Hydrofoil lessons on Zanzibar? What are hydrofoil boards? Why should you learn, and who can benefit most? And why should you travel all the way to Zanzibar to learn how to fly kite with a hydrofoil board?

Let’s try to answer all these important questions you have! For visitors who are ready to take their kite surfing adventure to the next level, Kite Centre Zanzibar offers an unforgettable experience: the chance to learn how to hydrofoil surf!

Hydrofoil boards will allow you to fly, even without strong wind

Hydrofoil boards, often just called foil boards, are specialised 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 of the wings connect to each other by a fuselage, which in turn connects to the board by a short mast that extends from the bottom of the board. This creates some pretty spectacular effects when you gain some speed and the foils start to lift!

This unique design means that as soon as the board starts to pick up speed, it begins to rise up out of the water, so the rider ‘levitates’ and it feels like they’re flying! Hydrofoil boards offer certain advantages over traditional kitesurfing. For example, the ultra-efficient way it harnesses kinetic energy means that you can race along even when there’s virtually no wind. The amount of drag is significantly reduced because the mast of the board is the only part that ‘cuts’ into the water. If you compare this amount of drag with a twin tip board or surfboard, you can imagine the difference is huge!

Who can benefit from hydrofoil lessons?

We’re not going to lie to you, hydrofoil surfing is not an easy skill to master. That is why we only recommend you give it a try if you’re already confident on a normal kiteboard, or have a lot of surfing experience. The better your kite control is, the faster your learning curve will be. Even then, you can still expect to crash a number of times before you get it right!

That said, for those who are ready to really test their skills on the water, hydrofoiling offers an experience unlike anything else out there. Find out more about what to expect during our hydrofoil lessons here, or see our video about the hydrofoil lessons.

Hydrofoil rentals for advanced kite surfers  

We offer a range of hydrofoil boards that are selected for their user-friendliness, so you will be foiling in no time. If you’ve had a few lessons but aren’t quite ready to go it alone, Kite Centre Zanzibar offers the option for one of our assistants to supervise you while you practice. You can also take advantage of our affordable hydrofoil rentals, so you can see if the sport is right for you before buying your own board. 

What makes Kite Centre Zanzibar the perfect place for hydrofoil lessons?

As we mentioned, learning to hydrofoil can be tricky, especially for beginners. That’s why the quiet, flat lagoon right in front of our Centre makes the perfect spot to practice. We’ll start you off with a special short training mast to make it a little easier before you graduate onto the full-size version.

Questions? We’d love to hear from you!