24 December 202514:103,919 views on YouTubeWatch on YouTube
Most eFoil footage is flat water. This episode is about the other version of the sport, riding actual waves, and about the session where it stopped being an idea and became a plan. It happened on a windy day in Puerto Rico with Nick Leason, the founder of Lift Foils, and his crew, with rider Cam doing most of the impressive work on a Lift X.
Getting punished before it clicked
The surf that day was big: some waves with nearly vertical walls, others long slanting rollers that read like ski terrain. Trying to work out wave timing alone was not going well, and included a few moments of being hit by consecutive waves and having to fight for air. Watching experienced riders flow through the same water with the control of a powder day is what made it obvious that something was missing, and it was not equipment.
What real time coaching actually changed
The turning point was riding one wave with a guide alongside, close enough to hear instructions clearly. Step back on the board. Veer left. Let go of the throttle. Turn this way. Each cue arrived at the right moment, and each one was the opposite of instinct: instinct says stay in front of the wave and outrun it, when the actual skill is being in the right place at the right time and letting the wave do the work. Off the throttle, the board accelerated down the face, carved back into the wave, and the wash arrived close enough behind to feel it against the back of the legs. One wave was enough to show what the sport can be.
Why wave riding is the thing worth chasing
The appeal described here is that wave riding joins up everything else: the carving rhythm of skiing, the terrain reading of snowboarding, the glide of eFoiling, only now in three dimensions and with no lift ticket. It also solves a personal problem. Ski trips are great because there is something to do all day. Warm weather trips are not, unless something on the water can fill them the same way.
The plan, and the open question
What follows from that session is a commitment to spend a full month next winter somewhere with consistent surf, warm water, an eFoil friendly scene and internet good enough to keep working remotely, riding every day and filming the progression as it happens. Puerto Rico is on the list, with the obvious advantage of access to Lift, and the obvious drawback that gear has to be shipped rather than driven. Suggestions on locations, shipping gear, renting locally, and reasons the whole idea might be folly are all genuinely wanted in the comments.
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