First-Ride Funnel
About a third of crewed charter yachts in the Caribbean and the Bahamas now carry a foil, and the crews put it under whoever is standing on the sugarscoops. Jason Acosta on the beginner program nobody designed...
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RIDER & WORDS: Tom Court PHOTOS: Sam Scadgell LOCATION: Isle of Wight, UK DATE: Thursday February 26th, 2026
Efoiling is a ton of fun in and of itself. But it’s also a great tool for exploration – and for Tom Court, it presents an opportunity to scope out the rugged south coast of the Isle of Wight, hunting down some of the more fickle peaks that only present themselves in the right kind of conditions…
It was one of those days, for which you had studied the forecast for a week prior to ascertain the right moment to make the most of the conditions. A strange northerly wind direction, combined with a long-range ground swell. Air temp well below 10 degrees, so you knew your time on the water was limited. The combinations of massive tidal movements on the Isle of Wight make the timing even more critical for those winter sessions.
When I arrived at the secluded car park, I was greeted by a ‘Path Closed’, ‘No Beach Access’ sign on the entrance. Ideal. So, naturally, I pulled the Fliteboard Ultra L2 out the van, set it up and started the painful ritual of winter carpark changing that proceeds so many of those magic sessions that are only made more special by the sheer depravity of the carpark change.
💎 Premium Content Ahead! 💎 *You will receive our weekly Friday Pump newsletter, plus the latest features, gear tests and giveaway announcements. It was late in the afternoon by this point. But when I say late, probably about 1pm, so not only was I racing the tide, but also the light was fading fast. The UK winter’s short days make scoring a decent session at some of the more sensitive reef breaks even more rare. The 15 second ground swell was starting to roll in with some big sets lining up on the outer reef, and as the tide filled in over the inside, it was time to hit the water. Taking on the path closed sign, I clambered over the twisted, broken wooden steps that littered the cliff face, stomped through the clay and managed to get to the sand. No one about, swell building, tide pushing, let’s go! Once I was on the water, especially with the L2, carbon wave mast and nano battery, I could really start to explore the peaks along the south coast of the island. I had Sam Scadgell shooting with the drone, so I had to stay within a certain range, but we had discussed the different peaks before I went out, so he knew the plan. Shedding about 50% of my battery on about 15 waves off the first peak, a heavy left-hand running reef presented some nice open face sections, with a heavier ending running out on the inside into a reform that proved super fun. Tough to anticipate the down the line movements on my backhand, letting the board do the work, guiding down the line, before peeling off back into the lineup. Just up the coast is a wave that is just known as ’The Right’. No one knows really where it is or when it works, however on this occasion I could see it. So I motored about a mile up the coast to explore this peak, with about 40% battery remaining. I waited for a set to expose its position, before dropping the controller and locking into the ride. Three big parking cutback turns before the wave really took shape, hitting the slab, it steeped up and started to barrel. Took a wide bottom turn before parking it back into the energy on the wave face. Such a fun reef setup, rolling all the way through onto the inside. Taking about four of these waves, I felt comfortable, with about 12% battery, and I knew the drone was about to run out too, so it was time for the last wave. Go deep! Riding directly into the impact zone, arcing the bottom turn, I pulled back into the pocket as the lip caught me on the top of the board and pushed the foil out from underneath me. Forcing a jackknife right on the wave. Consumed by the lip, tangled in the foil and tumbled onto the inside. Never say ‘Last Wave’! Getting back to the beach on 0% battery, I was quite far from the collapsed steps, so I had to walk to get there. Clambering up the cliff, back to the car park, Dryrobe on and out of the wetsuit. This particular spot is also quite close to a great south coast pub, The Three Bishops, so we saddled up and headed into the warmth…This is premium magazine content, usually only available to our subscribers, but you can access it for free when you join our mailing list!
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About a third of crewed charter yachts in the Caribbean and the Bahamas now carry a foil, and the crews put it under whoever is standing on the sugarscoops. Jason Acosta on the beginner program nobody designed...
READ MORE
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