After 1 week of winging, I thought I'd update you on my successes and failures while learning this new sport. Firstly, this sport is amazingly fun! I've had a go at loads of water sports over the years and this is right up there with some of my favourites. The learning curve isn't as steep as I thought it would be, but the level of progression seems endless. Here are some of what I've found in my first few hours on the water:<\/p>
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1. Equipment choice<\/strong><\/p> \u00a0In my previous blog I weighed up the pros and cons of which kit to get and what things to think about. In the end, I chose the following setup:<\/p> \u00a0-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 F-one swing (4.2m)<\/p> -\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gong surf foil (1500cm2 and 2000cm2 front wings)<\/p> -\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Suns wing board (95 litres)<\/p> \u00a0I am really happy with the choice of kit, and it has allowed me to get out and having fun from 12knots all the way through to around 25knots. In both extremes, it was hard work, but with more time on the water I think it\u2019ll become easier. The hardest choice was board size. I went for 95L which made the first few hours really tricky and spent more time in the water that I would have liked, but now I am up and going, it\u2019s a far more manageable size. If I had gone for a larger board, I imagine I would already be looking to downgrade to a smaller size.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Foil setup<\/strong><\/p> Use your biggest wing to start with (2000cm2) and make sure you\u2019re going out when there is sufficient wind. I tried a few days where the wind was on the lighter side and found I wasn\u2019t good enough to pump onto the foil (and fell off a lot!).<\/p> \u00a0When using a big front wing, I found that when I had the foil mounted far forward, I often breached the water and crashed as soon as I got any meaningful speed. I\u2019d suggest only having the foil far forward in lighter winds and sticking it in the middle until you gauge the best place. For me, I like to have it slightly forward of the middle and drop it back as the wind picks up.<\/p> 3.\u00a0\u00a0 Controlling your wing in the water<\/strong><\/p> There are many tutorials out there on best ways to flip and control your wing, but this short video shows what worked best for me, both in terms of efficacy and conserving my energy. I found that when I was flipping the wing over and kneeling on the board, I was getting pulled over the board and wasted a lot of energy repeating the process a few times. This was my solution!<\/p> <\/p>