Wing Foiling: a new extension of wind surfing

by Mark Powell

Tired of dicking around for 30 minutes getting your mast in, your boom on, and your downhaul just right?  Want to try something new and exciting?  Want to have your teen son or daughter think you are cool?  I know, impossible! But hear me out.

If you were windsurfing away back in the 80’s you may have remembered something called the “wind weapon”. Basically a sail that turned into a wing that would have you flying after a wave jump.  Well, that idea has been refined by a bunch of folks, most notably Robby Naish, into a new type of windsurfing called Wing foiling.  Being a parent who always strives to do stuff on the water that my son might take some interest in, I thought it looked pretty cool and since I ain’t getting any younger, I figured I better get on it while I still have some time in this world.

So off we went on a father-son roadtrip  to North Beach Windsurfing in St. Petersburg.  North Beach is run by Britt and Karen.  Karen and I were on the US windsurfing team back in 2006-2007 and Britt is a very experienced racer and among the first to pick up wind surf foiling.  He set us up with one of his instructors on a very cold December morning at “Scenic Point” on the Skyway bridge causeway and we each learned the basics of the wing sail (how to inflate it, how to hold it).  Then we got on the water using beginner windsurfing boards with centerboards.  You have to be a bit careful not to get tangled since there are two leashes, one on the wrist for the wing, and another on your calf for the board.  You start out on your knees, then get enough lift on the wing to help you stand on the board, then you can configure the wing to go upwind, tack, downwind, and jibe.   That was basically all we did for a couple hours and it was fun!  We did not get up on the foils, that comes after we get comfortable sailing, taking and jibing on the wing.  To do that, you do a few more practice sessions using the wing on a wide beginner windsurf board. 

We ended up buying a wing foiling package (6.0 meter Airush/Starboard wing, 7 ft Starboard wing board, and a Slingshot hoverglide V1 foil) for under $3 grand.  I have also picked up a SLingshot sup fin and now can use my wide SUP (formerly known as “babe board”) to practice with the wing.  The water temp is now in the 50s so its a bit too cold for me to practice right now but it won’t be long before it heats up enough for Riley and I to get out again in our wet suits and trade off with it.  The wing board with hoverglide foil attached needs about 3 feet of water depth and we will take some time to get to where we can go fast enough to generate the lift needed to start getting up on the foils, and then to learn how to balance on the foil.  I’ve seen videos of folks as old as me with beer bellies in tight wetsuits doing flawless tacks and jibes while foiling so it should be accessible to many of our SPSC sailors.  I’ve also heard that once you are up on the foil, a lot of the drag is gone and the physical exertion needed goes way down.  We’ll see about that!  Anyway, my vaccine shots are approaching and Riley and I are stoked to get moving up the learning curve so we hope to see you all down at the beach!

Links:

https://www.nbwindsurfing.com/wing-foiling-gear-lessons-and-rentals-in-st-petersburg-fl.htm