A week after Rough Surf pounded Cocoa Beach a north wind was up, I set out on a long beach walk. Our plan was to meet at Cheri Down Park, Pam driving up with lunch.
After I emerged from under the Cocoa Beach pier, I spotted this sailboarder. At first it was the handheld sail that caught my attention, enough to capture this video. Watching the recording, I see his board is equipped with a hydrofoil. He is about a foot above the water.
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This rider has nothing on the Man O’War, of the post header image. Click this link to visit “Man O’War Beach Walk” on my blog.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
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That is one talented and strong man to be able to hydrofoil around while holding the sail. Also liked the photo of the Man O’ War, Michael Stephen. I know they’re terribly dangerous, but wow, are they ever beautiful. I’ve never seen one before, thanks for this safe and close-up view.
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He makes it look easy.
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No kidding! And I was proud of the workouts we do 🙃 How do they come up with the ideas for the equipment?
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What a great idea for a post, to write about how the hydrofoil board was created. Thanks for that, Endless Weekend.
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I’ve found much inspiration in the comments/discussions, but idk that I was often the one to inspire an idea for a post, I’m honored and am looking forward to reading it and learning the origin story of the hydrofoil!
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“Stay Tuned,” as they used to say.
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A well done photo. All the beauty that the sea gives us from its lesser-known inhabitants. Colors are spectacular.
Cheers
Manuel
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I appreciate your good words, Manuel.
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You are welcome
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I so want our beaches open
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I find this terribly exciting, Michael. I’m not much of a swimmer, and yet I’d love to try this! 🙂
Your header image, by the way, is delightful…
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He makes it look easy. The wind was a steady 18 mph, I don’t know how he held up that sail without support.
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We used to find hundreds of them, of all sizes, when they would wash up on the shores of Miami Beach in January and February, that is why South Floridians never went swimming in those months…
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Francisco,
Thank you for sharing your experiences and highlighting an intriguing aspect of South Florida’s natural history. It’s fascinating to learn how the local community adapted their swimming habits around the seasonal appearance of Man O’ War on Miami Beach, habits that mirror our experience on beaches farther north. Your insight adds a valuable layer to our understanding of the region’s ecological patterns and cultural practices. Mike
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Thank you 🙏🏻 Michael. Yes, we certainly have adapted and we would warn visitors and tourists of the Man O’ War infestations in those months. All the best.
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Wow! So beautiful shell like a piece of art and the video looks great, must be difficult
to do it and very relaxing too. Thank you for share Michael.
Have a lovely day.
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Absolutely, Elvira, I cannot imagine doing it myself at that age, yet they do. Most admirable. Here is more information about the Man O’ War, they are a truly organism.
Here a a previous blog post describing them.
…and a translation to Spanish of the portion of the post describing these creatures and their danger, translated to the Spanish language via Google Translate.
El viento arrastraba a tierra a los seres vivos, los dejaba en la playa para que se secaran o como alimento para cangrejos y gaviotas. Después de que un hombre de guerra vara en una playa, sigue siendo peligroso. Los tentáculos largos se extienden desde el cuerpo y pueden provocar picaduras dolorosas.
La persona que camina alrededor de estos tentáculos está usando zapatos sabiamente, como puedo ver por la forma de la huella.
Cada uno de estos tentáculos está enhebrado con estructuras urticantes llenas de veneno enrolladas, como un resorte, listas para bombear veneno a la víctima con el fin de alimentarse, atrapar larvas y peces pequeños y calamares.
Estas estructuras, llamadas nematocistos, se disparan al contacto y no diferencian objetivos, ya sea un pie humano o un calamar.
En Australia llaman a estos malos “botellas azules”. Muy descriptivo.
Hablamos con los socorristas sobre el procedimiento de primeros auxilios, para las picaduras, y no nos consoló su ignorancia. Habíamos hecho la investigación nosotros mismos. Infórmate antes de pisar la playa. No esperes una ayuda bien informada en el caso de una picadura, ármate de antemano con conocimiento.
Esta es una configuración especialmente peligrosa de un Man O’ War varado (también conocido como Floating Terror): un globo azul con cuerdas que salen de él. Los niños pequeños verán el globo y querrán agarrarlo o jugar con él. Si vemos familias turistas con niños pequeños, cuando estos estén cerca, haremos todo lo posible para advertirles.
Estos desconcertantes hallazgos en la playa no disminuyen nuestro disfrute del medio ambiente, sino que nos quedamos con un mayor aprecio y respeto por el océano.
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I’m not into water sports, Michael, so this is new to me to see a hydrofoil board with a handheld sail. That guy was having fun.
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Miriam,
We’ve only seen hydrofoil boards these last few years. I plan to research a post about how this invention came about.
In the meantime, here another previous post about kites with a “teaser” photograph of an ocean kite boarder.
…and another….
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Kite surfing is common, but not kiteboarding. Interesting, though.
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Miriam, your reply got me to thinking and I did some research. I used the wrong term to describe the land-based activity. Kite boarding is synonymous with kite surfing. The correct term is “kite land boarding” or “kite skate boarding.”
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It looks like kite skate boarding to me, Michael.
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