should a longboard with a boost fin be considered a personal watercraft?
First world problems.
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I don’t think anyone is arguing over definitions of PWCs . We’re just talking about avoiding issues where people get hurt or foiling gets banned due to beginners on foil drives going where they shouldn’t go.
Without a discussion about it, it’s way to easy for anyone to just start e-foiling around on a foil drive and hurt themselves or someone else.
Seems like there is a lot of consensus.
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I had a relatively pleasant interaction with a Foil Assist guy last week, named Tim. I regularly SUP foil Mushroom Rock which is in and around Mavericks. There is always energy but it is extremely choppy so most people don’t like to foil the spot. A guy came from around the harbor side and up to the beach. I asked what was up and he said he was going to get another battery. Ok.
I then caught a wave from Mushroom to the Harbor Entrance ~ 1 mile. I was paddling back when he came from behind me, out the harbor mouth, and powered out to a reef called King Rock. He proceeded to catch waves in and around King Rock. They were probably 4- 7 foot faces, crumbling and then fading into open ocean/bay.
When I saw him later he said “Wow those were really good waves out there.”
NO ONE HAS EVER IN THE HISTORY of HUMANITY has chosen to paddle out the King Rock to catch waves. Good for him. But I suspect he is a rarity.
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I had a friend get hit and seriously injured by a foildrive user recently. I won’t try to fully describe the scenario but the potential fallout is worth noting. Apparently foildrives and all motorized watercraft is already illegal there. As such he’s been pressured to sue over the accident because the other rider couldn’t have gotten the wave he did without the foildrive.
He’s not the type to sue so that won’t happen, but we have to expect the lawsuits to come sooner or later if someone is using a motorized device in the lineup and it results in another major injury.
wow, we are starting to sound like the surfer forum talking about foilers.
I’ve noticed that there is always another wave right behind the one I just passed up to let someone else have their fun on it. Ride the way you want to ride, and if you don’t like it - the ocean is pretty big.
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btw…pretty much all the discussion on the foildrive riders FB clearly says “stay out of the line-up” “stay away from surfers” “get out well past the break” and the like…
but, those are the responsible folks, and the problem children aren’t hearing or paying attention to those messages…
history repeating itself with user-conflicts…snowboards (STILL banned on some mountains), mountainbikes, e-bikes
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Agreed. It has less to do with the specific form of recreation and more to do with the general lack of etiquette from certain individuals in every activity.
I think that people who learn prone, sup, wingfoil, supfoil, dw supfoil, pronefoil, and then pick up an efoil have a very different respect for the lineup than folks who start at the efoil stage.
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I don’t think they belong out past the break either. It makes no sense to say ok if your out the back.
In my opinion no motorised equipment belongs anywhere near a surf break with surfers or foilers. There will be foiling bans as a result of the influx of foil drive pilots responsible or not.
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Man, places with “good surf” really suck. Rocky coasts with small spots (featuring great waves sure) condense all the wave users in a small area. It’s a recipe for disaster more than the equipment.
Bring that foil drive business to the southeast. We got miles of identical mushy garbage waves, perfect for all types of foil craft. You could be doing tow ins with sharks with freakin laser beams on their heads and there would be nobody around to give a shit.
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Its not that crappy . . . and there aren’t that many sharks
Begrudgingly likes post
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Monterey Bay Sanctuary NOAA is currently working on the legal language to classify any form of motorized foils as a Motorized Personal Watercraft, same as jetskis. The loop-hole of saying FD is just used for assisting to catch a wave is not going to fly.
Here is an email from a Santa Cruz City official on the subject…
NOAA has recently adopted federal regulations that prohibit e-foils as “MPWCs” at Cowell’s and virtually everywhere in the City with the exception of a designated area outside of the Santa Cruz Harbor. Our understanding is that NOAA’s regulations do apply to Cowell’s as part of the Marine Sanctuary. The primary question and challenge is related to enforcement.
We have had discussions with NOAA/Monterey Bay NMS, Santa Cruz Harbor, and of course internally among Parks and Fire Departments. One step that we are exploring is adopting a City ordinance that would mirror the existing federal regulations and would give support to law enforcement agencies efforts at Cowell’s and elsewhere.
This issue broadens and becomes very complicated to the extent that it includes manual hydrofoils, SUPs, kayaks, or other watercraft. We are not seeking to ban these uses, however with the risk of e-foils and NOAA’s newly adopted regulatory position, this is one that we are seeking to mimic for consistency and public safety.
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