My journey into wingfoiling

averagejoe

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May 28, 2008
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went to sherman wednesday and friday last week and totally scored. now confident hauling ass upwind in both directions. still can't jibe. my wingding buddies suggested i step down from the monstrous BSC 1060 to the svelt HPS 1050, as that's what they all learned to jibe on. late afternoon on friday on the second session, the wind had picked up a bunch and the tide had changed, so there was more swell in the water. swells really impacted how my foil was going through the water. also went out on my 3m and it was super twitchy.

got humbled yesterday. one buddy texted that he was going to davenport and i've been wanting to check it out so... i had to stop for gas on the way and while the tank was filling i checked the wind at 3rd in san mateo - blowing solid 20 but google maps said 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there. davenport was 25 minutes. spent time on the beach watching what was going on and talking to the guys about what to expect. rigged up and watched them get outside relatively easily but saw a bunch of falling. decided i'd give it go. holy sh!t!!! it's no joke trying to foil in waves. not even breaking waves, just the rollers outside wreak havoc on you. i made it outside only falling once. could not get out of my own way trying to come back in. even getting up on foil, when a roller would come from behind it gave me too much lift and i was out of control. decided to go back to the beach on my knees and thought i was staying upwind ok but ended up getting pushed toward where the left breaks. made it through the impact zone with no impact then my foil got hung in the kelp 20 yards from the beach. dicked around with that for a couple minutes and finally made it to the beach, unscathed, thank you god and no equipment damage. heartrate was about 250 and i was breathing about as hard as i can breathe. buddy walked over and took my wing back to the rigging area. the three guys i went out with were all saying that my session was about on par with their first few sessions there and they were actually surprised i made it out on foil. once they got outside they wanted to send me a smoke signal not to go out haha.

good experience though. i now know how much further i need to progress before trying that again. definitely a whole nother thing dealing with waves.

oh, and we were BSing with VB afterwards and Hdip's buddy Rob came up - that guy is a legit ripper.
 
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averagejoe

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Yeah, ocean chop vs lake chop is a whole new ball game. The lake is for learning new skills and practicing hard stuff like switching my feet. The ocean is for having the time of your life, but not really learning anything new. At least in my experience. Once I get to the ocean I stop trying to switch my feet and just go toeside everywhere trying to find waves or DW bumps to play in.
the more experienced guy in the group yesterday said the same thing before we went out - you're not working on footwork today, you're trying not to fall.
 
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Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
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You're on it! Now is about when the advancement ramps up fast. Cool you ran into Rob too. He used to be a pro kiter back in the day or windsurfer or something. I don't really know. It was some wind sport, then he took a multi years break, winging sucked him back in.
 
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juandesooka

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Jan 12, 2009
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Nice! Soon you'll find it's only worth the bother IF it's the conditions that freaked you out today. And then you'll look back at this post and try to remember what was so challenging? :)

"still can't jibe". That can mean a few different things, the term comes with some baggage. At its most basic, gybe just means a downwind turn. But for windsurfers, that also includes a foot switch, as this is required on a windsurf board. So ex-windsurfer wingers figure you're not a decent rider until you can do turns with a flying foot switch. But a foot switch is not required for wing foiling. Wave riding, you will turn to toeside and back repeatedly, as that's the nature of carving. Most wave riders only surf with dominant foot forward. You can switch feet to do upwind reaches, but it doesn't have to flying, you can do a quick touch down in between or you can let board to surface, switch stance and get back up on foil. Some surf oriented wingers never learn to ride wrong foot forward at all, they just ride heelside one way and toeside the other way. Which makes upwinding harder, and body gets fatigued, but it works. Assuming wave riding is the goal vs crazy/hot dance moves.

I bring it up because this can get unnecessarily frustrating for new riders. My advice: just focus on making turns, heelside/toeside/heelside, then worry about "gybes" later. Here's the progression.
  • Get some speed going sideways to the wind, then point your board downwind and just glide.
  • You can re-engage your wing and go sideways again to regain some speed and do it again.
  • When you feel comfortable gliding for longer, take your hands off the handles, and just hold on to the front handle while gliding.
  • Then turn the other way slightly.
  • Then grab the wing and re-engage some wind. Now you're riding toeside.
  • Turn downwind again, re-engage wing the other way, now you did a toeside/heelside turn.
  • Work on less time in between and more fluid, then you're carving. Easy peasy.

You can work on this turning progression on the beach. Especially to get used to the toeside stance, as it feels awkward holding the wing.

