I started learning to foil surf sometime in the fall of 2018–seems like it’s been longer, but think that’s about right. These are some shots from the early days, using a fairly huge board Dave Kalama made for me that I named Mr. Fugly. I don’t really think it was fucking ugly, but it was a fun name. I think it kind of pissed Dave off, but it became a fairly famous board. Names do that, especially odd ones. It was fairly huge for a foil board–I think 7’2″ X 33″, and stable as a dock. It was a great beginner board for a clumsy, heavy geezer and I loved it. So I had to get rid of it. I knew as long as I could jump back on to Mr. Fugly I was never going to progress. I’ve had so much fun with this sport, it really came along at just the right time for me. Something new to work on. I’ll never be good at it, my balance and agility are deteriorating at about the same rate as my progression–so the steep learning curve has turned kind of flat. But I can do it, and have fun with it, and that’s what matters.
