This might be a Northern California thing — or ideally where foiling is headed.
For the past three months, I’ve been chasing a specific setup: a 2-mile solo “downwind” foil run powered entirely by swell, an eBike, and an electric scooter. I’ve now logged over 60 laps on the route between Mushroom Rock and Miramar in Half Moon Bay, CA since Feb 20th when I got the scooter.
The idea stems from the No Wind Downwinder — a foil line that runs off a prominent point where northwest wind swell wraps, refracts, and transforms into long-period rollers. Thanks to the bathymetry at Pillar Point, energy from NW, W, and even SW swells gets fractured and redirected east and northeast along the jetty wall. The result? Nearly constant glideable swell.
Mornings can be glassy with 4–7 foot open ocean bumps. Afternoons sometimes improve with west or northwest winds, though side-shore NNW can make things trickier. Still, with winter delivering 6–10 foot swells at 10–14 seconds more than 90% of the time, there’s almost always energy to ride.
The Loop:
Step 1: Load foil board and electric scooter on my eBike.
Step 2: Park the scooter along the coastal trail in Miramar.
Step 3: Ride the eBike to Mushroom Rock, paddle out.
Step 4: Paddle up and ride 2 miles back to Miramar (ideally in one clean shot).
Step 5: Stash the board, scooter back to Mushroom Rock.
Step 6: Load the scooter on the eBike, return to grab the board, and head home.
Fastest lap time: 1 hour, 2 minutes. Average: around 1 hour, 20 minutes. Total transit distance 13 miles: 7 miles Bike, 3.5 miles Scooter, 2.5 miles Paddle and On Foil.
It’s a fully self-supported downwind loop — no cars, no shuttle crew, and no wind required. Just swell, bathymetry, and the right gear.
Maiden voyage below. Feb 20th, 2025 1 hour 15 minutes.
Overlaying the tracks on the Nautical Charts is very revealing. What I have found is that the best part of the run corresponds with Water that is 25 - 30 feet or more in depth as shown in Blue.
In shallower water, or when the Wave Energy is not carrying over the reef the downwinding can get very technical meaning I would only be happy with a large efficient foil aka Axis Fireball 1350. When the waves get huge, meaning >> 10 feet & 13+ second energy the bumps along this run can be more similar to open ocean conditions.
This shows a much “Wider” run. I will paddle out halfway between Mushroom rock and the Green Mavericks Can. The takeoff is over 60 - 70 feet of water and it is a whole other world. Deep blue water and booming swells. It is full-tilt open ocean downwinding, even with no local wind, until you hit the little finger of reef. The reef is called Black Hand. If you can get around the Green Can marking the shipping channel the wave energy will persist, but as I cut back toward shore the bumps can drop from 6 - 8 feet+ down to just 1.5 - 3 feet.
To stay in the bigger energy you would have to continue to Francis Beach, Kelly Street, or go to the Ritz Carleton which is beyond my scooter / eBike practical range.
This is great. I had thought about using a one wheel dropped off to get back to the truck and make the loop. Your rig could literally be parked basically anywhere!
I’ve been doing something similar downwinding in Perth the last few years
I was kite foiling last season on a Slingshot pocket foil / strut less kite quiver
We had a wicked run of wind with the predominant Seabreeze usually around 18-25kn range
My 3m UFO use (can foil in as low as 16kn up to max was gusting 35kn) over 20 days in late Dec/Jan clocked 17 hours over 19 sessions totalling 365km!!
My normal run is 12km as the crow flies and takes at least 50% longer with the kite so about ~18-20km as I can’t straight line downwind, somewhere around broad reach looking at the Waterspeed app angles
Averages about 45-50 mins a session
I often get asked about my solo send downwinder logistics
I have my ‘Upwinder’ a fat tire e-bike with a cargo trailer (that folds down)
I live roughly in the middle of the run, so
Drop bike at the end.
Drive to start.
Downwinder.
Then it takes about 30 mins to ride the 12km or so back to my car along the coastal bike path
Not much slower than doing the 2 car shuffle with somebody else and gives me much more agency not having to wait for a partner
That being said it’s a 3 hour door to door mission from home!