It also works really well to work on it on a skateboard. You also may find a weird thing....on a skateboard, a "tack" seems to come easier. That's an upwind turn and it's an advanced move winging. But on a skateboard, it somehow seemed a little easier than gybes. So, can work on that too, to show off to those ex-windsurf cool kids. A tack is also a functional move in surfing in some situations: as a regular foot rider, in sideshore conditions, when riding a wave going left, you are basically riding straight upwind. As the wave starts to close out, if you turn downwind (gybe), that takes you in front of the wave, which puts you into the white water danger zone, and that can be a disaster on a big day. Alternatively, if you can tack, you kick out upwind over the breaking wave and just keep riding toeside, then maybe turn into the set wave behind and now go right instead. You get a rad seamless flowing ride vs an unhappy moment in the white water soup fearing for your gear and personal safety. But if you can't tack....then kick out early.
 
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averagejoe

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Nice! Soon you'll find it's only worth the bother IF it's the conditions that freaked you out today. And then you'll look back at this post and try to remember what was so challenging? :)

"still can't jibe". That can mean a few different things, the term comes with some baggage. At its most basic, gybe just means a downwind turn. But for windsurfers, that also includes a foot switch, as this is required on a windsurf board. So ex-windsurfer wingers figure you're not a decent rider until you can do turns with a flying foot switch. But a foot switch is not required for wing foiling. Wave riding, you will turn to toeside and back repeatedly, as that's the nature of carving. Most wave riders only surf with dominant foot forward. You can switch feet to do upwind reaches, but it doesn't have to flying, you can do a quick touch down in between or you can let board to surface, switch stance and get back up on foil. Some surf oriented wingers never learn to ride wrong foot forward at all, they just ride heelside one way and toeside the other way. Which makes upwinding harder, and body gets fatigued, but it works. Assuming wave riding is the goal vs crazy/hot dance moves.

I bring it up because this can get unnecessarily frustrating for new riders. My advice: just focus on making turns, heelside/toeside/heelside, then worry about "gybes" later. Here's the progression.
  • Get some speed going sideways to the wind, then point your board downwind and just glide.
  • You can re-engage your wing and go sideways again to regain some speed and do it again.
  • When you feel comfortable gliding for longer, take your hands off the handles, and just hold on to the front handle while gliding.
  • Then turn the other way slightly.
  • Then grab the wing and re-engage some wind. Now you're riding toeside.
  • Turn downwind again, re-engage wing the other way, now you did a toeside/heelside turn.
  • Work on less time in between and more fluid, then you're carving. Easy peasy.

You can work on this turning progression on the beach. Especially to get used to the toeside stance, as it feels awkward holding the wing.

It also works really well to work on it on a skateboard. You also may find a weird thing....on a skateboard, a "tack" seems to come easier. That's an upwind turn and it's an advanced move winging. But on a skateboard, it somehow seemed a little easier than gybes. So, can work on that too, to show off to those ex-windsurf cool kids. A tack is also a functional move in surfing in some situations: as a regular foot rider, in sideshore conditions, when riding a wave going left, you are basically riding straight upwind. As the wave starts to close out, if you turn downwind (gybe), that takes you in front of the wave, which puts you into the white water danger zone, and that can be a disaster on a big day. Alternatively, if you can tack, you kick out upwind over the breaking wave and just keep riding toeside, then maybe turn into the set wave behind and now go right instead. You get a rad seamless flowing ride vs an unhappy moment in the white water soup fearing for your gear and personal safety. But if you can't tack....then kick out early.
i have been working at it some more. re-reading this part of your post:
  • Get some speed going sideways to the wind, then point your board downwind and just glide.
  • You can re-engage your wing and go sideways again to regain some speed and do it again.
  • When you feel comfortable gliding for longer, take your hands off the handles, and just hold on to the front handle while gliding.
  • Then turn the other way slightly.
  • Then grab the wing and re-engage some wind. Now you're riding toeside.
  • Turn downwind again, re-engage wing the other way, now you did a toeside/heelside turn.
  • Work on less time in between and more fluid, then you're carving. Easy peasy.
is what i think is going to help me progress. i sort of came to the conclusion, working it out in my head, on the long ass drive home from my session last night. i've been trying to send it all the way through the 180 and catch the wind going toe-side. it works about 1 out of 20 tries. i need to take a step back.

