World record: Liam Walton, 4 hours 7 minutes on foil in the surf

2 May, Boulder Bay, New Zealand, right in the heartland of AXIS R&D: Liam Walton broke the surf pump foil world record with a staggering 4 hours and 7 minutes on foil. The record allows for riding the swell in towards the beach and then pumping back out without coming off foil. Liam used a completely stock setup: a 4'5" 32-litre surf board, Fireball 1250, Crazyshort 600 mm Advance+ fuselage, Skinny 35 and an Ultra Pro 80 cm mast. The numbers on the board: 4:07:43, 77.72 km, 2,807 calories.

Chatting with him after the event, Liam highlighted the difficulties in setting this record, with tide, wind direction and water debris all posing a serious risk to a good time. A four-hour run covers a near complete tidal cycle, so the spot has to stay rideable through the whole attempt. Liam's run started in near ideal light offshore winds, but after a couple of hours they clocked round onshore, making pumping back out into the headwind all the more energy sapping.

With slightly better preparation and fuelling, since all food and water has to be carried by the rider and no external support is allowed, Liam thinks he can cross the six-hour threshold.

First reported in the AXIS newsletter of 10 June 2026.

The gear

• AXIS Fireball 1250
• Red Crazyshort Advance fuselage
• Skinny 358/35 rear wing
• PRO Ultra High Modulus carbon mast 800
• AXIS prone carbon foilboards