Gav Blake (Gav @ Hydrofoil) - CHARITY AUCTION!

What we talk about

• Gav Blake of Gav @ Hydrofoil on his background: surfing at Croyde, sailing, windsurfing, kiting, and early kite foiling before he moved to Sydney
• Why he makes his YouTube channel: to show a normal rider learning to pump and downwind, and to raise money for Bear Cottage children's hospice in Manly
• The charity auction: Code donated a 930 S foil and WSS Boards donated half of it. Bidding runs in a video's comments for a week
• His local downwind run in Sydney, his limits, and how search and rescue handle call outs for downwinders, kiters and paddlers drifting offshore
• Why a parawing suits riders short on time: hour long sessions with no shuttle, plus UK ideas like Padstow, Watergate Bay and the Straight Point firing range near Budleigh
• Gav still takes a paddle when a shuttle's possible, after a parawing session ended offshore when the wind dropped, and what several wing sizes cost
• Gav's verdicts: the original BRM packs smallest but struggles in gusts, the Ozone Pocket Rocket is the most stable so far, and the Duotone Stash flies well in light wind
• Ozone's longer rear lines on bigger sizes, how fast parawings are developing, and Gav testing the F-One Plume prototype, which he found calm and possibly good in waves

About this episode

Brilliant episode with fellow Englishman Gav Blake, the man behind Gav @ Hydrofoil YouTube fame. Gav gives us the rundown on his background, foiling journey and summarises the state of play in terms of the industry's parawing and downwind product offerings right now.

Enjoy!