Wake turbulence?

So having a bit over 5 hours of efoil expreience im running into some weirdness. Foiling (is this the slang for the activity??) on lakes with shitloads of yachts, boats and jetski’s it’s constant dealing with the waves they create in random simultaneous direction. This is not a big issue as i go a bit lower to prevent breaches. But once i get in a slipstream of their propellors the board acts weird, sometimes feels like massive powerloss.
(for pilots) Kinda comparable being in a small rig tailing a jet and getting caught in wake turbulence. What is a way to deal with this, or better formulated…what’s happening there? Or is my brain just playing tricks?

You are not imagining the “weird” handling when you are in a boats wake. Doesn’t need to be a large boat as I have experienced this crossing over the path of another efoil, same with a jet ski wake.

Technically I won’t attempt an explanation about the “why” as I don’t have the technical depth to speak with any authority on it. Perhaps someone else can have a go at that.

My approach is to minimize the amount of time spent in that “disturbed” water so I try to cut across it at a 90 deg angle. Not always possible but that’s the idea. Stay calm don’t make any abrupt changes and your out the other side.

1 Like

Thanks for the confirmation, makes total sense. Hopefully with more experience and confidence it will be easier to deal with it.

Well a rig is fairly easy to transport and the only real limitation is depth of water so perhaps look at less busy venues where you don’t have to contend with it in the first place :wink:

I wish i had the luxury. For now im limited renting by the hour and cannot take that board elsewhere. Once i build my own across the suck season i have the freedom looking for better spots.

1 Like

In principle with any floating thing (i.e. canoe), try to cut such turbulences/big-waves at perpendicular/90’, to minimize the “attack surface” (or you may tumble/twist with it). It’s kind-a similar when you go in combined swell waves and wind waves, esp. if wind changes direction and speed, gusts etc. i call these “cabbage salad” waves, be it layered or random… :slight_smile: When going over such edges, the motor sound changes a lot. i guess the controller may play “smart” and try to reduce load / switch gears etc whatever “tricks” the makers have built in it…