Foil Festival Barcelona An experience

By Anja Aubert (@Frau_Foil)

As a former SUpper and now a very keen foiler for years, it was obvious that I wanted to combine my two passions.

What’s more, I prefer to surf the course wave when pumping. I was never a long-distance SUP paddler, but always had more fun and motivation for sprints and technical races with lots of buoy turns. We used to go surfing in the waves on our SUP surfboards during the vacations.

The biggest disadvantage of pump foiling / wake thieving is that if you fall in the middle of the lake, you have to swim back. With the SUP foil board, I can now simply paddle back up onto the foil or paddle back to the shore at a leisurely pace. I particularly appreciate this in winter when the water is 4 degrees cold 😜

As a rather small and light woman, I was looking for a suitable downwind board for quite some time. Last November I was allowed to test the ACE Lightning (7.5*15″; 83L) from Starboard, and it was love at first paddle stroke. This board was a game changer for me. I got the flatwater paddle-up start pretty quickly, and I took this board to the course wave from then on. This is my flatwater and no-wind downwind training, so to speak. I live on Lake Zurich and unfortunately we are not blessed with good wind. There are regularly good downwind conditions on Lake Neuchâtel. However, this lake is a good two hours away each way. Unfortunately, in addition to work and family duties, I very rarely make it to this lake.

I have now been able to gain downwind experience three times in El Médano on Tenerife. The first time was at a camp with Lukas Schuler @Foilonly. I quickly realized that my SUP past helped me a lot. I’m relatively confident on the board and know how to use the paddle. Combined with the flatwater paddle-up, I quickly got onto the first downwind waves. What I find most difficult is being able to read the waves so that I can stay on the foil for longer periods of time.

Three months ago, I heard about the Foilfest in Barcelona. I really wanted to go there to experience a downwind race as a spectator and be among like-minded people. So we planned a ten-day vacation nearby. I had already been in contact with Xavi Masde from the Windparadise store in advance. He showed us the course and we went out to sea together during his lunch break.

He then told me that I should take part in the race. I was extremely insecure, but gave myself a push to start again after a five-year break from racing.
And it was the best decision and I am extremely grateful to Xavi for motivating me.

Although I am a small inland flatwater paddler among the world-class women Olivia Piana, Iballa Moreno and Montse Solé, I was given an extremely warm welcome by the whole downwind family. Sharing the passion with 45 starters was brilliant. The race went from Arenys de Mar 18 km to Premià de Mar. Unfortunately, we had a northerly wind and cross swell – extremely difficult conditions. As a lake paddler, I couldn’t cope with the cross swell at all. We only ever have wind waves here. I was unable to find a suitable line in the sea and unfortunately only managed a good 13 km in the maximum time.

When I was collected by the boat after two hours, I was briefly very disappointed. I wanted to carry on. The longer I was in the sea, the better I felt. Back on land and among the other participants, I quickly felt better again. I was impressed by how much encouragement and praise I received from the men and women. Shortly after the race, we discussed the next downwinder on the following days. I felt that we all shared the same passion.

In the meantime, I’m just proud of myself that I went to the start despite having little downwind experience in the sea. I’ve definitely tasted blood and will hopefully get the opportunity to practise in the sea again soon. In the meantime, you will see me on the lakes again. One of my goals now is to practise with smaller foils so that I need less power for longer pumping sections.

I am so grateful that I was so warmly welcomed by the community and received so many tips. I felt great. Although I’ve been back home for a few days now, I’m still in the downwind bubble.
The bottom line is that I just need to spend hours on the water – like everyone else – and learn to read the waves.