White Knuckles

A friend called me to say he'd just bought an old Moth so he could learn to foil. Great news to have newcomers to the class in Belgium. He needed some advice on setting up so I volunteered to take a look at his "new" ride. He showed up at the lake with no less than White Knuckle Express - a piece of history! I couldn't resist going for a spin and was amazed at how well it worked once sorted. This is the boat Rohan Veal used to show the world what foiling was all about. It should be in a museum.

There are plenty of videos on the net showing Rohan sailing around on his foiling machine in a style long since surpassed. It's quite interesting to compare Rohan at Garda on the much evolved Bladerider, the boat and Rohan had already moved on so far. Stepping into White Knuckle Express knowing what a Mach 2 feels like makes it so much easier to set up and sail the old boat. It's humbling to think of the huge challenge Rohan faced and met just a few years back without the benefit of experience. We all owe him and John and the handful of pioneeers that first got foiling a great deal.