning breakthrough that will make your next session 10x more fun.

Now I'm not going to write an essay about how to make the most of your first day in the water but here's a few tips I recommend.

1. Calm yourself. Deep breaths. Don't rush into anything. See another wave coming after you just fell on another takeoff? Let it through. Don't get all frantic out there trying to maximize every second.

   
   

2. Getting bucked off the back of your board on every wave? Change something. Either scoot your body further forward when paddling into a wave or move your mast way back. Once you notice a trend, change something.

   
   

3. Have rocks or reef at your break? Float next to your board trying to get a good feel for how deep it is vs. your mast length. My first foil took a lot of abuse my first week until I started standing next to my board to ensure it was deep enough.

   
   

4. Become a master of falling off your board. This might be the most important tip. Don't be a hero! If you feel like you are losing balance in one direction, accept your fate and slowly plop down in that direction. I always try to keep at least one foot glued to my traction pad to keep my foil away from me. The majority of foil injuries happen when you overcorrect while losing balance, cause your board to flip upside down and you land directly on the foil.

   
   

5. Tired? Get out. One of my biggest learnings early on was when I was out for 2-3 hours the second half of my session was always shit. Your going to use a lot more energy during the learning phase because your body will be tense and everything is so new. You'll build up to those longer sessions in time.

   
   

6. STAY AWAY from surfers/everyone. Beginner foilers are a hazard to everyone around them. Foiling is a very new sport and we are all ambassadors that have the power to change foiling's reputation (for better or worse). If your local break is super crowded when it's glassy, go out when the wind starts blowing. Some of my best days early on were when the wind was blowing and zero other people were out.

Most importantly, have fun! You are and will be a kook for a while - embrace it! Laugh about your helmet, your falls, all of it. You are learning one of the most difficult sports in the world - that alone makes you awesome.

Be proud of yourself for learning something new and get stoked that you are about to harness magic and take flight in your first wave soon!

Yewww!