spoke about soaring here
That’s cool Matt, I hadn’t read that 2024 thread before : )
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Posted some notes from here as a follow up
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Lol thank you. Not trying to be a hater but the whole downwind racing thing doesn’t make much sense to me either. Seems like just doing a pogo stick competition would be simpler and cleaner for all involved…
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this post definitely makes you a hater. @AnacortesRigging 's post literally doesn’t even make sense.
welcome to the forum, no surprises it doesn’t make sense, it’s because you are a beginner
Nothing like not understanding or liking something you haven’t done or succeeded at. Oh well, it’s not for everyone, and that’s a good thing. Thanks to the OP for his insightful and well thought out write up. Enjoyed the email articles.
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The reason is that normal downwind becomes too easy for these guys so they have to race to make it a challenge again. Feel lucky normal DW still does it for you !
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Nice note from Jarrod Snow who is definitely top 5 candidate this year, interesting his most important tip is staying high. Staying high in messy fast bumps is honestly not something I can say I have got any sense for.
The video details several techniques for downwinding, particularly for going fast:
- Reading the Ocean for Downhills and Wormholes: The speaker emphasizes looking at the ocean to find “downhills” and “little wormholes” to maintain speed and reach the next downhill. This involves always riding a downhill and avoiding “up and overs” (11:40 - 11:59).
- Maintaining High Mast Height: Keeping your mast “really, really high” is crucial for speed, especially on foils like the S and X series (12:07 - 12:12). This technique allows the foil to go much faster. The speaker also notes that while it’s scary and often leads to breaching, practicing high mast height is key (12:16 - 12:31).
- Staying Relaxed to Avoid Breaching: When riding with a high mast and feeling like you might breach, the natural response is to tense up, which is the “worst possible thing to do.” Instead, staying relaxed is vital to prevent breaching (0:15 - 0:24, 12:33 - 12:38).
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Kane shared this speed stat on Instagram—honestly, I can’t even imagine how it’s possible to go that fast. It’s insane!
565 front wing 115 tail 77 mast
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average speed faster than my top speeds 
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1:38/km average over 15km wow!
I have the harbor cam on my computer at work. I see a foiler pumping into the harbor flying through everything. I know it must be Kane. I’m not sure I could ride a bike as fast.
AI summary on his points on how to go fast.
"It’s kind of hard to explain… I don’t exactly know. I can’t describe how I’m doing it. It’s more of an internal thing where my eyes and the body know where to go… it’s hard to explain
Concrete tips:
- Reading the water + foil stability > peak height
- “The reading combined with maintenance of the foil more so like not having those weird bucking moments… you want to be as stable as possible and the read is the most important thing”
- Keeping the foil flat without unstable moments matters more than being high on the mast- Location-specific learning
- Each spot has unique movement/flow patterns
- He figured out Guadeloupe’s flow within 1.5 weeks and got significantly faster
- Maui is steep/close together (hard to bridge/jump), so you go through swells
- Other spots let you run along swells (more efficient)- Board stability
- His Gator’s stability lets him “put down power confidently”
- Allows quick recovery from mistakes- Mental game
- Use the first corner/breathing zone to get into flow after a stressful start
- Once in flow, “it’s a lot easier to work and go faster”
giving me Forgetting Sarah Marshall vibes
”Just do it. Feel it. Pop up.”