Hit me up if you’re going out!

[tother]

Aloha, just arrive in Vancouver from Hawaii, going to be here for a few month this winter (yeah I got the seasons backwards).

It’s going to be freezing but I need to get water time in daily. If anyone’s going out around Vancouver hit me up, I’m hoping when conditions are right to do...

- downwind prone foil (Spanish to downtown when there’s enough wind swell)
- find some one w/ a boat/jetski to foil tow into boat / freighter wakes
- dock/beach starts
- wingthing foil
- kiteboard wherever has wind
- kite foil (haven’t put the foil & kite together yet, perfect conditions to learn in LOL)

Mahalo, J

[Michael]

If anyone’s going out around Vancouver hit me up

Hey tother, keep an eye on this site, we will post when things look good. This week there might be a few light wind days, maybe even tomorrow and Friday in Boundary Bay, 3rd Ave is where the kiters will be.

[tother]

Will do

Is Boundary Bay on a high tide deep
enough for foiling? And where’s the access point, never been there yet.

[adam2]

Centennial Beach windfoiling and Third Ave for kitefoiling are good to go with no weeds this time of year. King tides are your friend, but if you can't get them anything over around about 11ft is doable in my opinion. I made windfoiling work at the base of the ferry terminal causeway launch in today's super high tide and marginal SW winds, but it wasn't easy schlogging upwind to get room to start foiling and I would have had to paddle out with a wingding as it was so onshore. I would go back there to wing for sure though in stronger winds.

[Slappy]

I have my doubts about downwind prone foil from SB to downtown, there may be a few days it could work but I would expect it to be very challenging to make it all the way on a prone board. I would imagine you'd have way more fun just going to Wreck Beach or Ambleside and foiling the break while pumping back out. Wreck Beach works on any tide over 2.5m while Ambleside and the other West Van spots require the correct spot for the tide.

If you have a wingfoil then you'll be better off just using it to get back upwind and then ride the swell downind at Acadia Beach. We only ever get waves without wind for short periods of time at the tail end of the storms, anywhere from 30 min to 1.5 hours.

You can see what the waves are like during a glass off down at Wreck Beach:


We don't get any decent freighter waves in English Bay. You could try the Horseshoe Bay ferry wake in Copper Cover or Whytecliff Park, but they don't leave very often. There is a chance you could catch freighter wakes in Howe Sound or off of Point Roberts or Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal (the ferries there don't kick up a big wake though, only passing freighters) but it's probably not worth the effort.

Most beaches would work for pump starts at high tide. There is also the Jericho Pier which has a water level dock that's good for pumping.

You can foil out at Boundary Bay on any tide, it's just more of a consideration how far you are willing to walk. This vid I'm foiling in pretty much lowest of the low tides:


If you are only here for the winter keep in mind we only get real low tides during night during winter, in the spring and summer we get them during the day.

Most of the breaks here are sloppy and choppy on high tide. Wreck Beach has a rock spit that produces a small point break on high tide but it's pretty gnarly rocks under you and I've been washed up on the rocks surfing it before so I wouldn't advise to foil that break. Wreck is best from 2.5-3.5 m. You could probably use the spit for a take off and foil the unbreaking waves over the sand if you are on a foil at high tide there. Be sure and use the Point Atkinson station for Vancouver tides.