Wingfoiling

[Psyche 728]

Nice vid, anyone here do it?

 

[ex TL systems 63]

Yes not a lot with the wing though mostly I am catching waves on a foil under a small stand up paddle board. Its amazing how little drag there is once you start flying. Lots of Wingfoiling happens around Auckland when they are not locked down. Saw a video recently of 3 guys foiling back from the Barrier 110kms. Think one was Jessie tukes brother? Both Burling and Spithill are into it. 

[Fogg 427]

It’s on my list to Santa this year.

[muzled 140]

Looks like hard work to me.

Brother in law is into it, he has a surf shop so has several old foils laying about and is going to drop off an old one to tow behind the dinghy, reckons it'll pop at 5kn and said it's pretty cool feeling the foils load up as you turn.

Would need to be detachable to have on the boat but could be good amusement for lazy arvos (and anyone watching the first few attempts...)

 

[Fish 0]

I've got a foil sitting in my shed. Been wet once, damn lockdowns. Mine is for my windsurfer. I'm having an absolute ball learning to windsurf (planning) on a fin. Current PB is 17.6 knts. Foil is for lighter air days when I can't send it on the fin. Just haven't had a chance to really get out on it so far.

All those foils pack down flat, just a bunch of bolts.. The wings deflate into a very small backpack / bag. The wingfoiling boards are actually fairly small and short, and would be easy to store on a yacht. Short story is they are easy to take cruising, and launch from a yacht. A family often park their boat at Manly while the kids are sailing, and the father entertains himself by foiling from the yacht, then paddle boards back to the beach to help the missus and kids home in the dinghy.

I have meet a number of wing foilers that say they used to windsurf, tried winging once and sold or their windsurfing gear, so there must be something in it.

[Fish 0]

Did I mention wingfoiling / windsurfing is a permitted activity under L3?

But sailing isn't.

I know of a shop where you can get all the fruit at L4, if anyone is keen.

You can even get a Mountain board and wing on the beach or a carpark. You can just use a cruiser skateboard and a wing for carparks, but less room

 

[DoT 31]

1 hour ago, muzled said:

Looks like hard work to me.

Brother in law is into it, he has a surf shop so has several old foils laying about and is going to drop off an old one to tow behind the dinghy, reckons it'll pop at 5kn and said it's pretty cool feeling the foils load up as you turn.

Would need to be detachable to have on the boat but could be good amusement for lazy arvos (and anyone watching the first few attempts...)

 

Looks hard to me too, but I've been assured it's not.

I've seen some good face first splash downs, but there seems to be less to hurt yourself on than a windsurfer, and less to get tangled than a kite.

Might just be worth a go.

[Psyche 728]

With the size of the board and wing (Inflatable?) its an ideal setup for even a small yacht. I think we will see a lot more of these, Vorpal Blade is making wings I believe.

[Fish 0]

You can get inflatable boards, but I understand you loose a fair bit of performance. Designed for travel / easy stowage on a yacht. In terms of things to hit, you can't get catapulted on a wing like you do on a windsurfer, and you don't need to uphaul a wing like you do when learning to windsurf. I haven't actually tried winging yet (as I spent too much on windsurfing gear) but it looks easy and fun.

You can learn to wing on a paddleboard. Plenty of cruisers have those. Harder to go upwind on one, but it is possible if you know what you are doing. Big step up to foiling, but easy to go upwind on those as well. If you get the right type of foil you can tow foil behind your tender, its like the new waterskiing. Depending on weight and stuff I know of people that have gotten away with a 10 hp outboard.

[Fish 0]

Did I mention you can wing at L3?

[Fogg 427]

Guy at shop I visited said if you have an understanding of sailing you already have an advantage.

Next step is to learn balance on board without sail. If you’ve paddleboarded or similar then another advantage. He suggested get towed behind a dinghy and learn to balance through the lift onto foil (10-15hp o/b more than enough). Practice a bit.

Then combine everything and start entertaining rest of the anchorage.

[ex TL systems 63]

We have foiled easily with an 8hp on a dinghy and also on an old paper tiger. Some of the waves in the motuihe channel with strong wind against tide would be fun once you know what you are doing. We started with an 8 ft board and all got up behind a boat pretty easily. Not hard to hurt yourself though.