I was lucky enough to be in Waikiki for the M2O registration at Duke's when a couple of my friends were competing in the 34th Annual China Uemura contest right next door.... The waves were small at Queens (almost unsurfable on anything other than a foil board or longboard) but it was sunny, offshore & clean....
To say the boys were ripping is an understatement.... The future of foil boarding & what these guys are doing is insane! (let the photos speak for themselves) From full rail turn carves, lay-backs, tube rides & aerials these guys were amazing with their speed & agility...
Not to mention watching Kai Lenny fly past me & complete the M2O in 2 hours 52 mins (and he had to paddle in the last & hardest 2 miles prone) while i grinded it out for 7 hours on a 17'9 race board...
The foil brand of choice was definitely GoFoil with most guys riding the Kai or IWA & half of them were on the NEW longer mast while the other half are still happy to be on the original.....
The future of surfing is definitely in the air & above the water! (the amount of people foiling on Maui & Oahu is incredible.... from 8 year old's to 80 year old's....so if you don't think you can do it or it's too expensive, you're wrong)
I was lucky enough to meet and Foil with a lot of the crew there. They are in another league. Most of the crew were on the new longer mast which is slightly tapered from the board end down. The boards of choice in that day were Kalama or Jimmy Lewis foil boards.
My GoFoil took a beating on the corals at Waikiki getting very scratched up. It's very foiler friendly at Waikiki provided you treat others with respect. The Kalama boards were about 28" wide and some about 5'10 long, not pretty but they work.
Crazy Cool!
Here is another perspective on the competition. Shore view but with names overlayed and a bit more concentrated on the hot moves.
