Prone Foil back to Surfing

Aloha

After foiling all summer; anyone having a very wobbly adjustment going back to surfing?

Will going back to foil be like starting all over again? Hope not, that would be brutal

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I have found it takes about two waves to switch to surf brain and get the feel again. I find it easier to go back to prone, maybe because I do it more.

You first paddle out after sometime foiling definitely feels wobbly after foiling for a while.

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It’s for sure rough for a few waves but then it’s fine. Going back to surfing is awesome because you can absolutely shred without abandon, so much more maneuverable compared to a foil setup and you can get for close-out barrels etc.

Took me a while the first time I went back to foiling. Now I can go back and forth in a wave or two. I’ve found its easier to ride more liters surfing. I just focus on the back foot and try to get back on the board. Hope that helps.

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Dude. I logged on to literally post the same question. I’ve shortboarded all my life. Been foiling exclusively for about 4 months and recently hopped back on my shortboard for some fall hurricane swell. I could barely paddle out! Lol. My shortboard which had always felt second nature to me, now felt so wobbly and unstable. I was also worried since I am trying to get back in the grove for a trip to Hatteras this week. Just had my third session back on the shortboard and starting to feel close to 100% normal again. I foiled yesterday and took a couple waves to get back in the foiling groove after surfing. I think the key is to just do both every few weeks.

Crazy how foiling can rewire your brain. I feel like I could have not surfed for a couple years and still not have felt so messed up after a few months on foil.

Agreed, the close outs and awesome wipeouts in more critical surf are a blast after spending so much time on foil. But man does my shortboard feel slow now.

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Was shocking how weird and foreign a surfboard felt after a couple years away. Having gone back and forth a few times now, just takes a couple waves to get the feel figured out again. But I found it interesting to reflect on how hard surfing is to learn and how long it’s been … you forget all that, take those skills for granted.

That was the takeaway from one of the foiler podcasts: don’t stop shortboarding. Bring that surf style into foiling, they are complementary.

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The more you go back and forth the more your brain will get used to it.
The wobble paddling on the shortboard is hilarious! Back to feeling like full beginner.

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Full beginner? It was worse than switch foot

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No kidding, this was the weirdest thing in my life, wobbling around like the first time on a slackline, on the midlength. Completely unexpected.

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I’ve been surfing for 50+ years. After a season of foiling (efoil, wing, sup) I got back on the trusty shortboard for the first time and had no trouble paddling out, getting a wave, popping up…but then…omg what a disaster. It was like I was trying to switchfoot. Worse! An hour later and I hadn’t made great headway, though conditions in SF’s Ocean Beach are not ideal for “learners”. That was a few months ago and haven’t made it back other than to learn to prone foil - hard to take the crowds and limited results vs effort vs wingfoiling.

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I learnt to prone foil 5 years ago but continued to ride my short board. Probably prone foil 30% and short board 40%, wing 30%.
I think because I continued to short board while learning to foil I have never had one bit of trouble crossing back and forth between the disciplines. In fact some of my best short board waves are the first waves after a few foil sessions. They feel more compatible than incompatible in my experience and I am mid fifties.

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In my little experience I did prone foil then went surfing and even on a 8 foot hull it felt super wobbly when paddling. Very quickly I adjusted but I remember telling my instructor how unstable it felt. But also it made surfing a bit challenging and I was up for the change. I started foil surfing because I was getting a bit bored with surfing. I am not trying to get tubed anymore and spend most my time on craft 8 foot and bigger boards. Also all rolled for the most part so foil almost feels like surfing a hydrodynamic Simmons or such. Or a more lifted shorter board.

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