Kitesurfing
Wing & evolution
Coaching & method
Most popular From first kite control to riding upwind — gear & free IKO included.
Eat & drink
Relax & family
The base
Off the water Drop your harness and stay for the sunset, metres from where you ride.
Plan your trip
Book & contact
Plan your trip 300+ windy days a year and a town built around the water.
Pumpfoiling · El Gouna, Egypt · boat-to-dockstart progression
Fly a hydrofoil with no wind, no kite, no wing, no motor — just your own legs pumping the foil across usually flat water. Learn the pump behind our boat, then work toward the dockstart.
Pumpfoiling, decoded
Read the sport as an energy loop, then see why we separate learning the pump from learning the dockstart. Each stage removes one variable; none skips the skill itself.
01 Calm is the condition
Pumpfoiling needs no wind-powered kite or wing and no motor once you are pumping. Your body loads the board, the foil turns that movement into lift, and the glide gives you the next pump. The team still selects the zone and timing from actual depth, chop and traffic.
The energy loop: speed → pressure → lift → glide → repeat.
02 Stage one · behind the boat
A dedicated instructor controls a slow, steady tow from your own boat. With the starting speed already supplied, you can focus on the loading-and-unloading rhythm instead of combining a run, jump and first pump all at once.
Boat, instructor and the complete Levitaz setup are included. Up to 2 can share the boat and take turns.
03 Pressure becomes lift
The back foot guides the foil up; the front foot sends the board down and forward. A light, rigid board and a large, efficient front wing return more glide from each movement, so the instructor can help you search for a repeatable rhythm rather than a lucky bounce.
We use Levitaz pump setups selected for the rider. Kitepower has been a Levitaz distributor and test point since 2015, and the coaching is led by a Levitaz team rider.
04 Stage two · dockstart
A dockstart compresses the whole entry into seconds: run along the dock, land on the board and find the first pump immediately. We move to that stage only when your boat session shows enough pump control; the timing and number of sessions vary by rider.
Dockstart coaching is a separate €100 session. It does not require wind, but it does require the right foil control and current water depth.
05 The transferable skill
Wing foilers use the pump through wind holes, kite foilers through lulls, and parawing or downwind riders between pieces of energy. It is also a demanding interval workout for legs, core and lungs — useful, but never effortless.
Previous foil flight helps. If you have never foiled, the safer starting point is boat foiling with the same boat, coach and water before moving into the pump progression.
| The method | Start behind the boat to learn the pump, then train the dockstart |
|---|---|
| Boat & instructor | Your own boat with a dedicated instructor at the helm |
| Foil | Levitaz — big front wing, rigid board, our test point since 2015 |
| Group | Up to 2 per boat, sharing one instructor |
| Water | A foil zone selected for the actual depth, chop and daily conditions |
| Wind | Zero. Pumpfoiling is the one foil sport that needs nothing at all |
Pumpfoiling — simple, all-in pricing
Pumpfoiling comes in two stages. First you learn the pump behind our boat at €130 per hour, per instructor — boat and all gear included, up to 2 sharing. Once your pump keeps the foil flying, we train the dockstart at €100. No wind required — ever.
Boat & all gear included · up to 2 sharing
Ready for the dockstart? Dockstart training is €100 — the run-up, jump and landing straight into the pump.
Pumpfoiling means keeping a hydrofoil flying through a rhythmic pumping motion rather than using a kite, wing or motor. It does not require waves as a power source, but the team still matches the session to actual depth, chop, traffic and safe conditions.
The dockstart is the classic pumpfoil entry: a few running steps along a dock or pontoon, a jump onto the foil board, and straight into pumping — no boat, no tow, no wind. It looks like magic and it's a real skill: self-taught riders often log hundreds of attempts before the first flight. That's exactly why we teach the pump behind the boat first.
In two stages. First we tow you behind our boat at a slow, steady speed, so you learn the pumping motion with the speed already given — you feel what a working pump rhythm is like without fighting for every start. Once your pump keeps the foil flying on its own, we move to dockstart training: the run-up, the jump and the landing into an immediate pump. It's the shortcut that saves you the hundreds of solo attempts.
No. Pumpfoiling does not use a kite or wing, so wind is not the power source. That does not mean the water is always glassy: depth, chop and water movement are checked before the team selects the zone and setup.
It helps a lot. Pumpfoiling is easiest if you've already flown a foil — behind a boat, under a wing or on a kite foil. If you've never foiled, we simply start you one step earlier with a boat foiling session; the progression is seamless because it's the same boat, the same coach and the same water.
Learning the pump behind the boat is €130 per hour, per instructor — boat and all equipment included, up to 2 sharing (semi-private is €65 per person). Dockstart training is €100. Split between friends it's one of the cheapest ways to learn one of the most impressive skills on the water.
One of the best on the water. Pumping is a full-body interval workout — legs, core and lungs — which is why riders call it the foiler's treadmill. A 20-minute pump session will humble most gym routines, and it directly builds the fitness you use in every other foil sport.
Because the pump is the master skill of all foiling. Wing foilers pump through wind holes instead of sinking; kite foilers keep flying through lulls; parawingers and downwind riders live off the pump. Learn it here on flat water and every foil discipline you ride gets instantly better.
Lagoon depth changes with the tide and conditions. Boat-assisted and dockstart sessions run only when the selected area has suitable depth and traffic and boat conditions allow; the coach confirms the plan on the day.
Related: boat foiling · kite hydrofoil · wingfoiling · parawing
Book a session or message us. We start at the stage that matches your foil control: the pump behind the boat, or dockstart coaching once your pump is ready.
★ 4.8 · 549 reviews Boat-to-dockstart progression No wind needed Since 2004
