looks good! what is your pumping skill level? might be worth doing some cross training behind a boat or with parawing, as you have the paddle up part pretty good, now your foil skill the issue
Thanks Matt! Re pumping I thought I needed a couple more paddle/pumps before removing the paddle out of the equation at this point? But my top speed was 18.3 km/h there, which is probably more than enough to start pumping away, even though i’m still pretty low on the 80cm mast.
I am an intermediate winger and love down wings runs flagging the wing (more or less). So that’s where my pumping skills develop. I think it’s ok, not tremendous. Can I pump unassisted for a minute? Definitely not. Can I accelerate and regain height our of a hole? That I can do yes.
I guess I’ll keep at it - reaching the stage where I need to pump only is already a massive achievement to me - I’m stocked! Especially considering this was only the second outing on the new board and I’m still working out mast placement.
Cheers
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Ye, you should start pumping earlier. like even before you put the paddle to the water (like in the aidan nicholas video). once you start pumping the board the paddling becomes more effective. other than that, keep on paddling more forward. and throw yourself forward, the swinging of your weight is helpful to get airborne.
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you’re looking good, listen to the foil and keep getting reps. flatwater paddle ups are a game of good form and consistency, you don’t need to go for huge reaches like Edo. when you start lifting onto foil don’t get excited, stay consistent, put down good power but not such a massive paddle stroke that you throw off your balance. and most important, when you think you’re up and you did it, you’re not, keep paddling and engaging that foil until you get up to a sustainable speed. keep chipping and don’t be afraid to use a little board speed on the 8’6”. on small boards i engage the foil right away, on larger boards i like to get some speed to get better lift when it engage it so less board slaps the water when I start coming up. you’re pretty much there
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Nice. Yes @Gonefoiling is correct, once you get the hang of it you will realise that it’s mostly legs/pumping that does the work, and if your pumping is good you only need 12-13km/h. Like most wingers, your pumping is way way worse than you think 
otherwise you’d have pumped away on that video, you were well up and flying, and just lacking slow speed feeling
but I think so close, very close!
to reiterate good points:
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Thanks guys - great advices here.
I think I finally cracked it yesterday - at least the pump/paddle thing was sustained for a good 10m and it felt incredible until I lost my balance. So I need to repeat that. The bigger board was definitely a game changer in going through that glass ceiling where I could get up on foil but then not stay there. Expensive fix mind you!
Cheers
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