Now that you're jibing on the foil after reading ourfoil jibing tech tip, you're ready to start doing foil 360's. Here are some tips from our crew of loft foilers to get you started foil 360ing:
1. Foiling and balanced on a reach, look for a smooth piece of water for your 360. Slide your back hand further back on the boom, unhook and take the back foot out of the footstrap placing it on the leeward rail as far towards the tail of the board as possible. Stay high on the foil, ideally around 3/4 height.
2. Initiate similar to a laydown jibe. Initiate pulling up on the back hand while getting the mast near horizontal with the water and rake the sail back towards the tail of the board.
3. As you are foiling around keep the foil level and arc of the turn constant. Focus on keeping the center of effort in the sail behind your body, your front arm straight, back arm slightly bent. Feather the sail with your back hand in order to keep it balanced. Keep your head up and look in the direction of your trajectory.
4. Keeping your head up also helps keep your sunglasses on.
5. Stay with it, you got this.
6. As you approach going straight upwind start pushing out on your back hand to start bringing the sail upright and forward towards the nose of the board. Start righting your body over the centerline of the board.
7. Whether you touch down or not, focus on quickly regaining lift and speed to continue.
Tip: If you won't make it far enough around with your current speed try to pivot the last part of the 360 by leaning the rig far back and quickly righting the sail and bringing it forward when your board touches down to expose the mast to the wind in order to bear off.
Colson Zack zippin foil 360 captured by Kaden Sponhauer.
