Hydrofoil kitesurfing is getting more popular, and Zanzibar offers the perfect conditions | 

Hydrofoil boards, often just called foil boards, are specialized surfboards with a hydrofoil underneath. The hydrofoil contains 2 wings, a bigger front wing, and a smaller back wing, also known as the stabiliser. Both wings connect to each other by a fuselage, which then connects to the board by a short mast. This mast is attached to the bottom of the board. The technology has existed for over 10 years and was mainly used for waterskiing, fast sailboats, and foil racing for kitesurfing.

In 2014 the kite industry realized that this could be an interesting addition to your kite quiver, bringing a whole new impulse to your kite style. You can start to ride with very little wind, and once you’re up you float with hardly any resistance. It’s truly amazing!

The best thing? It is now possible to try at our Kite Centre in Zanzibar. We have developed a special program to learn this new sport fast and safe!

Why hydrofoiling in Zanzibar?

In the lagoon in front of the Kite Centre Zanzibar, high tide provides perfect conditions for foiling. We teach with a special short mast which will get you on the board and flying in no time. Once you get the hang of it and you’re able to foil comfortably, you can move to the higher, normal mast. 

Read more about hydrofoiling and our packages

Some tips before you start learning to hydrofoil

 – Go for it! Do you have good twin tip & direction board control? Then don’t doubt anymore, just do it. The feeling of flying over the water in silence, with minimal impact on your body is a great feeling that you can only get with foiling.

 – Preferably, learn in 15 knots or more. You may think, ”I thought getting into kite foiling would allow me to ride with little wind”. This is true, but when you are learning it’s better to have more wind. The reason for this is that it is beneficial not to have to fly the kite up and down to generate power, so you can divide all your attention to the board, like your stance and riding the foil. After you get going, foiling is amazing in light winds and you’re able to go out with less and less wind the more you improve.

 – Learn in flat water with smooth, stable wind and make sure that there is plenty of space for long runs to improve your riding technique. Regarding the wind direction, cross- or cross-onshore winds are ideal for learning.

 – Allow yourself some time to learn it. It doesn’t matter how often you fall, as long as you can look back on a nice session where you picked up a thing or two about kite foiling!