Photo above: Laird Hamilton breaking the Hydrofoil speed record.
Surfers are generally innovators
The story goes something like this: “Air Chair introduced the world to hydro-foiling in 1990” (link to their site here). On the Hawaiian Island of Maui, some watermen played with the air chair and then cut the foil off and bolted it to a surfboard. Mango Carafino gets the credit as the “original innovating developer of the hydrofoil board design for stand-up hydro foil boarding” (wikipedia link here).
“Maui-based big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, said to have been the first surfer to use a jet ski to get towed into monster-sized waves, is also credited with first using a foil board to tow in behind a jet ski. Maui was also the birthplace of kiteboarding, and soon kitesurfers took up foil boards to make the kiting experience much smoother — since the wind that makes kiteboarding possible can also make the water extremely choppy.” - Jones, Morwenna. “What the Heck Is Foil Surfing? Everything You Need to Know about This Wild Sport.” Matador Network, 21 Aug. 2018, matadornetwork.com/read/foil-surfing-guide/ (link here)
this is why foiling works in all conditions
Along the way, regular surfers figured out that foil boards harness a lot more of the ocean’s energy than regular boards, and they don’t lose that energy to the friction that happens when a board is in contact with the water.” (same source as above)
this efficiency paved the way for the 10-mile rides we do now on our lift efoils
“Neither foil surfing’s extra maneuverability nor the novelty of gliding above the water are its main selling points (though Hamilton has said it “feels like flying”). Rather, it’s the promise of being able to surf in places that are otherwise un-surf-able. The same airplane technology that causes the board to lift out of the water also means it easily gathers enough momentum from whitewater for the rider to keep surfing in small surf, or no surf at all.
this what we are about: get away on that underused waterway and restore yourself.
Quick overview of the timeline
1990: The Air Chair Mango Carafino Hawaiian surfers discover how well hydofoils improve their boards.
Early 2000s: Foiling opens up new spots
Early 2000s: Tow-in surfing invented (surfing behind a watercraft)
Wake-foiling combines wake-surfing and surf foiling.
Nick Gleason and several others start experimenting with putting motors directly on the boards.
Lift of Puerto Rico perfects the e-foil
A year or two later, companies from outside of North America come through with boards that look strikingly like Lift E-Foils arise.
Truly core riders rally around Lift.