I have started this thread as Hilly made a good point as this topic seems to be appearing in many threads atm which is often off topic so here it is.
I would like this thread to be a constructive one of ideas on how to educate people rather than complaining who is doing the right and wrong thing.
Foil Assist is still quite new and along with foiling there are people who aren't respecting others around them.
We really need to come together as a community and create great etiquette among us and this goes for all disciplines of foiling.
I have seen wingers and proners take the piss. Just simply going too close to others or pumping back through the lineup and taking more than the fair share of waves. I have heard stories of Assist and efoilers doing the same.
We all need our bucket filled when we go out but it's much easier to fill you bucket on one discipline over the other.
For the record I do it all. Surf, Kite, Prone, Wing, Assist and Efoil.
Surfing speaks for it's self and when I surf I have the least amount of wave time, then if I am to prone foil I get much more time riding the wave so with that in mind I always give way to the surfers as I know at the end of a session I would still had more time riding a wave. I will literally call surfers onto a wave I am riding and pull off my self even if I had right of way.
I don't efoil around anyone except for other efoilers and respect the PWC rules as the efoils are heavier, and can travel in any direction with speed not just on a wave so you really need to look around more.
I also use the proto AMP mast which I treat very much like an efoil except it is much lighter and when heading back out to the back you really just set a straight line and don't carve like you can on an efoil. I would never use this in a lineup as the whole point is to get away from the crowd.
The AMP jet is the one assist I treat a little more like a prone as it feels the most like a prone. People don't get there back up as they can't see the motor or even know that I have an assist. I use the jet for it's intended purpose, take off on waves that no one else can take off on. That doesn't mean take off earlier than anyone else so I can take all the waves. It means I can sit a good 50m wide of a crowed break and not be close to anyone. These would be breaks that are too busy that I would take the AMP Jet out over the Prone as I don't like taking off on a busy break with a prone but it allows me to take of so wide that even a Mal rider couldn't take off on the inside and make it out to where I am siting. I am just riding all by myself so wide that I am not annoying anyone. I have had many surfers pull me up at the end of a session asking why other proners don't foil where I am and how the hell do I paddle into such fat waves. After finding out I have a jet in the board they all think it's brilliant!
When it's just me and a couple of mates at a break and they are proning and I am on the AMP Jet I give them priority every day of the week. Non power should always have Priority over powered.
I don't want foiling to be banned anywhere. So if we all take a step back and use each discipline for it's intended advantages we can continue to enjoy this incredible sport. Be more repectfull that anyone else out there no matter what foil you are on, you are most likely going to have you bucket filled way more than the other people in the lineup.
Great post Chris as you have pretty much said it all. Thanks for your effort and hopefully we can unite as a community and make it unnecessary for the legislators to step in.
www.instagram.com/p/C6RSWR4oCk4/?igsh=MWk1MzRrcHp1cGRnNQ==
As a group we are trying to promote good Foildrive etiquette in Cornwall, to minimise any issues over the coming summer months.
Point taken. It does imply that it's ok to efoil near the line up which is where trouble will occur and has occurred locally. I'm not the author. I will feed this back. Please feel free to raise any other issues. We are keen to try and prevent any kind of local foil ban.
Foil assist self regulation is not working IMO, just check the webcams on surfline of popular SE QLD spots for evidence of foil assist users in the lineup on a daily basis and they come in groups now and numbers increasing weekly and some even post their videos on youtube and here of them doing just this.
There is a pro foil assist community and a pro normal foiling community, and from what I observe, they are two different communities within foiling.
I think the pro normal foil community has too much to lose from all of us being banned from the lineup to rely on self regulation by foil assist community.
In the Gold Coast (QLD) all jetskis (PWC) are not allowed except when it's big and beaches are closed. In NSW foil assists are regulated as a PWC, hopefully QLD will follow suit very shortly and regulate all foil assist as a PWC, otherwise we may all be banned shortly.
What are the rules the foil assist community are self regulating too (if any):
- foil assist users have no right of way in the lineup (shouldn't be in the lineup with others)
- they should not use it around other foilers, surfers, wingers, windsurfers or other water users and remain a 200m distance even if not using the motor
- learn the sailing rules and right of way when using around boats, kite surfers, wind surfers and wingers etc
- don't forget the 200m rule
I'm not against foil assist products and they have a place for some, just nowhere near a surfing lineup with other users, and that rules out popular spots in SE QLQ as there's always 20-30+ surfers out most days at any given spot. It's unfair on jetski users too as they are not allowed to tow foil close to the lineup, so why should foil assist users be allowed, it's the same category right being able to catch waves with assistance, and should be treated the same.
On other forums surfers are complaining about the noise as surfing is a peaceful activity and foil assist is noisy prop noise etc.
I just think the pro normal foiling community has to take action before others take action for us all.
There's no point pretending there's not a problem brewing that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later..
I use a Foildrive to stay out of the lineup. Last few times I went out I was by myself riding unbreaking waves at high tide. This is one of the most crowded breaks anywhere and based on recent posts I keep wondering if I'm going to end up in a knife fight going there. Pretty disturbing hearing some advocating that the prone foilers need to take action or come up there own solution. I only get positive vibes when it comes to meeting other foilers.