The trailer would work for any foil craft even big SUPs, just strap them down backwards
I have been leaning on the family for the shuttle if I am doing a downwind solo. Or use the FD to do 2-3km loops upwind downwind. But your rigs are great options.
In Cape Town with Uber XL I managed a few extremely quick runs.
Order Uber and prep - 5min
Uber to start - 25min
Downwind to finish 10km - 30min
Back to desk - 10min
I was aiming for sends within an hour to be less disruptive to the working day, this was pretty fast. You can double the distance and get another Uber back to base, but that is tricky with wet gear. Key is having your gear and accommodation at the end point, not the start.
I’ve done this run from Mitchells Cove to Santa Moes a few times. I live right up the street from Moes. Drop the bike + trailer off at Moes, drive to Mitchells, downwind to Moes, drop trailer + foil rig off at home, ride e-bike to Mitchells. I can get 'er done in under 2 hours.
@Beasho - random question - are you using a kickstand with that bike and can it hold up the bike with the board on it? If not, how are you loading on the board and getting onto the bike?
yeah in CT they are pretty easy going about it, the XLs are usually a beatup Suzuki Ertiga that can easily fit an 8’0x18 board, paddle etc. Key is everything being dry and sand free and clean, also wetsuit, otherwise not happy. Sometimes it’s a slightly smaller car and then it can be a bit tight.
there is also a shuttle that runs when the wind is on, and that is more fun as there is a crew and everyone is frothing, but I often missed it
This looks BRUTAL! Man, the south is awesome I just hitch hike and get rides in the back of rednecks’ pickups, no setup required. Sometimes there’s even a DOG back there to hang out with and if your lucky the driver will pass you back a BEER for the ride back up!
You gotta be a chameleon though, some surfer giving you a ride it’s all “gnarly day bro gonna send it hard epic lines” or some old lady “Yes mam it’s called foiling it’s real real fun” but for the rednecks(best rides because pickups and not giving a shit) “Yeah Bo, you know got dang downwind setup gotta hitch that ride back up thank ya’ kindly you been on the water much anything biting man I tore up some redfish last weeekend”
Cops don’t give a shit, I get rides from the cops all the time, they only yell at us for being overloaded with foils and sitting on the bed rails(gotta be inside the bed). If there’s a big foil crew doing a group ride between the setup and having to wait for slow group riders I can get double the runs
This Run 2 definitely stretches my appetite for the electric-powered, self-supported downwind foil loop. 18 Miles Total Transit, 1 hour 45 minutes.
Here’s how the math works out:
Downwind Foil Distance Formula:
4 x (Run Length in miles + 0.5) + 3 = Total Miles (bike + paddle + foil + scooter)
Run 1: M-to-M
2-mile foil → 4 x (2 + 0.5) + 3 = 13 miles total — pretty much spot on.
Run 2: Mushroom-to-Venice (M-to-V)
3-mile foil → 4 x (3 + 0.5) + 3 = 17 miles (this run came in at 18 miles total).
This second route covered a wider swath of Half Moon Bay. The bumps were noticeably better until I made the turn near the green can — after that, it was back to work. As you’d expect, the longer the foil run, the more scooter and bike mileage piles up. Not a big deal, but this lap clocked in at 1 hour, 45 minutes for just 3 miles of foiling.
That’s roughly 1.5 to 2 miles per hour of actual foil time vs. total elapsed time. Once your On-Foil run goes beyond 3 miles, you start pushing up against the limits of the battery only solution and should probably shift towards petroleum.
A note on the pre-scooter era:
Back then, I used to foil into the northeast corner of the jetty, stash my board, and run 2.5 miles back to my bike. In booties. In a 3–4mm wetsuit. Note: Wetsuits try to keep your arms straight. Turns out, running with straight arms is not comfortable and rough asphalt is painful in booties.
Anyone out side the Foil Bubble looking in would think we are lunatics going to the lengths we do to get in our water time. But I am sure most of us have done similar ( guilty as charged….).
