Wake to Wave; Foiling the Tropics

Written by Trey McArdle

Edited by Elizabeth Moss

Lift foil Set up Chicama

During the Off-Season Between 2024 and 2025

During the off-season between 2024 and 2025, I was able to do some tow foiling. First, we visited Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving. This was an amazing trip, and my son Charlie and I scored well over 100 waves—some of which were overhead high! With all my pumping experience, I was able to connect my first wave in the ocean on that trip. It took me a few sessions to figure out the pump cadence of the smaller Armstrong HA 680 and to adjust to the higher riding height of the Armstrong Performance 865 mast, which were the boards I was using at the time.

We loved Puerto Rico so much that we went back in the spring to Rinçon on the other side of the island. I lined up someone to tow there, and Charlie and I had amazing sessions towing. This time, I was already pretty dialed on the 680 and 865 mast, so I hit the ground running and connected a couple of waves pretty quickly. I did change the tail to the new Dart 120, but the transition was seamless. The new tail just made the setup faster and improved the turning. Unfortunately, the swell was subsiding, and it started getting a bit flat. I was able to take advantage of the smaller conditions by trying out a Lift Sport with a folding prop and HA 150X in the ocean, and I started to figure out unpowered riding on ocean waves with an eFoil. I also tried a Foil Drive in the ocean as well. Very cool experiences, but despite all my experience on Fliteboards and powered foils, it had me feeling like a kook again. I didn’t love the Lift with the mid-mast motor, and I didn’t love having to modulate the trigger all the time. What I would have given to have my Fliteboard Ultra or Ultra L2 with a wave mast, a folding prop, and a Nano battery. It was good to jump on some different gear, and I was grateful to try these new disciplines.

The Next Destination, Long-Awaited Gear

Two weeks after Puerto Rico, I went to Chicama, Peru. It was an amazing trip, and I was able to adjust my gear a bit to the conditions. In Peru, you tow behind Zodiacs, and the size of the motors varies greatly. In that situation, I was advised to bring a board with a bit more volume to help get out of the water more easily behind these powerboats. I was all set with the right gear, but unfortunately, my gear bag and luggage didn’t make some of the connections.

So I arrived at the longest wave in the world a day and a half before my group—with no foil gear and not even a bathing suit. Peru is a poor country, and foiling is expensive and relatively new. So despite the plentiful availability of traditional surfboards, there are only two local riders with foilboards in Chicama. I was able to rent a Lift setup with a 150 Surf wing and a 33 Carve tail. It was big that day, and I would have gone with a much smaller front foil and stabilizer if I had the choice. But I was grateful just to pull together gear, as the waves were firing and the swell was set to drop a little bit every day we were there. So I jumped into the ocean not knowing how the waves set up there, on a 33-liter board and a big foil I had never ridden. I caught over 20 long waves that day, and it absolutely blew my mind. It took me a couple of waves to adjust to the gear, but I quickly improved and made the most of that session.

The next day, I pulled together a different Lift setup. It was interesting—these Lift setups were "Frankenfoils" put together from components other riders had left with the local foilers on previous trips. Laird Hamilton had left a board. Other riders had left a fuse or a tail. Jeff McKee, the Slingshot team manager, had left four Slingshot flag screws that allowed the mast to be moved mid-session. The next morning, I took out a little green 20L board and a Lift Surf 100. I went from being overpowered to being underpowered. There were times I was screaming in front of a wave, fully maxed, and times when I was falling out of the wave with not enough power.

What to Ride: Wave Sizes and Expectations

Chicama is a funny place because at the point where the waves first break, the wave can be double the size it will be after it breaks once or twice. So having a foil that allows you to ride through the thinner sections and then be powered by the swell in thicker sections is key. I was never happier than when my bag full of Armstrong gear arrived the next day. I was back on the Armstrong 865 and HA 680 with the Dart tail, but this time with the 24L Armstrong prone board. I love how the board mounted up to the foil, and the glide with the 680 and the 120 Dart tail was amazing. I was able to glide out in front of the wave when powered up, and I was able to pump when underpowered to stay with the wave until it stood back up. As it was slowly flattening out, I moved down to the 795 Performance mast. It made pumping a bit easier and helped keep the foil high to maximize efficiency and minimize drag.

When I moved to a smaller mast, I breached the foil a few times because the 680 came out of the water when I wasn’t expecting it to. For the first time, I kicked out of a wave, connected to another, and kicked out again to connect to yet another wave. While doing that, I jumped on a wave with Andy Ray, and he taught me how to call your line—“I’m going low” or “I’m staying high”—while riding a party wave. It was my first time crossing lines in the ocean with another foiler, and my stoke was at an all-time high.

Returning Home and the New Season

Peru was an amazing trip, and all those waves and all that foiling helped my riding so much. When I went back to the U.S. in April, it was time to get the boat in, and my energy and ability felt like they were at a peak. This year, our school has a new Malibu 25 LSV for 2025, and that means a bigger wave. So, starting the 2025 season, I made a few gear changes: I moved off the Axis Tray 110 and onto a WKT 109cm, and I downsized my foil from a 980 to an 880. I was riding better than ever.

Between all the skills I had gained pumping and turning over the winter riding ocean waves and the new gear, my riding has never been better. I opened the lake season able to make all my connections from last year—and then some. I felt so mobile. All the waves are my playground now, and my increased ability to pump and understand when I need a big pump or when to pump small has allowed me to ride longer without falling and to get almost any wave I want. It also leaves me hungry to learn new things.

Like winging, for example. In Chicama, the wind picked up in the afternoon, and I missed out on some amazing sessions because I didn’t have the skills or gear. To start my journey, I ordered XPS Mk II wings, an assortment of new board sizes to learn winging, and a downwinding board.

Looking Ahead

I hope this lake season to learn to paddle up behind a boat to catch a wave—to practice for future trips to some of the best foiling in the world. I also hope to learn winging in our little sanctuary of a lake and carry that knowledge to my students.

As a foil dealer of both Armstrong Foils and Fliteboard eFoils, it is part of my job to test the gear, improve my riding, and learn the new disciplines. This allows me to teach my students in the summer at my school and to be an authority in my field, so I can give my clients the best advice when buying gear from me. I come from a unique place in foiling—I am an inland foiler who has become an ocean foiler. There are a lot of wakefoilers out there learning behind a boat who will want to make the same journey I have made. I look forward to the opportunity to guide them through this process. One of the reasons I wanted to become a dealer was to give other riders in the Midwest an opportunity to demo more advanced gear. Most of the foil shops with advanced gear are on the coastline, and there weren’t any shops near me where I could try the newest gear in my disciplines. I look forward to meeting all the Midwest foilers who are either just starting their journey or looking to take their foiling with them on their next adventure.

It’s a wild ride!