i've also gotten into another iteration of gear. my first front wing was 1,800 cm^2 and a couple of weeks ago i got a higher aspect, faster and more performance wing that's 1,500 cm^2. then last week, got a great deal on a 1,300^2 front. i rode the 1300 yesterday with a 4 m^2 hand wing and it felt amazing. the new wing cuts through all the chop and windswell with ease. much more control. faster, easier to go upwind. the thing that was challenging was trying to do turns and trying to get going toeside. i've been able to get going on foil toeside in my natural stance a few times and i'm starting to work on that turn as well. the smaller wing takes more effort and coordination to get on foil. plan on selling the beginner rig soon. i have a 90 liter board on order from Real that's supposed to arrive next tuesday. once it's dialed, i'm offering 1 buddy a lesson on my beginner rig and then it's up for sale.

i'm in love with the sensation of riding on foil. it's so fast and free. endorphined to the max.

i kited last weekend for the first time since taking up winging. has fun. haven't sold all my kite gear yet, but i plan on listing the bigger kites. probably keep a 9m for when waddell gets good.
 

Hdip

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2005
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Just doing the turn and forgetting about the wing works. Let go of the backhand, flag the wing by the front handle. Do the turn. Figure out how to regrab the wing. Power up the wing after the turn is done.
 
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averagejoe

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  • Get some speed going sideways to the wind, then point your board downwind and just glide.
  • You can re-engage your wing and go sideways again to regain some speed and do it again.
  • When you feel comfortable gliding for longer, take your hands off the handles, and just hold on to the front handle while gliding.
  • Then turn the other way slightly.
  • Then grab the wing and re-engage some wind. Now you're riding toeside.
  • Turn downwind again, re-engage wing the other way, now you did a toeside/heelside turn.
  • Work on less time in between and more fluid, then you're carving. Easy peasy.
Did a long downwinder yesterday, focusing on this the whole time. Several breakthroughs. Got some great, long glides on little swells and was able to re-grip the wing and get going again several times. Completed a few jibes. Got going toeside a bunch.

Totally addicted to the foil
 

averagejoe

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my first board is a 110L F-One Rocket in ASC tech. it was starting to feel a bit big at times, like the size of it was pushing back against turning and pumping, so i ordered a 90L KT Wing Drifter. took it out for the maiden voyage yesterday and it was almost like starting over. everything was more challenging - getting to my knees, getting to my feet and popping up on foil. once on foil, it was way more maneuverable, but on the fringe of too maneuverable at some points. i got the hang of it, but it was exhausting. i fatigued twice as fast as i normally do.

the thought went through my mind while i was struggling that this is the very reason why you don't want to go too small on your first board. it will really slow down your progress.

the last two days were at its beach on the west side of town, about a 15 minute drive from home. my go-to spots in the sf bay are about an hour and 20 minutes each way. the ocean is way more challenging than the bay, but it's so much nicer to not have to drive so much.
 

PRCD

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Feb 25, 2020
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I've made about zero progress since getting my boar and wings. The wind has been awful down here...

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..and I haven't wanted to drive up to LA (Cabrillo) or 5 hours out to the desert. I'm taking a lesson in Mission Bay in two weeks. I suspect the teacher has some ultra light-wind gear or some other way of getting students off the blocks. Maybe then I'll be willing to drive up to LA where that thermal and venturi effect around San Pedro really seems consistent.
 

juandesooka

OTF status
Jan 12, 2009
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Connecting winging to surfing experience:

"this is the very reason why you don't want to go too small on your first board". Yep, same deal trying to learn to surf on a 5'10" 27L performance shortboard. Add 1-2 YEARS to your learning curve vs a longboard, fun shape, or sup.

"The wind has been awful down here". A skate boarder can ride wherever, a surfer has to do where there are waves...skaters learning to surf will have to drive or go holiday somewhere with surf, or the learning curve will extend indefinitely, need repetitive motion to get over that hump. Same for wind but even moreso, given how fickle and unpredictable wind is relative to surf. I have many friends who have started into winging and failed, because they were trying to do it on the side, an hour or two here and there on top of all the other stuff they do (surfing in particular). That's not how it works. You have to commit or it ain't gonna happen. There is an associated time and $ investment that comes with learning this, no way around it. Once you are expert, then you can dabble, just go when it's good, do other fun stuff when the wind isn't there.

Digressing to a related side note: my efoil investment was $$$ and super painful, but has paid off massively in opening up fun water opportunities. The best of all is situations where there are little waves to ride but not enough wind to catch them or not paddleable for regular foiling. It has kind of wrecked light wind winging, for me as I get all the fun stuff (waves) without the work or limitations or frustrations. The cost is prohibitive, but maybe less so if you think of it as a jetski or motorcycle ... buying a high end purpose built machine that will get you many many hours of enjoyment. Cost per ride may be a little more manageable amortized over 100 sessions per year for 3-5 years. :)
 
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