Rather than kill their own golden goose, FD and the other efoil manufacturers need to be more proactive around marketing their product as a tool for (a) learning to foil, (b) downwind foiling with or without a paddle, or (c) foiling large unbroken waves well before they pitch and can be surfed with a standard board. They might sell fewer units in the near term by focusing the application, but it will benefit them in the long term. Nobody wins if efoils or foiling gets banned and FD and the efoil companies won't benefit if prone foilers and regular surfers resent them. Nobody is going to buy these things if they are banned or resented.
How about no FD or efoil videos in breaks where an experienced rider can chip in? One look at FD instagram and over half of it is waves that those same riders could have chipped into. Why bother promoting that kind of thing? Posting a video on a punchy wave or a techy air on a crubling peak is an easy way to get the cheap "likes", but that isn't the right use for this tool and it is going to build long-term resentment.
Focus the marketing toward the use cases that promote long-term growth, not short term unit sales.
Just thought I'd chime in as someone who was an early adopter of the eFoil who has been through the rigamarole of the Nanny State nonsense
This topic seems to be a bit of a ticking bomb
In WA, if you want to go by the book, then technically since you have to register with the DoT at a state level and there is no clear delineation of an 'assist' - the local lows for pretty much every coastal council in the metro area actually would not allow you to even walk into the water as your motorised board is deemed a 'vessel / boat' and they are only allowed to launch from a designated boat ramp - not a beach
Oh and also you have to abide by the speed limit too - which is 8kn within 200m of the shoreline
Stirling would be the most scrutinised and I have definitely entered the water in front of beach inspectors / lifeguards in other council areas with no fuss, but I generally keep a low profile and have no interest in foiling where there are people or surfers
I'm like 90% downwinding these days and am very conscious how much attention these things draw, but again I have almost always used it to get where other people aren't and I'm in Perth where the waves are garbage
I have foiled in SE QLD / NSW and seen how crazy it gets although 200m away from a break to me seems a bit much, and the comparisons to a PWC are not fully relevant either
A jetski moving at speed is a big chunk of metal that can do real damage if it hit someone, plus they are loud and obnoxious
A prone / SUP foiler could just as easily smash into someone too
So other than the exposed prop and the noise which would be a nuisance sure, if someone on an assist is wearing a leash I don't think they should be near the line up, but I do think they can ride closer than 200m to others
Anyways, back to the 'rules'
I just checked and a recent addition from the DoT requires a lifejacket to be worn at all times - even in flat water which is kind of annoying!
Honestly in the last 4 years and hundreds of sessions, I've had like 3 interactions with water police and seemingly only when they are bored and out of curiosity - I don't even currently have stickers on my board either even though it is registered
And on that note, I'd be more concerned about the significant uptick in crew who are wake thieving nowadays and the implications that has
I'm still surprised something hasn't been said yet (that I am aware of) as the majority of the action in Perth takes place literally right in front of the water rat HQ
Doesn't matter if you are on a Foil drive / eFoil or dock starting on a Maccas tray, but it is whacky races on the Swan River sometimes and eventually someone is going to get cleaned up by a boat
A surfer getting hit in the line up is one thing, but an incident on a busy marine traffic lane is something that will draw a lot of negative attention to foiling in general and could result in ridiculous over correction like in Sydney
Not all the action happens in the ocean.
In NSW efoils and Foil Drives are PWC's with exemptions. all other conditions apply
www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/waterways-safety-and-rules/emerging-technologies/motor-powered-hydrofoil-board
Also in NSW Tow Boogie are prohibited to use.
www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/waterways-safety-and-rules/emerging-technologies/remote-controlled-or-autonomous-towing-drones
It's probably because there is a big push by surfers. Totally agree! I was driving 65km /h yesterday and a dude on an electric scooter with only a bike helmet was trying to pass me .
Yes ! 100% !! If you have a motor , of any sort, you should be well away from anyone else. There's just no need. And I say that as a Foildrive user . Just be somewhere away from everyone else so it simply isn't an issue. Enjoy your own space , where the concept of a "lineup" becomes irrelevant. That was always supposed to be the promise of foiling , but lately there has been a bit of "scope creep" and riders have started to stray into the same spaces as other water users. Some of the social media footage posted ain't helping.
You could probably expand that to not foiling around others generally, whether powered or unpowered. Prone foilers will probably disagree but I'm not one so I have no dog in that fight. But what I will say is that if it comes down to foilers vs the authorities / councils / regulators , or surfers for that matter, foilers will lose.
EDIT: Hmm, the post I was replying to seems to have disappeared.
Looks like the foil drive team didn't get the memo about the 200m rule being self regulated and are foiling in the line up at Kirra and other popular SE QLD spots all this week, check the surfline cams for confirmation.
What does the foiling community have to do to stop "assist" products from being used in the line up?
Yeah I was, it's the guys you are promoting and posting about recently in your foil drive videos, they have no respect for the rules and using the foil drive in the lineup around surfers and within metres of surfers and me this morning, I heard one is a foil drive dealer too, go figure, what an example to set for the industry and the foil drive product!
Self regulating is not working and these guys are not good ambassadors for the foiling community using an assist product in busy lineups at Kirra this morning. Check the cams at surfline, the footage is there in plain sight for all to see.