As part of my boatschooling, I have been working with a writing and reading tutor who has been giving me writing assignments. This is the first of them. The assignment was about the first time I had done something, and I chose tow foiling. Here it is.

As I went downstairs to put on my bathing suit, I got the same excited feeling I always got whenever I was about to hop on a foilboard. By the time I was up on deck again, I was nearly bouncing.  My dad was sitting on the swim platform holding the dinghy painter in one hand and the board in the other, waiting for me. I put on my impact vest and helmet, lowered myself onto the board, and grabbed the tow line that was floating in the water in front of me as my dad got onto the dinghy and started the outboard. He put it in idle forwards, then started accelerating slowly. I could feel the foam grips digging into my knees, chafing on my skin. When we were doing about 2 knots, I hopped up on my feet, and started gently pumping the stern of the board up and down. Nothing. I signal a thumbs up, which signifies “A bit faster”. We accelerate a bit more, I try again. Nothing. Another thumbs up. My dad accelerates a lot more than before, and I can feel the foil gently pushing upwards. I lean forwards, then back slowly. I start grinning as I lift slowly out of the water “I am flying, I am literally flying” I think to myself in awe. It feels… relaxing, surprisingly. The sound is astonishing, just a steady gentle “whoosh”, from the board. If it weren’t for the sound of the outboard I could comfortably have a conversation with my dad.  “Splash!” The board flies up in front of me then breaches and falls back down again, powered by my jumping off the back of the board, the safest way to fall. The water isn’t really that cold, but the sudden shock of landing in the extremely wet water reminds me that I am above a large mass of water. I grab the board, and paddle it over to the tow line. I can feel the new tightness from the water on my rashguard. “Crash number one!” I call to my dad. I stand up on the board with the towline, this time not even waiting for the dinghy to start. My dad says, “You were definitely up. ready to go again?” “Yes,” I respond immediately. My dad starts the outboard and I try again.
The end

Me tow foiling